Annapurna Interactive, the video game distribution arm of Annapurna Pictures, is currently in some trouble as all of its employees have apparently resigned following a failed attempt to spin off the company.
Annapurna Interactive has a reputation for publishing high-quality “indie” games, including games like Stray. As for Annapurna Pictures, it produced and financed several films including Zero Dark Thirty, Lawless and American Hustle.
The show has been in production for some time. Last week, Hollywoodreporter.com learned that Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary would be resigning and leaving the company entirely. Co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella are also reported to be leaving. Annapurna Pictures confirmed the news on September 6.
Now, however, it appears that everyone at Annapurna Interactive has resigned as talks to spin off the studio failed. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier revealed the news in a lengthy report. Annapurna Pictures CEO confirmed the news in a statement.
“Our first priority is to continue to support our developers and publishing partners during this transition,” Allison told Bloomberg News. “We are not only committed to our existing game series, but also to expanding our Impact in the interactive space as we continue to look for opportunities to take a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling across film, television, games and theater.
At the same time, Nathan Gary and his colleagues also issued a brief statement, saying: “All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team resigned collectively. This is one of the most difficult decisions we have ever made, and we do not take this lightly. action.
Annapurna Interactive has appointed Hector Sanchez as its new president, claiming the company will honor all existing contracts and will replace employees. Sanchez was one of the original co-founders of Annapurna Interactive when it was founded in 2016.
Remedy is one of the companies that may be affected by the sudden collapse of Annapurna Interactive, which recently announced a deal in which Annapurna will partially fund Control 2 in exchange for the film and TV rights to Control and Alan Wake. .
However, Thomas Puha, Remedy’s director of communications, has put those concerns to rest. He told the X show that the deal was with Annapurna Pictures, who are still self-publishing Control 2.
Of course, this will undoubtedly be a worrying time for all other companies that have long-term agreements with Annapurna Interactive.
It’s unclear what happened behind the scenes to cause Annapurna Interactive to crash. Clearly, the team there feels strongly about the spinoff from parent company Annapurna Pictures, but why? Do they think there’s something wrong with the parent company’s leadership? Do they just want more autonomy? Or do they not like the direction Annapurna Pictures is going? As time goes by, I believe more information will come to light.
Over the years, the team at Annapurna Interactive has become one of the most popular teams in the indie gaming space, often putting its name behind great games. While it seems Annapurna Interactive will continue in one form or another, will it achieve the same success without the same people at the helm?