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Internal disagreements over the future of the company has led Annapurna’s entire interactive team to resign, leaving development partners wondering how it will affect their in-development projects.
Via Bloomberg, the resignations occurred after discussions between Annapurna founder Megan Ellison and Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary failed to come to terms on a deal that would have spun out the gaming section as a standalone company. The report notes that Ellison ended the negotiations, which led Gary, division co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella, and the rest of the team to exit the company. The team subsequently released the following statement to Bloomberg.
“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned. This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.”
As part of the announcement of its partnership with Remedy, Annapurna revealed that ex-Epic Games executive Hector Sanchez had been signed as the company’s new president of interactive and new media. Sanchez will now take over Gary’s role as president of Annapurna Interactive.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier also tweeted that Remedy’s deal with Annapurna was not affected by the resignations, as did Remedy’s Thomas Puha.
Additionally, Ellison issued a statement promising that the company will honor its commitments to its other gaming partners.
“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” said Ellison. “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.”
For now, it’s unknown if Gary and his team will form a company of their own or go their separate ways.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Remedy’s agreement was with Annapurna Interactive. It is with Annapurna Pictures.
