With Stranger Things’ final season coming out in just a few months, conversations about the hit Netflix show are now at an all-time high. Speculation about its story and how the series will end is rampant, and that’s normal for a show this massive. However, despite the show's success, its gaming adaptations haven’t kept pace.
Telltale Games, creators of the hit episodic series The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, developed a Stranger Things game built around their traditional episodic structure and cel-shaded art style. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day, as the game was ultimately cancelled after Telltale’s unfortunate studio shutdown.
So, what was that Stranger Things Telltale game all about? Let’s take a look.
It was initially slated for a 2019 release, three years after the show first dropped on Netflix. The Telltale version was actually pitched in 2016, the same year the show debuted. The initial concept centered on a game based around the hit series, but executives rejected it, reportedly stating that it was “just a bunch of kids on bikes” without fully understanding its potential.
Fast forward a few years, and with Telltale securing Netflix’s approval, the Stranger Things game was becoming a reality. But that reality quickly fell apart after Telltale’s mass layoffs and eventual studio closure. Netflix later announced the game was cancelled and that they were pursuing other avenues for the franchise.
Then, in 2018, two years after the cancellation announcement, early footage of the game resurfaced online. The gameplay was reportedly set between Seasons 1 and 2, featuring Will Byers as the main character. The mechanics resembled those of other Telltale titles, such as The Walking Dead, allowing players to explore areas, interact with objects, and advance the story. Some clips even showed tense first-person segments where the Demogorgon was hunting Will.
It was an unfortunate cancellation of what could’ve been a really cool Telltale title. With the studio’s signature branching narratives, players might’ve created their own Stranger Things story, with choices that could carry over into a hypothetical Season 2 and impact the narrative in meaningful ways. I have a crackpot theory that Netflix was exploring a “choose your own adventure” format for Stranger Things back then, but the project may have been redirected into Black Mirror: Bandersnatch instead, as a way to compensate for the cancelled game.
Sadly, the Stranger Things Telltale game is now just a memory. We’re probably never going to see it again, especially as the Stranger Things IP becomes more expensive to license and Telltale isn’t as strong as it used to be. The studio is already working on its next projects, including The Wolf Among Us Season 2, but no release date is currently in sight. Fans are understandably worried that this one might get cancelled too.
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