Oh boy another big Telltale Games New Story!
variety.com/2018/gaming/features/netflix-telltale-stranger-things-deal-1202855424/Here are the highlights:
-Reiterating once again that Bruner was a hostile boss who fostered bad ideas
-The idea was floated within Telltale almost as soon as Stranger Things premiered in mid-2016 that it'd be a good fit for the studio, but Bruner shot the idea down, quute:
"“They thought it was just a bunch of kids on bikes,” a source close to Telltale who wishes to remain anonymous tells Variety. “They thought it was a terrible idea.”"
-A series based on Black Mirror may be being talked about at Telltale
-Sources within Telltale say that Game of Thrones would've been a bigger success if they'd incorporated it with the HBO Now App, but leadership(i.e. Bruner) didn't see the potential, and the integration wouldn't have worked with the Telltale Tool anyway
-The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Wolf Among Us were the last home-runs for Telltale
-What a source had to say about the lack of creativity under Bruner:
"“They shot down a lot of very clear slam dunk ideas,” one source says. “They had a very narrow idea of what Telltale projects should be. They often seemed to miss why people liked the games.”"
-Minecraft Storymode: Season Two, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Batman: The Enemy Within are some of the worst performing seasons the studio has launched(even worse than that Wallace & Gromit game)
-The Super Show was Bruner's pet project, and with him gone it seems very likely that the Super Show will stay dead. It's uncertain if the original IP that was going to be the premiere of the format is still being worked on or not.
-Publishing 7 Days to Die was one of the most successful projects for the studio, up there with TWDS1. Publishing is on hold, however, until they are in a more stable position
-Pete Hawley, Telltale's current CEO, is seen as a savior to the studio by its board of directors. He was sought after as a fixer, but unlike most "fixers", this is not a temporary job for him, he plans on staying on as Telltale's CEO for the foreseeable future.
-The Wolf Among Us 2 was almost cut by Hawley as a means of cutting costs, but fan enthusiasm and internal support for creative teams saved the project.
-The Walking Dead: The Final Season, will be the last Telltale season to use the Telltale Tool. All future seasons will be made with Unity for now.
-Stranger Things is slated to be the first Telltale project to use the Unity engine, which suggests it will premiere before The Wolf Among Us 2.
-According to a source, under Hawley the team has realinged and are focusing on making sure that TWDS4 is a peak moment for the studio.
-According to Telltale board member Pete Levin, "The reaction from the marketplace around the Netflix partnership with respect to ‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ was overwhelmingly positive. The trailer for ‘The Walking Dead Season 4’ is receiving the greatest accolades and level of interest for the title…ever. Breaking ground and telling fantastic stories is what Telltale Games has been known for… they are very much back on track in both arenas."
So, yeah, sounds like hopefully they're on the rebound.