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Skybound Games has partnered with Epic Games to bring Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season exclusively to PC via the Epic Games store.
While season pass purchases already made via other digital platforms like Steam will be honoured, new PC players will only be able to pick up the game via Epic’s new Epic Games Store. The third episode of Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Broken Toys, is set to release on January 15th, 2019.
After the collapse of Telltale Games, Robert Kirkman’s company Skybound Games stepped in with the ambition for Clementine’s final story to be finished by a team "staffed 100% by former Telltale staff". Around the same time, Telltale games began disappearing from the Steam storefront.
"The team at Epic owns a major chapter in the history of the game industry," said president of interactive Dan Murray and Skybound Games CEO Ian Howe in a joint statement. "We’re excited to work together on their latest trans-formative event with the launch of the Epic Games Store. Epic stepped up to the plate immediately to work with us in order to bring the original team back together and ensure fans will receive the completed season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season."
Telltale Games laid off the majority of its staff in a ‘majority studio closure’ back in September. 25 employees remained at the company, though most projects have reportedly – understandably – been cancelled, and subsequent reports suggest even the skeleton crew have now been let go. The layoffs were confirmed via a tweet on the official Telltale Games account, blaming a year ‘marked by insurmountable challenges’ for the decision.
A former Telltale Games employee subsequently launched a class action lawsuit against the company, claiming it violated California’s WARN Act in not giving those fired at least 60 days notice before termination. The case was brought by Vernie Roberts, Jr. and is on behalf of all those impacted by Telltale’s redundancies. Telltale is alleged to have failed to adhere to a number of its financial commitments to employees, including salaries, bonuses, commissions, holiday pay and more for the 60 days following terminations.
