While it may seem natural for a game adapted from a TV series to be released episodically, nothing dictated that it had to be, and few games were released piecemeal in this way. The staggered release will have had production benefits, letting The Walking Dead grow its audience from episode to episode, allowing Telltale to earn money as it was still developing the game, and allowing the team to incorporate player feedback into later episodes in the series. Still, the more significant benefit is to the players.