According to a report by Bloomberg, a leadership dispute at Annapurna Interactive resulted in the resignation of the entire gaming crew.
According to the claim, which Gamexta can verify based on discussions with our sources, billionaire Megan Ellison, the founder of Annapurna, and president of Annapurna Interactive Nathan Gary have recently been in talks to split off the gaming division as a separate business. Nevertheless, Gary quit once Ellison finally withdrew from the negotiations. Joining him were around thirty other people, including division co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella and every last member of the Annapurna Interactive crew.
“Everyone who was a part of the Annapurna Interactive team quit,” a joint statement from Gary and the departing employees told Bloomberg. “We did not take this move lightly; it was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make.”
Hector Sanchez, a former executive at Epic Games, was rehired by Annapurna Interactive as its president of interactive and new media, and Paul Doyle as its head of strategy, while the discussions were still ongoing. It is understood by Gamexta that after Gary’s portion of the business was split out, Sanchez was supposed to lead Annapurna’s gaming division in his place. Sanchez is now in charge because Gary quit.
Sanchez has met with partner developers this week to reassure them that Annapurna will honor its current contracts and replace departing employees, as reported by Bloomberg and heard by Gamexta. An Annapurna representative verified to Gamexta that this strategy will entail both backfilling specific responsibilities and collaborating with other parties to cover gaps as they arise.
“Supporting our developer and publishing partners during this transition is our primary responsibility,” Ellison stated in an interview with Bloomberg. “As we continue to search for ways to take a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling across film and TV, gaming, and theater, we are dedicated to not only our current slate of games but also growing our footprint in the interactive area.”
A branch of Annapurna Pictures, Annapurna Interactive is well-known for its selection of high-end, highly acclaimed independent publications. Games like Sayonara Wild Hearts, Cocoon, Stray, Neon White, The Artful Escape, and others have brought the label popularity and accolades in recent years. Remedy Entertainment, the company behind Alan Wake 2, teamed up with Annapurna Pictures just last month to finance the latter’s continuous development work and produce TV and movie adaptations of its intellectual property. But People Make Games also released an investigation report on Annapurna Interactive, in which the business was accused of supporting several company founders who were known to be fostering hostile work cultures at partner companies.
