Annapurna Interactive's entire workforce resigns following a dispute with its owner
It appears that the entire Annapurna Interactive workforce has left the company following a dispute with company owner Megan Ellison over the publisher's ability to become an independent entity.
The details:
As reported by Bloomberg, staff at Annapurna Interactive, Annapurna's publishing arm, were in discussions with Ellison about spinning off the publisher as an independent entity. However, after failing to reach an agreement with Ellison, all 25 employees have resigned, including president Nathan Gary. “All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’’ Gary said. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.”
It is said that the departure of employees has created "chaos" among the company's development partners, which have signed various contracts for development and marketing funding and are now unsure how their projects will be affected. A spokesperson for Annapura confirmed in a statement to Bloomberg that the projects will continue, and the company's new president, Hector Sanchez, has reportedly assured partners that all staff will be replaced and their projects will remain in development.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, following the mass departures, Annapurna also plans to more closely integrate its TV and film divisions with the game publisher in the future. "Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition," Ellison said in a statement to Bloomberg. "We're committed to not only our existing slate of games but also expanding our presence in the interactive space as we continue to look for opportunities to take a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling across film and TV, gaming, and theatre."
Annapurna is responsible for publishing many hits from smaller developers such as Outer Wilds, Stray, and What Remains of Edith Finch. It announced an upcoming batch of titles back in June 2023, including Mixtape, Silent Hill: Townfall, and its first internal project, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth.
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