Developers have responded with support and job advertisements in the wake of the sudden closure of Telltale Games.
The California-based studio laid off roughly 225 employees at the end of last week, ahead of likely studio closure. Only a 25-person skeleton crew remains to tidy up remaining projects.
With developers made redundant without prior warning or severance pay, many in the industry have been attempting to help former staff find new jobs as quickly as possible.
Online, the hashtag #telltalejobs is full of offers from studios around the globe encouraging former Telltale staff to get in touch. Former Telltale developers may also be interested in having a look at our own industry jobs board.
#TelltaleJobs folks -- meet us Monday 9/24 on the patio at BJ’s in San Rafael starting at 4:30PM. Let's talk about job opportunities over some drinks & food, our treat. https://t.co/RAOWQU3Z1o #UbiSF
— Ubisoft SF (@UbisoftStudioSF) September 21, 2018
It sucks to hear the news about the layoffs at @TelltaleGames. We are always looking for talented people over at https://t.co/qnL4dmdY3y, so please reach out, we would love to help #telltalejobs
— PLAYERUNKNOWN (@PLAYERUNKNOWN) September 21, 2018
There’s a #TelltaleJobs hashtag! If you are looking for talented folks who do amazing work, please use it to find those people or share job listings with them. (Also we are always hiring here! One million job postings at https://t.co/ndn0kwpz28!)
— Jake Rodkin (@ja2ke) September 21, 2018
A further, curated range of openings can be found on a #gamedevjobs list here.
Meanwhile, a “Meet the Dev” job fair event to connect former employees with local studios is planned for the 27th September at the Telltale office in San Rafael, CA. An application form for studios interested in attending is available here.
Bad ending
Telltale Games co-founder and former CEO Kevin Bruner has issued a statement expressing sorrow at the redundancies, saying he was “mostly saddened for the people who are losing their jobs".
His replacement Pete Hawley claimed it had been a rough year for the company and that it had simply run out of time.
“We released some of our best content this year and received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, but ultimately, that did not translate to sales," he said.
Worker rights advocacy group Game Workers Unite had a far more scathing response to the redundancies, laying the blame at “incompetent” and “exploitative” management.
