Annapurna Interactive Staff Has Reportedly Resigned Following Failed Negotiations

Update 16/09: A previous version of this report incorrectly referred to Hector Sanchez as the president of Annapurna, rather than the president of interactive and new media at Annapurna. This has been amended.

Summary

• Annapurna Interactive's staff has reportedly resigned after failed negotiations with its founder, according to a report from Bloomberg.
• The team had been negotiating to spin off into an independent entity, however, when talks fell through, its president, followed by executives and staffers, resigned.
• Annapurna has since promised to honor existing contracts, as developers and partners were left scrambling in the wake of the news.

Following a dispute that allegedly happened earlier this month, the entire staff of Annapurna Interactive has reportedly resigned, according to a new report from Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier.

Annapurna Interactive is the video game publishing arm of Annapurna, a multi-armed media company founded by Megan Ellison, daughter of Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

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According to Schreier's reporting, Annapurna Interactive's president, Nathan Gary, as well as his team, had been negotiating directly with Ellison in order to spin the video game company into an independent entity. Ellison allegedly pulled out of the negotiations, and, as a result, Gary, along with other executives followed by two dozen staffers, promptly resigned.

A statement from Ellison didn't outright confirm the news, though it did point towards Annapurna working toward a transition.

"Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison said in a statement to Bloomberg. “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."

Game Developers Are Reportedly Scrambling In Wake Of News

Schreier goes on to report that developers who are partnered with Annapurna have been left scrambling as they try to figure out what this will mean for their upcoming projects. Notably, Remedy Entertainment, the team behind the likes of Alan Wake and Control, recently revealed that Control 2 would be co-financed by Annapurna Interactive.

A spokesperson reportedly told Schreier that "all existing games and projects will remain under Annapurna." Its president of interactive and new media, Hector Sanchez, who previously had a hand in co-founding the studio, was brought back to lead the new team. Per Bloomberg, existing contracts will be honored, and staff will be replaced accordingly.

While not a giant in the video games space, Annapurna Interactive has developed a reputation for helping publish several critically acclaimed titles in the past several years. Games such as Outer Wilds, Stray and What Remains of Edith Finch have all spun out of Annapurna, with several more titles in the works beyond the aforementioned Control 2.

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