Source: BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive / Stray
Annapurna Interactive, the game company best known for publishing indie titles like Stray and Neon White, no longer has a staff.
According to Bloomberg, Annapurna Interactive’s entire staff quit after failing to convince Megan Ellison to let them spin off Annapurna Studio’s gaming division into a new company.
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,” former president Nathan Gary and staffers said to Bloomberg. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make, and we did not take this action lightly.”
A spokesperson for Annapurna said existing games and projects will remain under the company.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gary along with Annapurna Interactives coheads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vellat would be leaving the company.
The website also reports the company planned to “integrate its in-house gaming operations with the rest of Annapurna’s divisions, which include film, TV and theater.”
Hector Sanchez, the former head of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine games business and a cofounder of Annapurna’s gaming division, revealed last month that he would be president of interactive and new media at Annapurna.
Annapurna is no stranger to success. After releasing award-winning films like Her, American Hustle, and Zero Dark Thirty , the company looked to duplicate that success in gaming.
The company announced in 2020 that it would begin developing its own games, launch an in-house animation division in 2022, and work on a film based on Stray.
Last month, Annapurna partnered with Remedy Entertainment to explore ways to bring popular games Control and Alan Wake to television and theaters.
As expected, the reaction to the news of Annapurna Interactive’s entire staff walking has shocked the video game community.
You can see those reactions below.