The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive, the video-game publishing division of Megan Ellison’s Annapurna studio, resigned this month following a dispute with its owner, according to people familiar with the situation.
Annapurna Interactive President Nathan Gary and his team had been negotiating with Ellison, the daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison, to spin off the video-game division as an independent entity, said the people, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to share the information with the press. When Ellison pulled out of the negotiations, Gary and other executives resigned and were followed by around two dozen other staffers.
A spokesperson for Annapurna confirmed that it had explored a spinoff and said the parties failed to reach an agreement, which led to the resignations.
“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.”
The exodus has led to chaos as game developers partnered with Annapurna try to figure out what this means for their upcoming projects. As a publisher, Annapurna is responsible not only for funding the games but for handling services such as quality-assurance, adapting the products for local markets and marketing. Over the past few days, game makers working with Annapurna have scrambled to find new points of contact and figure out whether the company will continue to honor its agreements.
The spokesperson said that all existing games and projects will remain under Annapurna.
New president Hector Sanchez has told developers that the company will honor existing contracts and replace staff who have left, according to the people who spoke with Bloomberg. Sanchez, originally a co-founder of Annapurna Interactive, was brought back last month.
Annapurna’s video-game division has developed a reputation for publishing critically acclaimed titles made by small teams, racking up awards with games such as Outer Wilds, Stray and Cocoon. Last month it announced a deal to partner with the Finnish gaming company Remedy Entertainment to bring the critically acclaimed Control and Alan Wake franchises to film and TV.
The Hollywood Reporter said earlier that Annapurna Interactive’s top executives had quit but not that the entire team had departed.
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