Camina Drummer has a few problems: Her spaceship is running out of fuel. Her medic is hiding a dark secret. And there's an asteroid headed their way. But that's just another day on The Artemis. In The Expanse: A Telltale Series, Drummer's problems are your problems. If you know her from the television show of the same name, you know she's strong-willed and loyal, with the kind of fierce temperament suited to space exploration. But here, in Telltale's first new game in five years, you get to make the decisions. And your crew—and the game—is paying attention. Episodic narratives are making a comeback. With them returns a style of game that is uniquely suited both to the video game medium and our present moment.

Today's release is the first of five to be rolled out over the next two months. The planned schedule is very much in line with prestige TV: Each episode will be between sixty and ninety minutes, and by the end you'll have witnessed a full narrative arc for this "eccentric crew," as Game Director Stephan Frost describes Drummer and her cohorts. But what makes episodic games so exciting and different from episodic television is the obvious fact that you don't just get one narrative, of course. You get yours, as you decide how and when to make certain decisions, with each plotline breaking off down multiple paths and crisscrossing across many story nodes. Sometimes this means you get to take down the leader of a doomsday cult with either force or subterfuge, as in HITMAN: World of Assassination; sometimes this means running into a burning building and risking the life of a trusted friend who runs in after you, as in The Walking Dead: Michonne.

Telltale, the leading narrative game development studio and publisher, announced today that its upcoming episodic narrative adventure game, The Expanse: A Telltale Series, has been named an Official Selection for the 22nd Annual Tribeca Festival. Developed in conjunction with award-winning studio Deck Nine Games, The Expanse: A Telltale Series marks the first new Telltale title released since the company's resurrection.

Telltale and Deck Nine will premiere all-new gameplay during the New York City-based festival, which runs June 7-18, and during the adjacent Digital Tribeca Festival Game showcase on June 9th. The Tribeca Festival is also hosting an in-person panel with the game's development team on Saturday, June 10 at 4:30 PM ET. The Expanse: A Telltale Series will be available for hands-on play for ticket holders throughout the event and, as an Official Selection, the game is eligible for the 2023 Tribeca Festival Game Award.

Today, 2K and Gearbox Software announced that New Tales from the Borderlands, a new standalone, choice-based interactive narrative adventure set in the Borderlands universe, will be available worldwide on October 21, 2022. Beginning today, consumers can pre-order on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation 4 (PS4), Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

New Tales from the Borderlands immerses players in a deep and original story full of unexpected turns, heartwarming emotion, and classic Borderlands humor. Within the perpetually war-torn metropolis of Promethea, players will decide the fates of three underdogs out to make mayhem their business, with altruistic scientist Anu, her ambitious "streetwise" brother Octavio, and the fierce, frogurt-flinging Fran.

Skybound Games, who have acquired rights to develop and finish Telltale Games' The Walking Dead game series, have announced the release date for their first in-house episode in the game series. Titled "Broken Toys", the third episode in the season of four will showcase Skybound's ability to execute on the tale started and guided by Telltale. It won't be the time to finally finish our companionship with Clementine, but the second-to-last step will be available come January 15th.

It seems we've reached a final chapter (with two parts still missing) from the odyssey of The Walking Dead's final season. Born of a troubled studio with decreasing revenue even as it increased its staff and IPs, Telltale games has given the reins to the final two episodes in the final season to Skybound Games, a division of Skybound Entertainment - helmed by none other than Robert Kirkman, the original creator of the The Walking Dead franchise.

Skybound Games announced the news via Twitter, right after word of Telltale Games' severance with almost all remaining employees - without any sort of actual severance, as is being reported by numerous outlets. At least Clementine's story will get to a conclusion of sorts - whether proper or as envisioned by the original studio remains to be seen - and perhaps we'll never know. However, Skybound Games has more of a reason to deliver than any other studio that could pick up the game, and as it is, that's more than anyone expected. I'm crying for the second season of The Wolf Among Us, though, titled "The One that Will Never Be".

When news broke late last week on Telltale Games entering majority closure, many feared that the final season of The Walking Dead game series would be cancelled without a resolution to Clementine's story. News then came out as to how the now-former employees of the studio were not being given severance pay and had to go about without compensation for a lot of their time on this game, and others. In retrospect, there were definitely larger issues to tackle first as many of their peers in the industry pointed out- especially when those former employees have filed a class action lawsuit in a federal court citing violation of labor laws.

It was interesting then that Telltale announced on Twitter that they were actively working to wrap up the pending two episodes for the season, with episode 2 having being released a few hours prior to when this post goes up. There are apparently multiple outside partners willing to help out, and they hope to get episodes 3 and 4 out "in some form". There are no promises or guarantees made, but between long-term fans wanting them to make the game season complete and others admonishing them for prioritizing this over pending payment of employees, Telltale Games is caught between a rock and a hard place. Whatever happens in the future, well, let's just say that we will all remember that.

In what will likely hit more than a few PC gamers hard, Telltale Games- the studio behind The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales From The Borderlands and more- will be closing. The studio currently maintains only a skeleton crew of 25 out of what once was an estimated 250 employees at peak. Sadly, the employees that were let go received no severance pay, while those remaining have been tasked with completing a single final project. Reports as to the final project are conflicting, but it appears to be the Minecraft Story Mode project for Netflix. Either way, it is the studio's last gasp as it attempts to fulfill various obligations. Meanwhile, projects like The Walking Dead final season, The Wolf Among Us 2 and others have been outright canceled.

With the whirlwind of activity surrounding the closure is still ongoing, the hashtag #TelltaleJobs on Twitter has currently begun to take off with offers from various studios letting former Telltale staff know they should apply. These studios include, but are not limited to ZeniMax Online Studios, Sony Santa Monica, PUBG corp, Gearbox and many more. While Telltale Games have been experiencing some troubles over the last year or so, its closing was still unexpected. More pressing is, what happens next for those that purchased the entire final season of The Walking Dead- with only one episode out, there is no word yet on what will happen to those that purchased it.

Update:One of the major reasons behind the closure can likely be traced to falling sales, likely leaving the company in a tough position.

The present is likely a result of Telltale Games' vertiginous rise as a developer of single-player experiences - and their precipitous fall afterwards. As telltale Games has had to restructure its studio team by laying off some 25% of its workforce not that long ago, its seems the company has decided to cut its losses on a tool that arguably made their name and fame: their in-house engine.

Development costs have only gone up as the need for more detailed animations and assets has increased developers' graphics development costs, and Telltale had been working with an engine it had been continually building upon since 2005. however, the fact remains that the engine was showing its age - and gripping its teeth at performance - for the last few games the studio developed. In the end, the studio must have decided that in the face of the reduced workforce, games development and engine engineering were too much at the same time, and naturally decided to cut the latter.

Telltale Games has hit on hard times lately, following on the restructuring of its staff, which saw some 90 staff members (25% of the studios' workforce) being cut. It may be a case of too fast a growth, with the company branching out in numerous ways, with numerous franchises - with quality arguably having suffered in the process. But the studio is able to deliver memorable, fantastic single-player, narrative-driven experiences, even if they've sometimes stretched a little far off the perfect mark. The first and second season of the studios' take on The Walking Dead series, however, was dead-on.

Telltale has now announced that they'll be giving gamers the chance to "finish Clementine's story". I don't know if I want to know how literal that sentence may be, however; I still remember all the feels from Lee Everett. The company seems to have its thematic circles well though-off, though, and the teaser image is enough to give e some semblance of confidence in their delivery of the game. The axe, the lighting, the thematic resonance in these two teasers is a beautiful thing. here's hoping they hide similarly well-crafted stories. The Walking Dead - The Final Season will be available later this year for gamers in the usual platforms.

Telltale Games, best known for its episodic series of videogames focused on single-player experiences, has announced a restructuring within its organization. The move, which aims to "make the company more competitive as a developer and publisher of groundbreaking story-driven gaming experiences with an emphasis on high quality in the years ahead," will see the laying off of 90 staff members (around 25% of its workforce,) effective immediately. Luckily for us gamers, it appears that the restructuring won't affect any previously announced projects, which include a second season for breakout game The Wolf Among Us.

"Our industry has shifted in tremendous ways over the past few years. 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," said Telltale Games CEO Pete Hawley. "I'd like to express our respect for all the contributions that these incredibly talented artists, storytellers and more have made to this company, and that this decision is in no way a reflection on the quality or dedication of their work, " he added. "We have made available our full career assistance services to help our affected colleagues and friends - and their families - navigate this difficult transition as quickly as possible."