Telltale Games has postponed The Wolf Among Us 2: A Telltale Series to “out of 2023” from its previously planned 2023 release window. It will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC through the Epic Games Store.
When asked if this means the game will be released in 2024, a Telltale Games representative said he could only confirm that the game’s release date was “not in 2023.” While the studio is aiming for 2024, it has yet to set a new release date or schedule and is hesitant to give a release window until one is confirmed internally.
The representative told Gematsu, “If you would ask our CEO [Jamie Ottilie]his answer is ‘when the time comes’, as we certainly didn’t anticipate some of the challenges of the past few years since the company restarted (pandemic, staff shortages, etc.).”
Speaking to IGN, Telltale Games CEO Jamie Ottilie further discussed the delay.
“If we release this game and it’s not ready, we’ll be torn to pieces,” said Ottilie. “The expectations are pretty high and we need time to fulfill them and we want to be proud of that and know that ‘Hey, this is the best game we could have made.’ Let the world say what it will [once] It’s done, but at least we know that in these times and under these conditions, this is the best game we could make.”
Ottilie said the studio could have “crunched” to release the game in 2023, but that option was never on the table.
“I’m done [crunch], and I don’t want to do it again, and it’s not fair to ask,” said Ottilie. “That’s why you can’t plan a business. So yes, part of this is maintaining a healthy work culture. We don’t want to burn out our good people. In the last two years between COVID and the job markets and the growth in the gaming industry, it has been incredibly difficult to recruit staff. So it’s certainly the wrong thing to burn people out or wear them down in the long run. That’s not how you build a business. And as an industry, we’re terrible about it. We burn our people out. We burn out our best people faster. And if we’re going to keep growing as an industry, we need to stop it. We just have to stop it and make better decisions.”
Here’s Telltale Games’ full message on the delay:
…an important update for The Wolf Among Us 2.
We’ve made the difficult decision to delay The Wolf Among Us 2 to 2023.
We know it’s frustrating to hear that.
We started work on it in 2020 and we’re still committed to telling the ongoing story of Bigby and the rest of the Fabletown gang. However, it will take more time. As disappointed as you hear this, it makes us feel worse to say it.
But the work goes on.
We’re committed to delivering the sequel fans deserve and doing what’s right for the game while protecting the health of our team.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.
– The Telltale team
