Two weeks later, the entire staff of Annapurna Interactive resigned suddenlynew information has emerged about the events that apparently led to the mass exodus.
A recent report by IGN claims the movie studio's video game division has been fragmented by conflicts within senior management, broken deals and a general distrust of co-founder Megan Ellison.
Annapurna Interactive was founded in 2016 as an extension of Ellison's Annapurna Productions. Since then, it has released critical and financial successes such as What Remains of Edith Finch AND Stray.
Interactive was initially run by Nathan Gary, who later oversaw both Annapurna Pictures and Interactive. An Annapurna spokesperson told IGN that the company “refocused” on games during his time leading both divisions.
According to the outlet, Interactive co-founder James Masi was abruptly fired in mid-March. At that point, Ellison was overseeing Pictures after she disappeared for several years, Sources at the time claimed that he played “mind games” with staff and had several “explosive incidents.”
With Masi's departure, Gary was reinstated as head of Interactive, only to leave shortly thereafter. Annapurna told IGN that he chose to leave, but other sources within the outlet said he was fired along with Masi.
Interactive staff believe the two were fired without warning, which caused “confusion and anger.” Several employees, including a team leader, resigned in protest.
The straw that broke the camel's back for Annapurna Interactive
IGN reports that, after a call between Ellison and the rest of the Interactive team, all of the recently departed staff, including Gary and Masi, have returned.
The pair would then run a spin-off company called Verset. As described by IGN, this new company would oversee all of Interactive’s existing projects, and would be free to make its own separate deals.
Ownership would have been split between it and Annapurna executives, and the entire Interactive staff would have had to migrate to Verset.
Instead, Hector Sanchez (a former Interactive leader who left in 2019) was brought in to be the new president of Annapurna Interactive and New Media. Under him, Annapurna Interactive would handle the triple-A and double-A side of games, while Verset would handle indies.
IGN notes that Sanchez was also open to spearheading potential transmedia efforts, such as Pictures' recent deal with Remedy and its franchises Control and Alan Wake. Interactive staff were reportedly unaware of this deal until the morning it was announced.
Employees became even more confused and upset when Ellison said discussions about Verset had “stalled.” Annapurna insisted to IGN that Gary never provided feedback on legal drafts and later dismissed the idea that he had backed out of the deal.
After the Verset deal fell through, multiple sources told IGN that Ellison became more involved in Interactive's deals, projects and budgets, much to their concern.
In late August, the 25-person team at Annapurna Interactive signed a joint letter of resignation, then left on September 6. Sources also told IGN that prior to the exodus, staff had tried to pitch alternatives (such as Verset) to Ellison, but she wasn't interested.
Meanwhile, developers working with Interactive reportedly weren't aware of the departures until a day or two beforehand. Annapurna told IGN he “didn't have time” to contact everyone, while other sources said there were “no guidelines” on who to contact (or when or how).
As of this writing, Verset has a small websitewhich IGN believes is an indicator that former Interactive staff are starting the venture on their own. After speaking with Sanchez, Interactive's partners feel “confident” (but still confused and frustrated) that their obligations will be met.
Annapurna is currently hiring to fill open positions and is working with outside agencies for additional assistance. The company also said it will continue to develop its first in-house project, Blade Runner 2033: Maze Runner.
A company spokesperson told IGN that the company is “focused on the future.” […] If our inbox is any indication, a lot of developers continue to want to be a part of what we're building, and we can't wait to read their pitches.”
But they were also blunt in saying that the whole situation was “baffling.”
IGN's full report on the collapse of Annapurna Interactive can be read Here.