This morning, all twenty-five employees of video game publisher Annapurna Interactive, including president Nathan Gary, resigned from the company, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The report confirms that the cause of this mass-exodus from the indie game publisher, known for games like Stray and Outer Wilds, was due to disagreements with parent company Annapurna. A spokesperson from Annapurna has come forward, explaing that there had been talks between Annapurna and Annapurna Interactive executives about spinning the game publisher off into its own company, but had failed to come to an agreement.
Bloomberg has also reported on a joint statement made by former president Nathan Gary and the rest of the former employees:
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’’ Gary and the group said in a joint statement. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.”
Last week, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Nathan Gary, the acting President at Annapurna Interactive, as well as the company’s co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella, had all stepped down and left the company. It was also noted in this report that Annapurna Interactive co-founder Hector Sanchez recently returned to Annapurna to serve as the company’s president of Interactive and New Media division. Annapurna plans to integrate their in-house gaming division with their other divisions, including TV and Film.
With all members of the publisher’s staff gone, developers signed to Annapurna Interactive for upcoming projects have been effectively left in the dust, with many scrambling to even find a point of contact with their publisher. Annapurna head Megan Ellison gave a statement to Bloomberg News regarding the situation:
“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “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.”