In a really shocking turn of events, it has been reported that the entire staff making up Annapurna Interactive has resigned following a dispute with the owner of the wider company.
As per Bloomberg, it’s noted that the dispute revolved around Annapurna Interactive’s president Nathan Gary looking to spin off and separate the games publishing division from the overall Annapurna company during a negotiation with the entertainment titan’s Megan Ellison, the daughter of billionaire owner Larry Ellison. The negotiations went very sour and Gary and the entire 25-person team making up Annapurna Interactive ended up resigning as a result.
This had led to a massive uproar as to what the future holds for the company and the various developers and publishing contracts it holds. According to a spokesperson for Annapurna, it’s currently working to replace the resigned members and is searching for points of contact in order to maintain and uphold its ongoing agreements. Ellison confirmed this in a statement that adds:
“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition. 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.”
As per the deal that was recently made with Remedy Entertainment in regard to the co-funding of Control 2 and efforts to bring the Alan Wake and Control franchise to new entertainment formats, this agreement was signed with Annapurna Pictures and therefore is not impacted by this move whatsoever.
While we’re waiting to hear about the rest of the individual developers who are connected with Annapurna Interactive, some have already stepped up and shared information, including Lushfoil Photography Sim’s Matt Newell, who states:
“Can assume at this stage that Lushfoil Photography Sim will be unaffected, given that the game itself is mostly complete. will keep you all updated.
“But this news is definitley a loss, the annapurna interactive team were great to work with and gave the project a lot of love”