IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
https://kotaku.com/telltale-is-looking-for-another-company-to-hire-its-sta-1829503254
The deal is more nuanced than originally assumed, however, according to two people with knowledge of ongoing discussions, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to talk about the negotiations. They characterized the deal taking shape as Telltale handing off the final two episodes to a separate company which would hire former Telltale employees on a contract basis to finish the game. It would be that company’s name on the paychecks, one said, and not, both claimed, a case of Telltale getting additional funds and spending it on development rather than paying severance to recently laid off employees.
Those two people also said that episode three of The Walking Dead’s final season is essentially finished. In fact, they said, it was scheduled for a ratings review, which traditionally happens in the final stages of a game’s development prior to being sent for platform certification and to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, on the very day the mass layoffs occurred. All it still needed was a couple weeks of polish.
Episode four was also on its way, those people said, with a first round of voice work for the main characters already recorded and a first review of a playable version planned for sometime around the end of September. “The script was strong and the whole team was excited about how we were finishing out Clem’s story,” one former developer told Kotaku.
Episode three was originally planned to release on November 16, and episode four on December 18.
As for who exactly might return to finish the series, one former developer told Kotaku it would ideally be the entire original team but could also be as few as would be absolutely required to get the remaining episodes out the door. As negotiations drag on, however, it’s unclear who will still be available as ex-employees race to find new jobs. Many of those who were laid off last month, who had no warning and did not receive any form of severance payment, don’t have the luxury of sitting around waiting to see if they eventually get a phone call.
The deal is more nuanced than originally assumed, however, according to two people with knowledge of ongoing discussions, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to talk about the negotiations. They characterized the deal taking shape as Telltale handing off the final two episodes to a separate company which would hire former Telltale employees on a contract basis to finish the game. It would be that company’s name on the paychecks, one said, and not, both claimed, a case of Telltale getting additional funds and spending it on development rather than paying severance to recently laid off employees.
Those two people also said that episode three of The Walking Dead’s final season is essentially finished. In fact, they said, it was scheduled for a ratings review, which traditionally happens in the final stages of a game’s development prior to being sent for platform certification and to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, on the very day the mass layoffs occurred. All it still needed was a couple weeks of polish.
Episode four was also on its way, those people said, with a first round of voice work for the main characters already recorded and a first review of a playable version planned for sometime around the end of September. “The script was strong and the whole team was excited about how we were finishing out Clem’s story,” one former developer told Kotaku.
Episode three was originally planned to release on November 16, and episode four on December 18.
As for who exactly might return to finish the series, one former developer told Kotaku it would ideally be the entire original team but could also be as few as would be absolutely required to get the remaining episodes out the door. As negotiations drag on, however, it’s unclear who will still be available as ex-employees race to find new jobs. Many of those who were laid off last month, who had no warning and did not receive any form of severance payment, don’t have the luxury of sitting around waiting to see if they eventually get a phone call.