Every staff member in Annapurna Interactive, the publisher behind games like Stray, Neon White, and Sayonara Wild Hearts, has collectively resigned following a leadership dispute, as originally reported by Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s reports highlight that Annapurna Interactive’s president, Nathan Gary, had been negotiating with the company’s founder, Megan Ellison, to turn the current gaming division into a separate company. The negotiations ended up falling through, with Ellison pulling out of the discussion and Gary resigning shortly after, resulting in mass resignations across the entirety of Annapurna Interactive’s 25-person team.
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’” Gary and the staff told Bloomberg 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 spokesperson for Annapurna later confirmed to Bloomberg that a spinoff discussion was taking place. They’d failed to reach an agreement, leading to the division and all of its games staying under the Annapurna Pictures umbrella.
“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison highlighted in a separate statement within Bloomberg’s report. “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.”
Following the incident, Annapurna Interactive and game developers working with them have been scrambling to figure out how this will affect their ongoing and upcoming projects. Since then, President of Interactive and New Media at Annapurna, Hector Sanchez, has reassured developers they’ll “honor existing contracts and replace staff who have left,” suggesting things will get back on track soon.
Published: Sep 13, 2024 09:54 am