On September 21st, the gaming world was stunned to see the critically acclaimed and fan adored episodic adventure game, The Walking Dead, unexpectedly canceled mid-production following a series of mass layoffs at Telltale games. The studio's closure didn't seem to make much sense for avid fans of the series, as the game's popularity never seemed to be in question.

After this announcement, many YouTubers, Twitter pundits, and journalist began to speculate as to why such a popular game suffered from poor sales. Many argued the story-telling nature of the game made it easier to "get the full experience" by simply watching someone else play it online or watching it as a group with friends. A great experience for fans, but bad news for a company that wants to sell multiple copies of a game.

Three days after the online gaming ecosystem exploded in sympathy and support for the Telltale employees suddenly without jobs (with trending phrases like #TelltaleMemories or #TelltaleJobs) the company released a small glimpse of hopes on Twitter:

While this certainly won't bring those now dead (and zombified?) jobs back to life, the possibility of "potential partners" coming in and saving the day is a comfort to the gaming world.  Dedicated fans of the games gripping storyline are eager to see the conclusion of Clementine's tragic journey and, although Telltale isn't promising anything, it's hard to imagine that someone won't take advantage of the massive public support and help the game finish "The Final Season".