God of War’s Director Responds to Telltale Games’s Walking Dead Status Update After Staff Loss
Ben Gibson
2 min read
After Telltale Games announced it was dismissing a number of its staff, many fans of the company were anxious about the status of its current and future projects. In particular, gamers wanted to know about the future of the much loved Walking Dead franchise, which is currently part-way through its final season. Players are no doubt hoping for a satisfying conclusion to the game, particularly as The Final Season has to be purchased as a unit, and episodes can’t be bought individually. In a tweet posted on Monday, Telltale Games gave an update on the situation:
“Hi everyone, we have a Walking Dead update for you. Multiple potential partners have stepped forward to express interest in helping to see The Final Season through to completion. While we can’t make any promises today, we are actively working towards a solution that will allow episodes 3 and 4 to be completed and released in some form. In the meantime, episode 2 will release tomorrow across all platforms as planned. We hope to have answers for your other questions soon.”
Episode 2 of The Final Season, dubbed “Suffer the Children” released on the 25th September across multiple platforms. Walking Dead fans would undoubtedly have been happy to hear that The Final Season may yet be completed, especially considering the fates of other Telltale Games’s projects, such as The Wolf Among Us and Game of Thrones are still up in the air (although with such large layoffs and no promises being made for episodes 3 and 4 of the Walking Dead, it’s unlikely either will see a further installment). However, a number of people responded to the tweet expressing concern for the former staff members, and whether they would receive severance payments. One notable tweet came from God of War Director Cory Barlog:
I would hope this means that you will first pay your entire team their severance, and then proceed to finish the final episodes. I would be fine waiting however long it took to ensure we first treated those who worked so hard with the humanity and respect they deserve.❤️
— Cory Balrog 🎮 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈#CREATE (@corybarlog) September 25, 2018
Barlog is most known for his work on the most recent God of War title, which released to critical acclaim earlier in the year. He is a popular figure in the gaming community due to the success of the latest God of War title, and also due to his appearance in a viral video in which he broke town in tears after first seeing the game’s positive reception. Telltale Games have yet to issue a response to the concerns raised by players about the former staff, but the addition of Barlog’s tweet may prompt a response from the company.
