The Wolf Among Us 2 delayed out of 2023 as the devs switch to Unreal 5

Telltale Games has announced that The Wolf Among Us 2 has been delayed out of 2023, partly due to a development shift onto Unreal Engine 5.

"We've made the difficult decision to delay The Wolf Among Us 2 out of 2023," the devs say in a tweet. "We know, it's frustrating to hear. We started work on this in 2020 and we're still determined to tell the ongoing story of Bigby and the rest of the Fabletown gang. However, it is going to require more time. As disappointed as you are hearing this, we feel worse having to say it."

The devs don't mention "2024" anywhere in the statement. While I'd personally speculate it's likely the game will be out next year, Telltale itself has not yet committed to even the vaguest new release window.

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In a more detailed interview with IGN, Telltale CEO Jamie Ottilie says the extended development time is partly due to an engine switch from Unreal 4 to Unreal 5, which necessitates redoing "quite a bit of work." With three options on the table - a delay, an unfinished release, or crunch - the team chose the delay.

"I've done [crunch], and I don't want to do it again, and it's not fair to ask it," Ottilie says. "You can't plan a business around it. So yeah, part of it is about maintaining a healthy work culture. We don't want to burn out our good people." That stance is particularly notable given Telltale's unfortunate history. Before the original Telltale shut down, it was rocked by allegations of mismanagement, toxic work culture, and lengthy periods of crunch. Here's hoping the studio's new era is fully ditching that period of its history.

In the Twitter statement, the devs say "we're committed to delivering the sequel fans deserve and doing what's right for the game while protecting the health of our team. We appreciate your patience and understanding."

The Wolf Among Us 2 story will "stand on its own," according to the devs.