Telltale Games, the developer of episodic adventure games based on popular franchises like "Batman," The Walking Dead," and "Game of Thrones," has laid off 25 percent of its workforce as part of a comprehensive restructuring.
The laid off staff amounted to 90 people from different divisions in the company. According to a press release from the company, the decision will allow the company to move toward being "more competitive as a developer and publisher of groundbreaking story-driven gaming experiences with an emphasis on high quality in the years ahead."
"Our industry has shifted in tremendous ways over the past few years," said company Chief Executive Officer Pete Hawley. "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."
Hawley acknowledged the staff's contribution to the company and added that the decision did not reflect the quality of their work or their dedication to the craft.
Over the years, Telltale Games has received criticism for the lack of innovation behind its game design and its continued use of aging technology in its games. The restructuring will address this, as Telltale Games said it will use the changes in the company as an "opportunity to move internal development over to more proven technologies that will fast-track innovation in its core products as it works with new partners to bring its games to new audiences."
The news of the lay-off came as the company released the fifth episode of "Guardians of the Galaxy," and the fourth episode of "Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two."
The company clarified that the upcoming projects that it has announced will not be affected by the restructuring. Some future titles of the developer include the final season of "The Walking Dead" and the second season of "The Wolf Among Us."
