The entire staff of publisher Annapurna Interactive has resigned following a dispute with owner Megan Ellison.
As reported by BloombergThe publisher had been in talks with its owner to spin off the game arm into a standalone entity. Ellison reportedly walked away from those talks, leading to the resignation of Annapurna Interactive President Nathan Gary, other company executives, and about two dozen employees.
In a joint statement, Gary confirmed that “all 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team have collectively resigned,” calling the move “one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make, and we don’t take this action lightly.”
In a statement released to Bloomberg News, Ellison said that the company’s “top priority is to continue to support our development and publishing partners during this transition.” The statement then went on to consider the company’s future: “We are committed not only to our existing portfolio of games, but also to expanding our presence in the interactive space as we continue to explore opportunities to take a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling across film and TV, games and theater.”
As you might expect, the resignations will have a huge impact on the games currently in development under the Annapurna publishing label. On the Switch, the company currently has both Astray portal and top-down roguelike food (which appeared at the recent Indie World showcase) in the pipeline. A spokesperson told Bloomberg that all existing games and projects will remain under Annapurna.
Now serving as president, Annapurna Interactive co-founder Hector Sanchez has reportedly told developers that the company will honor any existing contracts while he works to replace the departed employees.
The resignation comes after a few years of great success for the company on the Switch. In recent memory alone, Annapurna Interactive has delivered the likes of The Wilderness Outside, still, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes And Neon White to Nintendo’s hybrid game and many more highly rated titles.
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