Gaming publisherAnnapurna Interactive, a group within Annapurna Pictures,recently had its entire 25-person staff resign after failing negotiation talks with Megan Ellison, the company’s leader.
Annapurna Interactive is known for many games, includingStrayandCOCOON. They quite recently reached adeal to co-financefuture projects fromRemedy, hoping to create both gaming and movie experiences of the developer’s library of games.
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Sadly,Bloomberg has reportedthat after failing to reach a deal where the gaming division would spin off into an independent entity, the entire staff ultimately resigned, leaving no one to look after the gaming projects produced under Annapurna.
We’ve witnessednumerous layoffs and closuresin the gaming industry recently. Still, because this is a mass resignation, it has instead put the millionaire leader of Annapurna, Megan Ellison, in the hot seat.
After failing to accomplish any negotiations between themselves and Ellison,Annapurna Interactive President Nathan Gary and other leaders were the first to resign, followed by the resignations of the whole team.After this, the teamreported to Bloombergthat:
This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.
Subsequently, Annapurna released its own statement, simply stating that it would continue to “support our developer and publishing partners during this transition.”
While questions remain about how this will affect developers in the coming months, luckily, their situation is at the forefront of Annapurna’s response.
Developer Reaction And The Future Of Annapurna
Annapurna is now looking to restaff the game publishing team, replacing the resigned positions,and continue supporting the developers of the many deals and projects they have under their sleeves.
In addition, some developers, like Davey Wreden, creator ofWanderstopfrom developer Ivy Road,respondedonlineby clarifying that they “are 100% okay.”
While we have yet to hear many other significant statements from developers, it’s a good sign that this shift won’t cause major damage.
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Publishers are pushing many gaming developers to multi-million dollar undertakings, with theEmbracer Groupobtaining as much capital and gaming properties as possible to squeeze profits and Sony funding afleet of live-service games.
Annapurna is in a much different situation. Instead, they are a group that funds indie developers and uniquely attempts to reach consumers through manyfilm adaptations of popular gameslikeAlan Wake and Stray,differentiating themselves from other publishers solely focused on gaming releases.
Regardless, we’re hoping for the best for the team leaving Annapurna Interactive and for the developers who may be impacted by this latest news.
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