Overkill's The Walking Dead Failed To Meet Quality Standards, Contract With Rights Owner Terminated

A new Walking Dead game from Payday developer Starbreeze Studios, Overkill's The Walking Dead, released back in November--and it was a major disappointment. Now, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman's media company, Skybound, has ended its contract with Starbreeze for the game, citing the poor quality of the game. [UPDATE: the PC edition of the game is being removed from Steam while the PS4 and Xbox One editions are now in question]

In a statement, Skybound said it worked hard with Starbreeze since 2014 to create a unique and compelling Walking Dead FPS, but it didn't work out.

"As of today, we have terminated our contract with Starbreeze Studios and will discontinue all efforts on Overkill's The Walking Dead," Skybound said in its statement. "Our creators and their stories are the core of Skybound, and since 2014 we have worked hard to expand the world of The Walking Dead into an exceptional co-op action FPS."

While Overkill's The Walking Dead did not work out the way Skybound would have wanted, the company said it continues to be dedicated to making more Walking Dead video games.

"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 said. "We are exceedingly sorry to our fans and share their disappointment in the game. We remain dedicated to providing our fans with the most premium quality content we can offer, and will continue to look for alternative video game options for the IP."

Overkill's The Walking Dead launched in November for PC. The game was also announced for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with publisher 505 Games handling the publishing of the console editions. As of last week, the console editions were still planned for release, but it's not clear if today's announcement. We've contacted Starbreeze and 505 to get more details.

This is just the latest blow for Starbreeze as a company. Back in November, Starbreeze admitted that sales of Overkill's The Walking Dead were lower than expected, and as a result, the company would undergo a restructuring of its business. As part of this, Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson resigned from the company, while other members of the Board of Directors also left.

In December, Starbreeze's offices in Sweden were raided, with authorities seizing computers and other documents from the premises.