Telltale games is collapsing.

Telltale lays of 25% of their workforce.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/7/16619444/telltale-games-layoffs

Batman is struggling, Guardians of the Galaxy was a meh flop, Minecraft is flailing, and the newest Walking Dead was a catastrophic failure.

They never learn from their mistakes and keep adhering to a formula that was not only outdated, but flawed in the first place. Their games are buggy, they do not fix them. They keep relying on existing IPs, lacking the creativity to make an original IP. And they mass produce their games instead of making sure a game is quality. Along comes a competitor in DONTNOD (and now Deck Nine) that moves the genre forward and raises the bar, leaving Telltale in the dust. Competition has a tendency to hasten a demise for those who cannot hack it.

So their sales decline, and while steamspy may not show their total sales overall of a game, they do show a decline from game to game.

Stick a fork in them, they are done. They want to speak of competiveness (haha...Life is Strange), and putting more focus on fewer games to increase their quality (which doesn't solve their core problem), but face it. They can't. And really, they are laying people off because they aren't making enough money, simple as that. 5 years after winning GOTY they bust. I can see why, maybe The Walking Dead Season 1 wasn't good enough to base a formula around.

For how long can one survive on by making repititive point and click, QTE games? They should've diversified or still diversify now and make real time action games.

Its not the types of gamest hey are making, its that they have so many on their plate.

Nothing wrong with playing an interactive story games every once in a while. I definitely don't buy Telltale games for the gameplay, because honestly it's just a QTE game. I get them for the stories, and the interactions with that story. I totally enjoy there Batman TT games the most! People "rejoicing" that we might not get more TT games are really just being immature & silly at it. I don't like Sports games, but I wouldn't rejoice if they stopped making them either.

Their games aren't bad, but they really need to learn how to optimize them when it comes to popular brands like DC & Marvel at the same time.

But people stopped buying their games. That's the thing. And they have become arrogant and adopted a more assembly line approach, which is why people rejoice to see them falter.

As for interactive story games, we do not need Telltale. We have DONTNOD now, and while they are doing a second season of Life is Strange, they are also making another adventure game that is unannounced. Then we have Deck Nine, which was rebranded to be an interactive story developer. Their first game, Life is Strange Before The Storm, and its a hit. And they want to do more LIS titles as well, while making other games.

If the genre can survive the collapse of Sierra and LucasArts, it can survive the collapse of Telltale. And it will be in a better position to survive the collapse of Telltale, than it was back when Sierra and LucasArts went.

@davillain-: yeah I'm playing the first Batman game now, it's pretty cool. It's rare I play but from time to time when I'm taking a break from gaming, I'll play a little, sometimes while I'm eating something, whatever.(I won't lie I also like the steady achievement unlocks lol) TWD and Wolf are pretty cool too. Sounds like the company is doing what it needs to

There games are good for lay backs and popcorn chowing down, I'm a fan of DC/Marvel and I been all over on Batman and I haven't started season 2 yet, too many games to play this year.

I can tell you now, Life is Strange was a good game, yes we have DONTNOD but the thing I also like about Telltale games is the art direction for it's connection to the story of there games. I like having both options between DONTNOD & Telltale games, I would hate to see one of them go bye bye.

They are good games for the most part, the issue is they pump them out too quick with little variation. At some point you are just done with telltale because its the same thing with a different skin over and over

You have Deck Nine as well. No Telltale needed.

This is old news isn't it?

Anyway, I still enjoy Telltale's games, so I hope they don't go away. Buy they definitely need to cut back on their releases abit and thinking about quality over quantity.

Loved TWD years ago, but it got stale by season 2 and I could barely push myself to finish season 3. Literally no changes/upgrades throughout each season, seemed like a big cut and paste job.

I mean, can’t they actually make my choices matter like they claim? I could literally tap X the whole time and get the same story. Kinda defeats the purpose of it all.

Well if they cut the episodic interactive movie shit and make actual games they might sell some more.

ytrftrfy

I am dissapoing telltale dont make game of thrones season 2 and tales of bordelands season 2 and the walkind dead series going worst too bad

I'm thinking of getting the Sam & Max complete series, from what I've seen so far it looks like a fun game

I came here to say this.

Usually, a small studio uses the success of a title and invests in bigger projects.

Telltale chose to hire more staff and double down on making the same kind of game, reskinned with different IPs.

Sure, it FEELS safe.........and therefor the right decision, but then you are at the mercy of the consumers. Flood the market and you are cannibalizing your own sales.

They shouldve invested in other types of games, maybe partner with Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft to lessen the blow of new IP investment.

Damn and I just got into these games.

After tales from borderlands, went on a spending binge and bought 5 telltale games, the most expensive at about 8 dollars.

Not a fan, so it's cool.

The industry needs more original content, not licensed piggybacks.

These guys are one-hit wonders. Like the 90s.

Polygon has not idea of their numbers. laying off 25% could mean many things. It could just mean a project ended and they did not need them anymore.

Too bad, because they're way better than that shitty Dontnod.

Let's see how long Dontnod last who are also making shitty non adventure games that play themselves with graphics 2 gens out of date. Laughing at Telltale while congratulating Dontnod is staggeringly stupid.

Oh look, another shitty Life is Strange thread.

Vampyr looks good, sorry.

^ Yep, after WDS1, eh.

I love some of there games, however the more you play you realise your choices dont have much of an impact, especially in the later telltale games.

Compare to Life Is Strange your choices are heavy and really affect the game.

As everybody has said, they need to spend more time on a game, rather than working on several at a time.

If you're easily pleased, which you clearly are. Let's wait and see if they let the player get involved in their 'game' this time.

You didn't think Tales from Borderlands was good? I think that's one of their best games.

Admittedly haven't played that.

And to be fair, did enjoy Tales Of Monkey Island, pretty fun game, and decent followup to the originals. It just seems after Walking Dead S1 instead of being inspired for bigger and better they rested on their laurels. And even that game suffered from Ze Cage syndrome of removing gameplay elements in favor of being a movie.

Forgot about Tales. That's probably my favorite. They managed to make that universe work. But like Cup said, their early stuff was good, too. They've just fallen into repetition. Whether we're talking narrative or design.

All those IP's didn't come cheap.

The QTE story driven games era is over. Most people are just not interested in them. Telltale game's are very similar to one another and thats why they're struggling

Which is your fave?

I love TellTale games. Yes the gameplay is pretty much the same in all of them but i enjoy interacting with the story and seeing how it plays out.

1. TWD S1 ( I shed a tear at the end. Got me in my feels:()
2. Borderlands
3.TWD S2
4. Wolf Among Us
5. Jurassic Park (Yes they made a Jurassic Park game)

I enjoyed their games. Especially game of thrones and Walking dead. But after a while, it becomes dull.

@Netret0120: I bought on the black friday sales:

TWD: S1

TWD: S2

Batman: The telltale series

Game of Thrones (heard mixed things)

TWD: A new frontier

And XBL gets Back to the Future next month.

I'm excited to go through all of em, have not played any since Tales from Borderlands, trying to beat COD WW2 on veteran before I move onto these

@k--m--k: did you try tales from borderlands?

That game is beyond underrated

@FLOPPAGE_50: yes I did and it was good, but I never played borderlands games so I had no knowledge about the characters, their history, or the world.

Layoffs happen, it's a sad part of the game development process. If it had been 50%, I might agreed with the collapsing notion, but not 25%

I've played a few, and they are basically all the same. At least the same "engine" and general structure, with a different story.

They aren't painful to play, they are short and have zero difficulty. I think the 1st Walking Dead was the first one for me. As I was an early Waking Dead Nut, I thought the Telltale adaptation was fantastic. But after playing a few, you start wondering why they haven't advanced their games at all. I'd love a story driven game with just a little more freedom and fluidity of gameplay, rather than something that feels like 1990's tank controls with some touch/QTE's thrown in.

I'm sure many people that have bought multiple of their games end up feeling the same way. Adapt or die... they haven't advanced their game or engine at all...sooo...

Welp, guess we can expect the same buggy engine to stay in their games.

You aren't getting it, are you?

Vampyr looks like the true successor to Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, and if previews are anything to go by, than Vampyr will have far more player agency than Bloodlines to where how you play the game impacts the story and the setting.

But their sales are pretty much down. Guardians of the Galaxy only has 50,000 owners on Steam. That's how far they have fallen.

What am I not getting? I've seen the previews too and the graphics look dated as **** (again) but that's more forgivable than a game that plays itself and there is no hint at all that Vampyr will be anywhere even vaguely close to Bloodlines which is classic and iconic and ALL about the gameplay i.e. the fucking opposite to Dontnod games.

Bloodlines wasn't all about nudging a controller to move an extremely dodgy teen soap opera 'story' forward I'll grant you that. I guess Vampyr will up the stakes in that respect, ha, see what I did there.

I have bought 3 of their games. I enjoyed them but each had their flaws; especially Jurassic Park. The story was good though.

Vampyr is a full blown RPG with Bloodborne like combat, and where you gain XP by not killing enemies, but by sucking blood from the citizens. So the more you level up, the more the areas decline and the darker the story and the ending. Its very much an immersive sim RPG that Bloodlines in the end, failed to be.

Its nothing like Life is Strange outside of the conversation system.

And really, Bloodlines still has a lot of flaws despite its cult status.

@uninspiredcup:

I recommend it, and I say that as someone who has been critical of Telltale's one-size-fits-all gimmick.

The energy, humour and characters are vastly different to anything I've played.

I agree that Tales of Monkey Island is so much fun. Although I do have to wonder why they never bothered with a second season.

Full blown RPG? I haven't even seen evidence of a half assed RPG from trailers and preview material but hey, we'll wait and see. Bloodborne like combat? lmao! Calm yourself man, Bloodborne is the very pinnacle of RPG combat and Bloodlines is masterful in ways you clearly didn't appreciate to dismiss it so but if you are expecting anything close to the level of either game from a team that haven't even produced anything vaguely resembling an ACTUAL videogame you are setting yourself up for one hell of a fall.

Manage those expectations dude, you're on a hiding to nothing. How about a 'wait and see' approach and if they actually produce a game this time you can see it as a huge bonus?

Must've creamed your shill pants when you saw that headline.

I am a fan of Bloodlines, but it has its flaws. Sorry, but the fact is that the game was rushed out the door and the level design and the quest design suffers from it, especially near the end. its not a masterpiece, it was a game that modders saved because the developers had things dummied in, but they could not fix everything. You could not play how you wanted in the end and that's its biggest failing.

Bloodlines also doesn't have much of a reactive world that Vampyr will have. What part of this do you not get? Vampyr is more of an immersive sim closer to Deus Ex and Dishonored than Bloodlines was. Unlike Bloodlines, you can finish the game without killing anyone.

And even if Vampyr were to fail, it doesn't change that DONTNOD still is on top of the adventure game genre right now.