Telltale, developers of the Game of Thrones videogame series, hit with major layoffs

Outside of some cell phone games here and there, Game of Thrones hasn’t really had a hit videogame. That’s kind of odd, honestly. The series has swords and dragons and sprawl; you’d figure developers would be clamoring to make a splashy videogame adaptation from a hit property, but no one seems able to crack the code.

California-based developer Telltale has come the closest. They’re known for making episodic adventure games based on series like Batman and The Walking Dead. Their Game of Thrones series, which was published over a period of two years across six episodes, is heavy on dialog trees and making difficult choices, rather than on action. It fit the tone of the show well, and showed off Telltale’s flair for storytelling.

And it’s probably over. Although the final episode, “The Ice Dragon,” concluded with a lot of loose ends and a second “season” was promised, that season had since been put “on hold.” Now, Gamespot reports that the company has laid off a quarter of its work force — 90 people — as part of a “comprehensive company restructuring.”

“Our industry has shifted in tremendous ways over the past few years,” said CEO Pete Hawley. “The realities of the environment we face moving forward demand we evolve, as well, reorienting our organization with a focus on delivering fewer, better games with a smaller team.” I’m pretty sure that’s corporate-speak for “We’re broke,” but I don’t work there.

The company said that the projects it has already announced won’t be affected, but even though it technically did announce season 2 of its Game of Thrones series shortly after season 1 wrapped up, that was under a different CEO, and before the new episodes were put on hold. Basically, the outlook is dim.

Next: Ommegang’s “Winter is Here” ale now on store shelves

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