The Walking Dead Developer Telltale Games Reportedly Shutting Down
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Telltale Faces Class-Action Lawsuit For Violating Labor Laws
A former Telltale Games employee has filed a class-action lawsuit against the studio, alleging that it violated state and federal labor laws. Vernie Roberts, who submitted the suit, was among the roughly 250 - or more - employees laid off by Telltale last Friday.
The layoffs came on the heel of rumors, from earlier in the week, that Telltale was shutting down. A skeleton crew of 25 has remained at Telltale, and the studio is completing work on the Minecraft: Story Mode adaptation for Netflix. The company's other works in progress are either cancelled (like a Stranger Thingsproject and The Wolf Among Us 2) or up in the air (Telltale has said that it's figuring out how to finish and ship The Walking Dead: The Final Season).
Related: Telltale's Canceled Stranger Things Game Footage Leaks Online
And now, Polygon reports that Telltale has Roberts' class-action lawsuit on its hands. The suit alleges that the studio violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the "WARN" act), which has both a federal and a more demanding state-level version in California, where Telltale is headquartered. According to the WARN act, which applies to most companies with 100 or more full-time workers, those business must provide a 60-day notice prior to closings or "mass layoffs." The definition of such layoffs depends on the company's size: They amount to, as Polygon explains, "reduction of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period (if the total comprises at least one-third of the company’s workforce), or any layoff of 500 or more workers." The scope of Telltale's layoffs also seem to fall within the California-level version of the law, which requires notices for even smaller companies and layoffs.
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In the days since the layoffs, many have noted Telltale's mistreatment of the laid-off employees - namely, the fact that they have not received severance pay. Roberts' suit aims to remedy that mistreatment by seeking an amount equal to the pay and benefits that the workers would have received for 60 more days of work, plus interest, as per WARN guidelines. Roberts claims that the Telltale employees were not given any advance notice about their fates with the company, and that the number of affected individuals is approximately 275, which is higher than the earlier reported figure of 250.
When discussing Telltale's failure, the following can't be said enough: The fact that fans of Telltale will miss out on their games is unfortunate, but it pales in comparison to the fact that more than 200 workers were laid off without warning or severance pay. With calls for the unionization of workers in the video game industry proliferating, the Telltale debacle might give the movement further momentum. That could be a silver lining in the future, but, for now, the class-action lawsuit seeks more immediate progress.
- BY NIV M. SULTAN
- – ON SEP 25, 2018
- IN GAME NEWS
A former Telltale Games employee has filed a class-action lawsuit against the studio, alleging that it violated state and federal labor laws. Vernie Roberts, who submitted the suit, was among the roughly 250 - or more - employees laid off by Telltale last Friday.
The layoffs came on the heel of rumors, from earlier in the week, that Telltale was shutting down. A skeleton crew of 25 has remained at Telltale, and the studio is completing work on the Minecraft: Story Mode adaptation for Netflix. The company's other works in progress are either cancelled (like a Stranger Thingsproject and The Wolf Among Us 2) or up in the air (Telltale has said that it's figuring out how to finish and ship The Walking Dead: The Final Season).
Related: Telltale's Canceled Stranger Things Game Footage Leaks Online
And now, Polygon reports that Telltale has Roberts' class-action lawsuit on its hands. The suit alleges that the studio violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the "WARN" act), which has both a federal and a more demanding state-level version in California, where Telltale is headquartered. According to the WARN act, which applies to most companies with 100 or more full-time workers, those business must provide a 60-day notice prior to closings or "mass layoffs." The definition of such layoffs depends on the company's size: They amount to, as Polygon explains, "reduction
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In the days since the layoffs, many have noted Telltale's mistreatment of the laid-off employees - namely, the fact that they have not received severance pay. Roberts' suit aims to remedy that mistreatment by seeking an amount equal to the pay and benefits that the workers would have received for 60 more days of work, plus interest, as per WARN guidelines. Roberts claims that the Telltale employees were not given any advance notice about their fates with the company, and that the number of affected individuals is approximately 275, which is higher than the earlier reported figure of 250.
When discussing Telltale's failure, the following can't be said enough: The fact that fans of Telltale will miss out on their games is unfortunate, but it pales in comparison to the fact that more than 200 workers were laid off without warning or severance pay. With calls for the unionization of workers in the video game industry proliferating, the Telltale debacle might give the movement further momentum. That could be a silver lining in the future, but, for now, the class-action lawsuit seeks more immediate progress.
When I first heard this a few days ago I said they shutting down to avoid a lawsuit. The quickness right after they acquired the rights to Stranger Things and in the middle of other projects...Something was coming. Now it's coming out there was a lawsuit before the closure coming out...over labor practices...and that story is getting deeper...
So think about it. Telltale has to be a LLC, or some other sort of registered business. While the people there might be to blame, there is no money to get out of an LLC especially when it's closed and no longer making money. I might be wrong, but that's what I took from it. They know they did shit, and cut losses before they got took to the cleaners.
Jus saying.
So think about it. Telltale has to be a LLC, or some other sort of registered business. While the people there might be to blame, there is no money to get out of an LLC especially when it's closed and no longer making money. I might be wrong, but that's what I took from it. They know they did shit, and cut losses before they got took to the cleaners.
Jus saying.
How the hell,you're going to try outsource season 3 and 4...
More Telltale Games Employees Laid off As Skeleton Crew Dwindles
The staff at Telltale Games continues to dwindle: an employee there recently tweeted that the company just laid off more of its workforce, leaving a small skeleton crew behind to handle the developer's unfinished titles. This suggests that those unfinished game may, in fact, remain unfinished.
Telltale Games was founded in 2004 by former developers for LucasArts. The company's massive success with its adventure titles, including the highly popular The Walking Dead series, changed the way players interacted with video games. With narrative-driven gameplay and stories that let players choose their own adventures, it seemed that Telltale would continue its success for years to come. It was creating games from some of the largest franchises, including Batman, Game of Thrones and Stranger Things. However, reports surfaced this year that the company was shutting down. It recently laid off 225 of its employees, leaving only about 25 people left to complete the developer's unfinished games.
Related: Telltale's Canceled Stranger Things Game Footage Leaks Online
Now, though, that small team is even smaller. According to a tweet from narrative designer Rachel Noel, Telltale has laid off even more of its employees, leaving only a handful to complete the studio's work.
Noel later clarified that there were still people left at Telltale, but not many. She did reiterate, though, that her work at the company was done.
There is no word yet on how this will affect Telltale's unfinished projects. Its Stranger Things game is dead in the water, but what will happen with the final season of The Walking Dead? Players have already purchased full season passes for a game that only has one episode currently available, and it now seems as if Telltale no longer has the staff to complete it. Even more upsetting is that the season pass is no longer available for purchase. There is no word what might happen to those who already purchased the pass, but it could prove even more troublesome if Telltale fails to deliver the full product.
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- BY ROBIN BURKS
- – ON OCT 05, 2018
- IN GAME NEWS
The staff at Telltale Games continues to dwindle: an employee there recently tweeted that the company just laid off more of its workforce, leaving a small skeleton crew behind to handle the developer's unfinished titles. This suggests that those unfinished game may, in fact, remain unfinished.
Telltale Games was founded in 2004 by former developers for LucasArts. The company's massive success with its adventure titles, including the highly popular The Walking Dead series, changed the way players interacted with video games. With narrative-driven gameplay and stories that let players choose their own adventures, it seemed that Telltale would continue its success for years to come. It was creating games from some of the largest franchises, including Batman, Game of Thrones and Stranger Things. However, reports surfaced this year that the company was shutting down. It recently laid off 225 of its employees, leaving only about 25 people left to complete the developer's unfinished games.
Related: Telltale's Canceled Stranger Things Game Footage Leaks Online
Now, though, that small team is even smaller. According to a tweet from narrative designer Rachel Noel, Telltale has laid off even more of its employees, leaving only a handful to complete the studio's work.
Noel later clarified that there were still people left at Telltale, but not many. She did reiterate, though, that her work at the company was done.
There is no word yet on how this will affect Telltale's unfinished projects. Its Stranger Things game is dead in the water, but what will happen with the final season of The Walking Dead? Players have already purchased full season passes for a game that only has one episode currently available, and it now seems as if Telltale no longer has the staff to complete it. Even more upsetting is that the season pass is no longer available for purchase. There is no word what might happen to those who already purchased the pass, but it could prove even more troublesome if Telltale fails to deliver the full product.
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https://kotaku.com/skybound-will-finish-telltales-the-walking-dead-1829579540
Skybound Games will complete Season 4 of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, the company announced today.
Skybound Games is part of the company behind The Walking Dead comics, which Telltale’s adaptation is based on. “We’re SO happy to announce that we’ve reached a deal with Telltale Games that will allow Skybound to continue The Walking Dead: The Final Season,” the company tweeted today, promising “more details to come soon.”
According to a statement from Skybound, the company will work with people from the original The Walking Dead team to finish the series. “Skybound will work with members of the original Telltale team to finish the story in a way the fans deserve,” it said.
Earlier this week, Kotaku reported that Telltale was in talks with potential partners on a deal that would see another company hire some of its former employees to finish episodes 3 and 4 of the game’s final season, both of which were already well into development according to two sources. This appears to be the culmination of that effort, although many of the details surrounding it remain unclear.
The second episode of Telltale’s episodic series released on September 25, but the fate of the final episodes has been up in the air since Telltale announced the closure of its studio on September 21, letting go over 200 staff members without severance.
Skybound Games will complete Season 4 of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, the company announced today.
Skybound Games is part of the company behind The Walking Dead comics, which Telltale’s adaptation is based on. “We’re SO happy to announce that we’ve reached a deal with Telltale Games that will allow Skybound to continue The Walking Dead: The Final Season,” the company tweeted today, promising “more details to come soon.”
According to a statement from Skybound, the company will work with people from the original The Walking Dead team to finish the series. “Skybound will work with members of the original Telltale team to finish the story in a way the fans deserve,” it said.
Earlier this week, Kotaku reported that Telltale was in talks with potential partners on a deal that would see another company hire some of its former employees to finish episodes 3 and 4 of the game’s final season, both of which were already well into development according to two sources. This appears to be the culmination of that effort, although many of the details surrounding it remain unclear.
The second episode of Telltale’s episodic series released on September 25, but the fate of the final episodes has been up in the air since Telltale announced the closure of its studio on September 21, letting go over 200 staff members without severance.
I just brought up a 2 year old thread. I have just been playing the last seasons of TWD from telltale games. Real talk this was a great game series and its always the good game companies that end up messing up at the end with employees and staff. Sad man.ETA: I guess they revived their company
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