The story of Overkill’s The Walking Dead appears to finally be at an end. The game released on PC back in November to a collective critical and commercial disappointment, and then suffered from an indefinite delay for its console release. Today, the owner of The Walking Dead license, Skybound Entertainment has officially terminated their contract with Starbreeze Studios.
The termination of this contact ultimately cancels Overkill’s The Walking Dead for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and will see support end for the game’s PC version. In an official statement from Skybound Entertainment, the company stated it will “discontinue all efforts on Overkill’s The Walking Dead.” Skybound went on to say that since 2014 they had “worked hard to expand the world of The Walking Dead into an exceptional Co-op Action FPS.” However, due to the overall issues the game endured, Skybound explained:
We did our best to work with Starbreeze and resolve many issues that we saw with the game, but ultimately Overkill’s The Walking Dead did not meet our standards nor is it the quality that we were promised.
Skybound apologized to fans for the decision to cancel the contract with Starbreeze. However, the company promised that they “will continue to look for alternative video game options for the IP.” Skybound’s game division, Skybound Games, could take over all video game development for the IP as they took over development of TellTale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season after the closure of TellTale Games late last year.
This contract termination ultimately hurts Starbreeze Studios. Recently, current and former employees discussed how the game was flop for the company on top of other issues. This also could see the company no longer receiving the $10 million licensing fee from 505 Games who were set to publish Overkill’s The Walking Dead’s console version.
Starbreeze studios has suffered a lot over the course of the last few months. The Swedish company had to file for reconstruction, and the company’s CEO had to step down after the poor reception of Overkill’s The Walking Dead. Following this, Swedish authorities raided the company due to reports of insider trading. It is currently unknown what lies in store for Starbreeze following all this, and what it could mean for the company’s upcoming games.