Within the last few weeks there were rumors circulating that The Walking Dead, a game developed by Overkill, was going to get the infamous double-tap. The first shot came alongside the release of the original version on PC, which was met with almost universal disdain. Now, the company that owns The Walking Dead (and also recently saved the second half of Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season 3 property) just fired the second, more permanent bullet into the spongy mass of former grey matter.
It was revealed today that development on the console ports of the derided game were no longer continuing. This comes after much speculation following the indefinite delay that was announced earlier this month. Starbreeze, already embroiled in alleged financial and criminal issues (which involved restructuring and a sale of rights over System Shock 3 back to OtherSide Entertainment), continues to face opposition as it turns out that Skybound, the owner of The Walking Dead property, has effectively terminated the contract between the two companies.
When announcing the decision, Skybound said “we have terminated our contract with Starbreeze Studios and will discontinue all efforts on Overkill’s The Walking Dead.” The company then continues past the usual boiler-plate responses that are drafted for every cancellation; they instead hold nothing back about why this has to occur, saying, “We did our best to work with Starbreeze and resolve many issues that we saw with the game, but ultimately…[it] did not meet our standards nor is it the quality we were promised.”
Ouch.
Couple this with what one developer that worked on the game said in January (mainly, that those working on the game “knew it was going to tank”) and it’s no surprise that the game had a shallow, hastily dug grave waiting for it. What happens with Starbreeze from here on out is pure speculation, but they have quite an uphill climb from their current predicaments. As for Skybound and The Walking Dead, they have assured fans that they “will continue to look for alternative video game options for the IP.”
At least there is some semblance of hope in the thought that the undead can never truly die. They can only be slowed down…
Are you sad to see the game cancelled? Let us know in the comments! Overkill’s The Walking Dead is out now on PC.
