With the fall of Telltale Games comes the end of a wonderful storytelling era. First established in 2004, the team has continually wowed the community with their impressive, riveting and twist-riddled narratives that later served as an interesting, unconventional approach to the well-worn genre of point-and-click gameplay. Through titles like Tales from the Borderlands, The Wolf Among Us, and especially The Walking Dead series, they have indubitably left an indelible mark on the gaming industry.
It’s, thus, very unfortunate that the studio’s run has to be brought to an abrupt stop. Following a massive layoff of their staff at the end of September, there was still lingering hope that a core team would be retained to keep production going. Telltale Games did give assertions of the above, but the dream eventually fizzled out a few days later, where the members were laid off as well.
Amidst the cocktail of high-strung emotions, one important concern remained: With the ending vestiges of Clementine’s story already unfolding in the starting episodes of The Walking Dead: Final Season, what’s to become of the game? Will it be abandoned? How about the closure that fans deserve? As it stands, Telltale Games has passed the baton over to Skybound Games – the company of Robert Kirkman, who is the creator of the original The Walking Dead series.
We’re SO happy to announce that we’ve reached a deal with @telltalegames that will allow Skybound to continue #TheWalkingDead: The Final Season! Let’s wrap up Clem’s story right! More details to come soon. pic.twitter.com/ShyREw65iq
— Skybound Games (@skyboundgames) October 7, 2018
Taking to Twitter, the team expressed excitement over the move, teasing that “more details (are) to come soon”. Speaking to Variety saw their keen interest in working with the original members of The Walking Dead team, although “nothing has yet been finalised” – a quote that goes against Skybound’s statement to IGN, in which the former is said to be “work(ing) with members of the original Telltale team to finish the story in a way the fans deserve”.
Kirkman later elaborated upon the news at New York Comic Con 2018, telling fans of their successful negotiation with Telltale Games to bring the game to completion at a The Walking Dead panel:
Just stay tuned. Everybody involved is trying to make sure Clementine’s story is told. It’s a very unfortunate situation, but hopefully we will come out of it in some kind of positive way. I am not concerned at the moment with having to tell the story in comic book form because I’m hoping that the games will eventually be completed.
It’d be interesting to see how Clementine’s journey will blend into and adapt to the style and story preferences of a new studio. Naturally, enthusiasts are all hoping for the best, but the fact that The Walking Dead‘s best girl is still getting her story out there is enough of a reason to celebrate; now, it’s just a matter of topping everything off with a nice finishing touch – or as nice as a half-completed story can get, at least.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
