According to Bloomberg, Annapurna Interactive, the publisher of games such as Cocoon, Stray and Neon White, has resigned all of its employees due to internal disagreements this month.
The resignations came after a dispute between Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary and Annapurna studio president Megan Ellison. Bloomberg reported that talks were underway to “separate the video game division into an independent entity.” After failing to reach an agreement, Ellison withdrew from the talks, resulting in Gary and “other executives” resigning. More resignations followed, with a reported twenty-four more employees leaving the company.
Here is an excerpt from the Bloomberg article:
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team have collectively resigned,” Gary and the group said in a joint statement. “This was one of the most difficult decisions we have ever had to make, and we did not take this action lightly.”
“Our top priority is to continue to support our developer and publisher partners during this transition,” Ellison told Bloomberg News. “We are committed to 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 not only our existing games franchises, but also film and TV, games and theater.”
New president Hector Sanchez, one of the co-founders of Annapurna Interactive, reportedly told developers that “the company will honor existing contracts and replace departing staff.”
Last month, Control studio Remedy announced that it was “as excited as the people of Finland” to partner with Annapurna to finance Control 2, alongside the television and film adaptations of Alan Wake.
Several developers who posted on Annapurna responded to the news on social media. “Just for those asking, we're 100% good,” tweeted Davey Wreden, director of tea-brewing sim Wanderstop from Ivy Road. “Nothing's stopping us from releasing Wanderstop very soon.”