Annapurna Interactive, the game company that gave us indie jewels like Stray and Outer Wilds, has supposedly seen the entirety of its staff leave the company. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports that the entire staff of the video game company has resigned, after negotiations with its COEs, Megan Ellison, to break away from its parent company broke down.
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’’ former president Nathan Gary and staffers said in a memo to Bloomberg. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.”
Annapurna Interactive is the video game arm of Ellison’s that came to life back in 2016. A division of Annapurna Pictures, the game studio is known for, as mentioned earlier, the creation of endearing indie titles like Stray, a game that puts you in the shoes, or paws in this case, of a cat. Another title, Outer Wilds, takes on the No Man’s Sky format, albeit in a limited setting of system.
When asked for a comment, an Annapurna spokesperson simply said that the parties failed to reach an agreement, which is what led to the mass exodus.
“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 theatre.”
(Source: Bloomberg, The Verge, IGN)
