Telltale Games is back (?)
Telltale Games, which essentially shut down in September last year, is returning under the new management. The studio’s assets were bought by a company called LCG Entertainment.
The Wolf Among Us
The revived studio is headed by Jamie Ottilie and Brian Waddle. Ottilie, founder and CEO of Galaxy Pest Control, has a strong background in mobile games. Waddle used to run sales and marketing for the Havok game engine.
Polygon found out that the new Telltale has the rights for The Wolf Among Us and Batman licenses, meaning that both series might be returning at some point with new seasons.
“We’re still evaluating, but we definitely want to continue some of the stories,” said Ottilie. This, however, does not include The Walking Dead as the license is owned by Skybound. A Stranger Things title that Telltale planned to develop will not be happening either, since the rights are now back with Netflix.
No information is available about Borderlands, Game of Thrones, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Minecraft franchises. In addition to the existing series, the team will also launch some new IP.
The revived studio will operate from Malibu, California. The plan for it is to stay small over the next six months. Tools, technology and design will be developed in-house. Animation and motion capture will be outsourced. Some original Telltale employees might return in freelance roles and possibly transition to full-time in the future.
The new Telltale will continue with the familiar episodic model, but the pacing is likely to change. “I like the idea of binge watching,” said Ottilie.
Commenting on the deal, Ottilie added: “This is a viable business that went away due to market conditions and some scale choices [Telltale’s previous management] made. I like games that tell stories and I think our industry should have a company that specializes in narrative-driven games.”
Telltale’s future games will be distributed by the publisher Athlon Games, which is a partner in the deal. Among other investors are Chris Kingsley (Rebellion), Lyle Hall (Heavy Iron Studios), Tobias Sjögren (formerly of Starbreeze).
Six months of difficult negotiations preceeded the deal. The price has not been disclosed.
Anyway, sounds like exciting news. Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, however, cautions that the celebration might be premature.
Lots of excitement this morning over headlines saying that Telltale Games is back, but the reality is that some people who didn't actually work at Telltale Games have bought the rights to a name. Brands don't make video games https://t.co/D7xiotpvtB
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) 28 августа 2019 г.
God, if all of Kotaku’s staff were laid off and then two random people bought the brand a year later, offered us freelance gigs, and got press hype like “Kotaku is back!” I’d be so fucking furious – my sympathies to all the former Telltale employees who have to deal with this
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) 28 августа 2019 г.
