Earlier today, a surprise announcement sent ripples through the gaming industry - the fabled developer Telltale Games was being brought back from the dead, and would begin creating video games once more, albeit with a restricted license library and a new management team. While there's reason to be at least somewhat optimistic that the combination of past pedigree and the licenses - Wolf Among Us and Batman standing out as the most exciting - could help launch this new look at an old favorite back into discussion, fans should be extremely cautious.
While it's easy to get excited about the potential of a studio with a rich and beloved history within the industry, there are a lot of warning signs. Let's start with the obvious recent history of the studio before it closed. Telltale Games' earlier iteration is still embroiled in a report about Telltale Games reopening only confirms that Wolf Among Us and Batman will be options, while ruling out Stranger Things, which is back with Netflix, and The Walking Dead, which is now having games made by Skybound. Right now, there's really nothing in the pipeline for the new Telltale.
That's the information based on the studio's last months before closure. Now, the new set-up seems shaky at best. Jamie Ottilie, one of the new bosses, has most of their experience tied up in developing mobile games - not exactly the pedigree fans have become used to when it comes to Telltale Games, and not a skillset that seems as though it would transition into point-and-click narrative adventures particularly easily. Brian Waddle, the other half of the new management, sounds as though most of his experience in the games industry comes from running sales and marketing on the Havok game engine. While it's clear both parties are experienced in the industry at large, neither of them have backgrounds that sound like smooth transfers to the type of games Telltale was known for.
There's also a rather concerning bit in the original Telltale Games studio layoffs means many of the staff likely found roles elsewhere, too.
Essentially, what this means is that Telltale Games is coming back, but without anything that actually made it Telltale Games. Licenses and the studio name won't translate to success on their own - that was thanks to the hard work of the developers who sunk months or years of their lives into making some of the best narrative games of this generation. While it's possible that the new Telltale Games has the best intentions in mind for its gaming projects, it's also possible some investors saw an opportunity to cash in on a name that means a lot to many people in the video game community - so be wary when monitoring what the new Telltale Games is telling people in months about its pedigree, expertise, and future plans.
Source: Polygon