Originally slated for release this year, Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us 2 has been delayed to 2024 to avoid crunch and burnout. CEO Jamie Ottilie told IGN that the move was made to avoid burning out the studio’s employees and not rushing through development.
The delay also comes down to Telltale’s decision to switch to Unreal Engine 5. This meant redoing “quite a bit of work” that was already done in the older engine.
It’s Switching to Unreal Engine 5
The Wolf Among Us 2 was revealed at The Game Awards in 2019 after Telltale Games was relaunched by LCG Entertainment, but the game was still in pre-production and two years away from being fully staffed. It made sense to announce early in order to help secure funding and support, but CEO Jamie Ottilie admits that he might not have made the same decision if he knew about COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.
In an interview with IGN, Ottilie explains that the studio has been shifting to Unreal Engine 5 in order to take advantage of its new features. However, it means redoing “quite a bit of work” that was already completed in the previous version of the engine.
According to Ottilie, the team wants to avoid crunch and burnout as it moves into Unreal Engine 5. This is especially true given that the OG Telltale was infamous for backbreaking crunch and rushed schedules. This new iteration of the studio, however, prioritizes the health and wellbeing of its staff so that it doesn’t have to go through this same process.
It’s a Five-Episode Series
In a recent interview, Telltale Games CEO James Ottilie revealed that the sequel to The Wolf Among Us has been delayed out of 2023 to avoid crunch and burnout. Previously, the studio was notorious for squeezing its staff past their breaking point and this was something the team didn’t want to do.
The sequel is set six months after the end of the first game and will see Bigby suspended from his position as sheriff and attending anger management therapy. This will be one of many internal struggles he faces as he tries to find where he fits in the world of Fabletown.
The sequel will continue to explore the world of Fabletown, a hidden section of New York City where fairy tale characters live and die. Snow White, Bigby Wolf and Bufkin will all return as well as other characters from The Wizard of Oz. This is an exciting announcement for fans of both the original Telltale games and Bill Willingham’s Fables series.
It’s Set Six Months After the Ending of the First Game
As revealed during a livestream hosted by Telltale Games’ Geoff Keighley, The Wolf Among Us 2 will be set six months after the end of the first game. The saga of Bigby Wolf continues as he adjusts to his new life as the sheriff of Fabletown and attends anger management therapy.
The trailer features an action-packed sequence that ramps up the intensity of Bigby’s quest for justice. He tracks down a group of Fables from the Wizard of Oz, including the Scarecrow and Tin Man.
This sequel marks the return of a lot of the characters from the original game. Fans of the story will get to see Snow White, Bigby Wolf, and Bufkin in Fabletown and in a brand-new realm called New York City.
It will be released on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PS5, and PC. The sequel will also be released in a more regular episodic schedule than other Telltale titles, with weeks between episodes instead of months.
It’s An Episodic Title
The Wolf Among Us 2 was originally scheduled to release in 2023, but Telltale Games has delayed it in order to avoid crunch and burnout. This was done in order to meet the high expectations of fans and deliver a quality product.
Despite this delay, the sequel will still be an episodic title and will only launch when it’s ready. This prevents problems that were faced with the previous Telltale regime, where players had to wait months for each new episode.
The original Telltale Games was a pioneer of episodic titles, but it spread itself thin and stumbled with several titles over the years. It ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2018. But the company was rescued and relaunched in 2019 under new leadership, with many industry veterans and previous developers working on the game.