Former Annapurna staff will reportedly take over Private Division’s portfolio under new company
Former Annapurna Interactive employees are reportedly forming a new company with the buyers of Private Division's portfolio of titles following Take-Two's sale of the publisher last year.
The details:
Following reports of mass layoffs at indie publisher Private Division last year, Take-Two confirmed that the company had been sold to an undisclosed buyer, along with its existing and unreleased games, for an unknown fee.
Bloomberg reports that the buyer is Austin-based private equity firm Haveli Investments, which plans to open a new studio. The new developer will reportedly be staffed by former Annapurna employees, and the team will work on both the upcoming Lord of the Rings title Tales of the Shire and the yet-to-be-revealed "Project Bloom" in collaboration with Game Freak.
However, Bloomberg also shared that some of the 20 Private Division employees involved in the deal will be laid off as a result of the acquisition, though the exact number has not been confirmed.
In September, it was reported that all of Annapurna's employees had left the company in a mass exodus following a disagreement with owner Megan Ellison over the formation of a spin-off company. While its partners were alarmed by the news, new company president Hector Sanchez assured them that all ongoing projects would continue as the company began searching for new developers to replace those who had left.
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