Annapurna Interactive staff have resigned en masse, leaving indie game devs scrambling

The entirety of Annapurna Interactive’s staff resigned after the indie game publisher’s owner walked away from negotiations

Annapurna Interactive

Update - Sep. 13, 2024:

Remedy communications director Thomas Puha posted on Twitter that Remedy's deal for Control 2 and Alan Wake adaptations is with Annapurna Pictures and is unaffected by Annapurna Interactive's staff resignation.

Many of you are reaching out about the news around Annapurna (sorry to see what is going on to all involved ) Interactive. Thank you for your care! Remedy's deal for Control 2, including Alan Wake and Control AV rights, is with Annapurna Pictures, and we are self-publishing…

— Thomas Puha (@RiotRMD) September 13, 2024

Original Story:

The entirety of Annapurna Interactive’s staff resigned after Megan Ellison, the indie game publisher’s owner and owner of Annapurna Pictures, walked away from negotiations to make the game division independent. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier first reported the news and spoke with sources familiar with the matter and representatives from Annapurna Pictures.

Schreier’s sources said that Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary and other executives resigned when Ellison left the negotiations, and two dozen additional Annapurna staff members resigned soon after.

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"Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison told Bloomberg in a statement. “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."

Annapurna's president of interactive and new media Hector Sanchez, who co-founded the company before rejoining in August 2024 after leaving Epic Games’ publishing division, told Schreier’s sources that Annapurna will honor all existing contracts for games and other projects. However, Schreier also said that Annapurna’s development partners have “scrambled to find new points of contact” and get clarity about the state of their projects. Sanchez reportedly said that Annapurna will replace staff who left, though he offered no timeline for when this action might take place.

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Annapurna Interactive is known for a string of critically acclaimed indie hits, including Outer Wilds, Stray, and 2024’s noir hit Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. The publishing label also recently signed a deal with Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment to help fund Control 2’s development and bring Remedy’s properties to TV and cinema.