UPDATE (4:37PM):

USgamer reports the remaining 25 employees at Telltale will not, in fact, be working to complete The Walking Dead's final season. Instead, sources tell the site, the team will work on Minecraft: Story Mode for Netflix

It's been an incredibly difficult year for Telltale as we worked to set the company on a new course. Unfortunately, we ran out of time trying to get there. We released some of our best content this year and received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, but ultimately, that did not translate to sales. With a heavy heart, we watch our friends leave today to spread our brand of storytelling across the games industry.

According to USgamer's Matt Kim on Twitter , The Walking Dead: The Final Season will conclude after the release of Episode 2 next week.In a statement issued to IGN, Telltale Games confirmed it has "made the difficult decision to begin a majority studio closure following a year marked by insurmountable challenges." The studio also confirmed it'll retain 25 employees to "fulfill the company's obligations to its board and partners."Here's Telltale Games CEO Pete Hawley's full statement:The company didn't comment on the rumored cancellation of its future projects, only stating more information will be shared "in the coming weeks."Original story follows.

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The Walking Dead developer Telltale Games has reportedly laid off the majority of its staff and will remain open with only a small number of employees. Gamasutra reports a team of 25 employees will remain on board to finish development on The Walking Dead's final season, while all other Telltale projects have been canceled. Upcoming Telltale projects included a game based on Netflix's Stranger Things and a second season of The Wolf Among Us Multiple former employees of Telltale have seemingly confirmed the layoffs on Twitter Telltale debuted The Walking Dead: The Final Season last month. The second episode is currently scheduled to be released next week on September 25.Last November, the studio laid off 25 percent of its staff as part of a company-wide restructure. Telltale was then sued by its co-founder and former CEO, Kevin Bruner, this past June, following his departure from the company in March 2017.In a letter penned on his personal blog , Bruner reminisced about his time with Telltale and expressed his sadness over today's news."Today is a very, very sad day," he wrote. "I left Telltale a year and a half ago after an extended period where the Board of Directors and I had very different visions of Telltale’s future and how we might get there. That was one of the hardest times of my professional life, but in the end the company is controlled by its Board of Directors and I respected their decisions throughout."Bruner continued, "Today, I’m mostly saddened for the people who are losing their jobs at a studio they love. And I’m also saddened at the loss of a studio that green-lit crazy ideas that no one else would consider. I’m comforted a bit knowing there are now more talented people and studios creating games in the evolving narrative genre. While I look forward to those games and new developments, and continuing to contribute, I will always find 'A Telltale Game' to have been a unique offering."I know that Telltale will be remembered fondly for what it has done best."We’ve reached out to Telltale representatives for comment and confirmation and will update this article with any additional information we receive.IGN wishes the best to anyone affected by today’s news. Those affected are encouraged to search #TelltaleJobs on Twitter, as the hashtag is currently being used to share open job opportunities.

Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.