Telltale Games, the studio behind such titles as The Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us, recently laid off around 90% of its staff. The studio will soon close down, and all but one current project has been cancelled. A small remaining team will finish that one project before the studio completely closes. In the wake of the sudden collapse, which left hundreds of developers unemployed without severance pay, a number of other studios have been offering opportunities. In fact, Santa Monica Studios is one such company now seeking to hire former Telltale developers.
Santa Monica Studios Calls for Former Telltale Developers
Santa Monica Studios posted a message of commiseration towards the laid-off Telltale developers two days ago; “We’re incredibly sad to hear about the reported employee impact at Telltale,” the Tweet reads; “We’re actively hiring and would love to connect. Storytellers, creatives, devs of all disciplines wanted.”
We’re incredibly sad to hear about the reported employee impact at Telltale. We’re actively hiring and would love to connect. Storytellers, creatives, devs of all disciplines wanted. Email us direct [email protected] https://t.co/aAGbqZEz0s
— Santa Monica Studio (@SonySantaMonica) September 21, 2018
Over the years, Telltale Games has had a reputation as one of the best developers of story-based, choice-driven games. Certainly, it makes perfect sense for a studio like Santa Monica Studios to reach out now; their own most recent title, God of War, was universally praised for the quality of its writing and story. The CEO of Telltale Games, Pete Hawley, explained what happened in a public statement; “It’s been an incredibly difficult year for Telltale as we worked to set the company on a new course,” he says.
“Unfortunately, we ran out of time trying to get there. We released some of our best content this year and received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, but ultimately, that did not translate to sales. With a heavy heart, we watch our friends leave today to spread our brand of storytelling across the games industry.”
Given the reputation of Telltale Games, it seems likely that many of its developers will soon find employment with other studios. Certainly, many studios, including Santa Monica Studios, will no doubt be happy to recruit Telltale Games alumni.