Telltale Games has raised $8 million in funding for current and future storytelling projects such as The Expanse: A Telltale Series and The Wolf Among Us 2. In 2018, the firm unexpectedly shut down and filed for bankruptcy, and several former Telltale workers quickly established a new game studio. Fortunately, LCG Entertainment purchased many of the company’s assets and relaunched Telltale Games in August 2019.
Since then, the company has thrived, focusing in the distinct narrative and graphical style that drew the attention of players and reviewers alike with the release of The Walking Dead in 2012. Telltale Software has just revealed The Expanse, an episodic narrative being co-developed with Deck Nine Games and set to arrive this summer, as well as The Wolf Among Us 2, the long-awaited sequel to 2013’s award-winning hit about a sheriff investigating a string of murders.
Unsurprisingly, one of the key problems for many development studios is acquiring project finance. Telltale Games recently revealed that it has obtained $8 million in investment from Hiro Capital and Skybound Entertainment, with whom it has worked for many years. Hiro Capital is an investment business that promotes esports and video game development; Skybound Entertainment is the creator of The Walking Dead comics and has collaborated with Telltale since 2012.
Telltale was able to complete the final two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season following the company’s demise thanks to the support of Skybound. Skybound also released The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series, a collection of all four seasons of the franchise, in September 2019, following the relaunch of Telltale by LCG Entertainment. Since then, Skybound has been Telltale’s publisher.
When Telltale first announced its closure, practically everyone was taken aback. Assets were liquidated, employees were let go with no notice or severance pay, and numerous Telltale Games titles were removed from Steam, GOG, and other digital stores. In an interview with Variety at the time, Skybound President Dan Murray justified his company’s intervention: “It’s hard developing games… This is a business created by people… We’re doing everything we can to work with the original employees and facilitate a smooth transition.”
Skybound wasn’t the only firm that reacted passionately to Telltale’s untimely collapse, a company that provided a distinctive aesthetic not found anywhere in the industry. A number of corporations showed an interest in assisting to complete at least the final two episodes of The Walking Dead. People are buzzing with suggestions for Telltale’s next project now that the firm is back in full gear and working on two new titles. Among prospective project ideas, everything from a continuation of the Firefly story to a rebirth of Telltale’s aborted Stranger Things game has been offered.
