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Telltale Reportedly in Talks to Hand Off ‘The Walking Dead: The Final Season’ Production
Well, after waiting beyond what was expected, there may be some weird sort of light for Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season.
According to two anonymous sources in contact with Kotaku (yeah, I know), Telltale is set to pass the final two episodes of the season to a separate company, which would then offer contracts to former Telltale employees to complete the episodes. As far as payment goes, it would be that company’s name on the paychecks, and not Telltale getting additional funds and spending it on development.
According to the sources, episode three of the final season is essentially finished, and just needed a ratings review and polish. Episode four was also in production, with a first round of voice work for the main characters already recorded, and a first review of a playable version that was planned for sometime around the end of September.
Complicating matters is the fact that it’s unclear who would still be available to complete the episodes, since the former employees didn’t have the luxury of severance pay. In addition, if the deal does go through, it would be more likely that the company who wins the rights would use the absolute minimum number of staff required to complete the game.
And the saga goes on.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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