Annapurna Interactive leadership reshuffle last week Not only have editorial directors Nathan Gary, Deborah Mars, and Nathan Vella resigned from the company: all of the publishing house's employees have resigned as well.
This astonishing news comes from Bloomberg News reporter Jason Schreierand apparently follows a failed attempt by Gary and his colleagues to spin off the publisher as an independent company. They were in talks with Annapurna founder Megan Ellison, who abruptly pulled out of talks, prompting her resignation.
The only remaining executive is new president Hector Sanchez, who helped launch the publisher in 2016 and is rejoining the company after a stint at Epic Games.
In a statement to Bloomberg News, Ellison said the publisher’s top priority is “continuing to support our developer and publisher partners during this transition.” He said the company still plans to support its current game slate, but also “expand its presence in the interactive space.”
Annapurna suddenly went from being a hit maker to an empty office
Annapurna Interactive has been responsible for publishing a number of critical and commercial successes in the video game industry, including Stray, Outer WildlandsAND Narrator.
It's hard to think of a comparable event in the recent history of video game development. The exit leaves behind partners like Entertainment RemedyIvy Road and Digital Mobius without any point of contact, with Bloomberg reporting that the exodus has led to “chaos.”
There is no indication whether this will have an impact the in-house game studio founded by the company in 2022 will be affected. The fate of the South African support studio 24-bit games it's also in the air.
The game developer has reached out to Annapurna Interactive for comment and will update this story as soon as one is posted.