The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive has resigned

John Elden Ring

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The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive resigned this month following a dispute with its owner.



"A spokesperson for Annapurna confirmed that it had explored a spinoff and said the parties failed to reach an agreement, which led to the resignations."

"The spokesperson said that all existing games and projects will remain under Annapurna."
 
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Evilnemesis8

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What the fuck...

What was that project they were working on with another company? That's dead now...

You might be thinking about what was announced a few weeks ago.
Remedy partnering with Annapurna to get their IP into TV/Movie with Annapurna Pictures and funding 50% of Control 2.

But in general Annapurna was publishing a lot of smaller titles.

Anyhow, it is certainly rough.
 
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Yurinka

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I don't get it.

Why would they want to spinoff? Maybe some fight between the heads of the gaming division and the CEO of the corporation maybe?

And when they didn't achieve it, why did all left and not only the few top bosses?

And if all of them left, why did they do it suddenly instead of being a professional and ensure there's a smooth transition to the new staff making sure that the devs who depend on them have their stuff under control?

Sony, this is your chance to do something good...
These guys were running Sony Santa Monica's 2nd party/XDEV team until they left to create Annapurna's game division.

I don't see them coming back.
 
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Evilnemesis8

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I don't get it.

Why would they want to spinoff? Maybe some fight between the heads of the gaming division and the CEO of the corporation maybe?

And when they didn't achieve it, why did all left and not only the few top bosses?

And if all of them left, why did they do it suddenly instead of being a professional and ensure there's a smooth transition to the new staff making sure that the devs who depend on them have their stuff under control?

Here's a clue, article from 6 days ago from The Hollywood Reporter:

Nathan Gary is stepping down as the president of Megan Ellison’s Annapurna, a post he has held since 2021, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Gary will also be departing the company.

The co-heads of Annapurna’s indie gaming division, Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella, are also departing.

Hector Sanchez recently rejoined Annapurna from Epic Games and was named the company’s president of interactive and new media. (Sanchez helped launch Annapurna Interactive in 2016.) He will oversee the company’s indie gaming efforts as Annapurna is also looking to expand into AAA, or large-budget, games.

Under Ellison and her senior leadership, the company will integrate its in-house gaming operations with the rest of Annapurna’s divisions, which include film, TV and theater.

Seems to me like the folks at Interactive wanted to keep doing what they were doing and they were told that this wasn't going to happen. When they figured it out, they all resigned. Really crazy time to do this considering the climate of the industry, it's not guaranteed they'll be able to find funding partners to reform under a different name.
 
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Yurinka

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Here's a clue, article from 6 days ago from The Hollywood Reporter:





Seems to me like the folks at Interactive wanted to keep doing what they were doing and they were told that this wasn't going to happen. When they figured it out, they all resigned. Really crazy time to do this considering the climate of the industry, it's not guaranteed they'll be able to find funding partners to reform under a different name.
What does "the company will integrate its in-house gaming operations with the rest of Annapurna’s divisions" exactly means and what isdifference with what they already were doing? I thought Annapurna Interactive already was a part of Annapurna, so had to report to them.

What they did was "only" to scout indies, fund them and to publish & market them plus as any publisher to also provide support in areas needed (typically porting, Q&A or localization). I don't get which part of this can be integrated with divisions that make movies or tv shows.
 

Evilnemesis8

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What does "the company will integrate its in-house gaming operations with the rest of Annapurna’s divisions" exactly means and what isdifference with what they already were doing? I thought Annapurna Interactive already was a part of Annapurna, so had to report to them.
I don't get which part of this can be integrated with divisions that make movies or tv shows.

No fucking idea, it's probably an idea from the suits at Annapurna Pictures, and/or Megan Ellison.
Which means it's probably a stupid idea like so many of them coming from non-endemics to Gaming.

There's a reason everyone from there resigned once negotiations broke down. That's not something that happens that often.

I guess we'll just have to wait for more information, although I don't know how much we'll get in terms of the nitty gritty details.
 
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Yurinka

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No fucking idea, it's probably an idea from the suits at Annapurna Pictures, and/or Megan Ellison.
Which means it's probably a stupid idea like so many of them coming from non-endemics to Gaming.

There's a reason everyone from there resigned once negotiations broke down. That's not something that happens that often.

I guess we'll just have to wait for more information, although I don't know how much we'll get in terms of the nitty gritty details.
Seems to me that something really ugly must have happened there. Because it isn't normal at all. I mean, I can understand that some boss or bosses from the gaming division could leave because of having a conflict with the suits. I can understand also that the suits would fire a boss of the gaming division, or shut it down.

But seeing that EVERYONE quitted, even the janitor, is ultra rare. I think I never saw that before.