Annapurna Interactive – the publisher behind games such as Cocoon, Stray, and Neon White – have seen their entire staff resign after an internal dispute this month, via Bloomberg.
The resignations came in the wake of a dispute between Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary and Annapurna studio head Megan Ellison. As Bloomberg report, negotiations were taking place to “spin off the video-game division as an independent entity.” After failing to reach an agreement, Ellison pulled out of the negotiations, resulting in the resignation of Gary and “other executives.” Further resignations followed, with a reported two dozen other staff leaving the company.
Here’s an extract from the Bloomberg piece:
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,” Gary and the group said 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.”
“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “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.”
New president Hector Sanchez – one of Annapurna Interactive’s co-founders – has reportedly told developers that “the company will honor existing contracts and replace staff who have left.”
Last month, Control studio Remedy announced they were “as thrilled as Finnish people can be” to partner with Annapurna to fund Control 2, alongside Alan Wake television and film adaptations.
A few Annapurna-published devs have responded to the news on social media. “Just for the folks asking, we are 100% okay,” tweeted Ivy Road’s Davey Wreden, director of tea-brewing sim Wanderstop. “Nothing’s gonna stop us from getting Wanderstop out the door very soon.”