You can sign up to get a daily email of our articles, see the Mailing List page.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

I’ve been wondering recently about what happened to Minecraft: Story Mode for Linux. A developer at Telltale Games even publicly spoke about his support for it and offered out a Beta to multiple people willing to test.

I was accepted to test, the game ran smoothly, everything looked good and then...nothing happened. No one spoke of it again, Telltale themselves went silent on it and it looked as good as dead. It was odd, because the Linux version seemed ready.

Turns out, it was ready.

I caught up with David Brady, the developer who worked on it, who has since left Telltale Games to work for another big developer. In his own words he said “it was my opinion that Minecraft was ready for release”. He seemed very certain of this too when we had a chat. That was the main bit I'm able to share, but he was very clear on it.

I should note those are the thoughts of that developer, not of Telltale Games as it stands right now.

I reached out to Telltale Games through the usual channels, but sadly I received no reply. We may never know what really happened. I doubt Microsoft would have suddenly requested the plug be pulled on it (they now own Mojang), since this was all happening after Microsoft’s purchase of the original Minecraft developer.

We can speculate, of course, as to what actually happened. It could have been the usual low market share issue that the “higher ups” didn’t like the idea of, which would have been strange since the work was already done and obviously approved of in some way.

It could have been a case of having no one left to maintain it and support it going forward, which seems quite believable. All extra platforms come with a support cost, but since Telltale don’t speak about it, we just don’t know.

If you ever read this Telltale Games, get in touch, let’s have a chat.

A shame, it would have been really nice to see a Telltale title on Linux. I’ve always been itching to try their titles.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial
10 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
33 comments
Page: 1/4»
  Go to:

Leopard Sep 4, 2017
Telltale added Linux depots for Walking Dead but that was it , no further changes.
[email protected] Sep 4, 2017
Did Telltale give us the shaft?
Pecisk Sep 4, 2017
Microsoft happened
Corben Sep 4, 2017
Aww, too bad.
Though their titles work pretty well in wine, I would prefer a native version.
So what's the matter here? Are there not enough Linux specialists in the gaming development scene? Are they too expensive for the team?
Reminds me a bit of the situation with Darksiders, where the port was also almost finished, but the "Linux guy" left the company then.
lucifertdark Sep 4, 2017
Telltale were more than likely ordered to kill all Linux development or lose their spot in the Windows App Store. Microsoft have always been shady b'stards.
DrMcCoy Sep 4, 2017
This is nothing new. Since its inception, going as far back as their Bone games, Telltale half-hearted said they're looking into Linux releases. Nothing ever came out of anything.
razing32 Sep 4, 2017
Quoting: lucifertdarkTelltale were more than likely ordered to kill all Linux development or lose their spot in the Windows App Store. Microsoft have always been shady b'stards.

Given M$ attitude to open source I would not be surprised at all.
Darkdisorder78 Sep 4, 2017
Quoting: razing32
Quoting: lucifertdarkTelltale were more than likely ordered to kill all Linux development or lose their spot in the Windows App Store. Microsoft have always been shady b'stards.

Given M$ attitude to open source I would not be surprised at all.
Oh come on. How does this even make sense?
jkaart Sep 4, 2017
Quoting: CorbenAww, too bad.
Though their titles work pretty well in wine, I would prefer a native version.
So what's the matter here? Are there not enough Linux specialists in the gaming development scene? Are they too expensive for the team?
Reminds me a bit of the situation with Darksiders, where the port was also almost finished, but the "Linux guy" left the company then.
Minecraft Story Mode Season 2 don't launch in wine.
Maybe Season 1 works well today, I don't test it yet in wine.
razing32 Sep 4, 2017
Quoting: Darkdisorder78
Quoting: razing32
Quoting: lucifertdarkTelltale were more than likely ordered to kill all Linux development or lose their spot in the Windows App Store. Microsoft have always been shady b'stards.

Given M$ attitude to open source I would not be surprised at all.
Oh come on. How does this even make sense?

They've been quoted as saying they prefer people to pirate Windows than use alternatives.
Maybe I'm jumping the gun , but like I said , I would not be surprised.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.