The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive, publisher of games such as What Remains of Edith Finch, Stray, and Outer Wilds, reportedly resigned earlier this month after an ongoing dispute with ownership.
According to Forbes’ Jason Schreier, Annapurna’s video game division was attempting to go independent and negotiating with ownership, including Megan Ellison, daughter of billionaire and Oracle CTO Larry Ellison. When a deal fell through, Annapurna president Nathan Gary and “other executives” along with “around two dozen other staffers” resigned, according to Schreier’s anonymous sources.
“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison said in a statement to Bloomberg. “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.”
It was previously reported that Gray had stepped down, but new info today from Schreier said the resignations were more widespread, leaving the company in “chaos” as developers making games under Annapurna’s banner now must find out what it all means for their own games.
Annapurna has published quite a few other popular games, including Gone Home, Donut County, Twelve Minutes, Neon White, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Open Roads, and Ghost Bike. Games currently in development for the publisher include Silent Hill: Townfall, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, We Kill Monsters, and Skin Deep.
Elsewhere, Annapurna’s TV division recently announced it would be working on live action adaptations of Alan Wake and Control, although those are likely not affected by this new development.
For now, it’s unknown what will happen to the Annapurna games still in the works, but a company spokesperson told Schreier that “all existing games and projects will remain under Annapurna.”
