Annapurna Interactive, the developers behind Stray, Outer Wilds, What Remains of Edith Finch, and many more, has recently experienced a mass quitting. The issues seem to stem from Megan Ellison, Annapurna’s founder. After she pulled out from negotiations, the company’s president resigned, causing a domino effect with every other staff member resigning. Here’s everything we know.
The Annapurna Negotiations
Recently, Annapurna Interactive was in negotiations with Megan Ellison to break off into a separate gaming company. The company, Annapurna Interactive, is a subdivision of Annapurna Pictures and focuses entirely on gaming. Annapurna Pictures has created many successful films like Zero Dark Thirty, Nimona, American Hustle, and more. The current president of Annapurna Interactive, Nathan Gary, wanted to break the gaming division into its own company. She talked with Ellison about doing so when she suddenly pulled out. Bloomberg reported that this led to a mass quitting event, and IGN confirmed this with their sources.
After this, the co-heads of the division also resigned, which led to the rest of the staff quitting as well, totaling 25 employees. This comes after Annapurna recently rehired Hector Sanchez, a former Epic Games executive. It is said that all games will remain under Annapurna, but the gaming division will be integrated into the rest of the company, including its film division. Hector Sanchez will now head the gaming department; however, it will now be structured.
Gary and Ellison’s Statements
Nathan Gary and Megan Ellison both made statements to Bloomberg about the situation. Gary’s statement is also on behalf of the other staff members who quit. Gary wrote, “All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned. This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make, and we did not take this action lightly.” It’s currently unknown why negotiations fell through, leading to the entire staff quitting.
Ellison made a statement to Bloomberg in which she said, “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.”
Previously, Annapurna revealed that the gaming company’s top executives had departed, but they didn’t disclose such a massive change in their staffing and overall company. So far, no developer who had been working for Annapurna Interactive has spoken out about the mass quitting event.
Conclusion
Hector Sanchez has sprung into action as the new head of the department, ensuring developer companies that they will still publish their games. This was a huge concern for developers, as Annapurna is both a developing and publishing company. They will continue to publish the games they have contracts to, but from there, it’s unclear exactly what will happen to Annapurna Interactive.
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