The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive, the video game publishing division of Megan Ellison’s Annapurna studio, resigned this month following a dispute with the owner, people acquainted with the situation say.
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 company, said the people, who spoke anonymously because they weren’t authorized to release the knowledge to the press. When Ellison withdrew from the negotiations, Gary and other executives resigned, followed by about two dozen other employees.
An Annapurna spokesman confirmed that a spin-off had been considered and said the parties had been unable to succeed in an agreement, resulting in the resignations.
“Our top priority is to continue to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison said in an announcement to Bloomberg News. “In addition to being committed to our existing games offering, we are also looking to expand 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 television, games and theater.”
The exodus has caused chaos as game developers working with Annapurna attempt to work out what this implies for his or her upcoming projects. As a publisher, Annapurna is responsible not just for funding the games, but in addition for services similar to quality assurance, adapting products to local markets, and marketing. In recent days, game publishers working with Annapurna have been trying to seek out recent contacts and discover whether the corporate will proceed to honor its agreements.
The spokesman said all existing games and projects would remain with Annapurna.
New president Hector Sanchez has told developers the corporate will honor existing contracts and replace departing employees, in keeping with the individuals who spoke to Bloomberg. Sanchez, originally a co-founder of Annapurna Interactive, was brought back last month.
Annapurna’s video game division has built a popularity for publishing critically acclaimed titles from small teams, winning awards for games similar to Outer Wilderness, Straying And cocoonLast month, the corporate announced a partnership with Finnish gaming company Remedy Entertainment to develop the Highly praised by critics control And Alan-Wake franchise to film and tv.
The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that Annapurna Interactives Top managers had resigned but not that your entire team had left.
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