Annapurna Interactive’s Entire Staff Resigns After Dispute With Owner
In a rather unexpected and surprising turn of events, acclaimed publisher who helped bring indie titles such as Stray, Neon White, Cocoon, and so many others to the market, Annapurna Interactive, has seen it’s entire staff resign due to some internal conflict with the current owner of the publisher.
The news comes from Bloomberg, which reported that all 25 staffers at Annapurna have quit after negotiations fell through with the publisher’s owner, Megan Ellison, to spin the company into an independent entity. Bloomberg reports that Ellison had pulled out of the negotiations, though the exact reasonings weren’t specified. Annapurna Interactive President Nathan Gary confirmed to Bloomberg that he and the rest of the staff at Annapurna have all left following the decision to end the negotiations.
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’’ Gary and the group said in a joint statement. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make, and we did not take this action lightly.”
A statement from Ellison was also issued, noting that they’re still committed to delivering their current slate of projects and plans despite the staff leaving.
“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “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 theater.”
Last year, the publisher announced that its animation subsidiary would produce an animated movie based on the hit indie title Stray. Though Ellison suggests that plans will continue, the future of the film, as well as all current games in development, is rather uncertain, especially since key members of the publisher who helped get these projects going will no longer be there.
We’ll have more as the story develops.
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