It appears that game publisher Annapurna Interactive has lost its entire staff. The team wanted to become independent, but negotiations with the parent company were unsuccessful.
Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth
UPDATE: The article has been updated to correct information about Hector Sanchez’s position at Annapurna Interactive
- Annapurna Interactive has been in talks with Annapurna Pictures founder Megan Ellison about spinning off the video game publisher into an independent entity. According to Bloomberg, the parities didn’t reach an agreement.
- As a result, Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary and other executives resigned, followed by other workers. All 25 employees left the company after the negotiations failed.
- “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly,” the publishing team said in a statement.
- Ellison told Bloomberg that “our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” adding that the company will continue to expand its presence in the interactive entertainment space.
- Hector Sanchez, who co-founded Annapurna Interactive in 2016 and serves as the president of Interactive and New Media, reportedly told developer partners that the company remains committed to existing contracts.
- Remedy communications director Thomas Puha noted that this situation won’t affect the studio’s deal with Annapurna Pictures, which will fund 50% of Control 2 and receive rights to film and TV adaptations of the Control and Alan Wake franchises.
Annapurna Interactive is one of the most recognized indie game publishers in the industry. Its portfolio includes successful and award-winning titles like What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilds, Kentucky Route Zero, Neon White, Stray, and Cocoon.
The company has publishing deals for Silent Hill: Townfall, The Lost Wild, Mixtape, Wanderstop, and several other upcoming games. It is also working on its first in-house developed project Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth.