On September 21, 2018, Telltale Games abruptly laid off around 250 employees, even though the company was in the midst of The Walking Dead: The Final Season. When it did so, it noted that 25 people would be staying on to “fulfill the company’s obligations to its board and partners.” Now, another Telltale Games employee that was a part of that group of 25 has come forward to reveal her team has been fired.
The employee is Rachel Noel, a Telltale Games Narrative Designer, who noted on September 23, 2018 on Twitter that she was a part of the 25-person skeleton crew remaining at Telltale Games. At the time, Noel said, “I can’t confirm anything and please remember I don’t speak for Telltale, but through good fortune or sheer dumb luck I’m one of the remaining skeleton crew at the company. I’ve seen a lot of people unsure of what that means for the company and if we’re staying open. We’re not.”
On October 4, 2018, Noel confirmed via the following tweet that she and her team had been fired. She did not note the size of her team, only that they had been laid off. In addition, Noel clarified, “There are still good people at the company. MY team is done.”
Heeeeyyyy remember how there was going to be a skeleton crew staying on for a while and I was part of it? Nah, jk, we all just got laid off, too.
— Retchel Necronoelicon (@anameformyself) October 4, 2018
As a reminder, following the Telltale Games announcement, The Walking Dead: The Final Season was canceled. Only the first two episodes of the four episode game were released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game has since been delisted at various retailers.
