More details emerged following the mass departure of the Annapurna Interactive team last week, with sources telling IGN that they were allegedly unaware of the Remedy deal until the day it was announced and were “confused, concerned and frustrated” with the company's direction. .
It was already known that the team left due to failure in negotiations to spin off its gaming division from parent company Annapurna Pictures. According to IGN, the plan was to create a new company called Verset from Annapurna Interactive to become Annapurna's “independent arm”.
During the meeting, the team reportedly discovered in August that Annapurna Interactive co-founder Hector Sanchez had been “quietly rehired” as president of interactive and new media by Annapurna Pictures CEO Megan Ellison and was working on “game projects without the knowledge of the rest of the Interactive staff.”
Sanchez left Annapurna Interactive in 2019 to join Epic Games as Head of Epic Games Publishing, a position he left in February 2024.
A spokesperson for Annapurna claimed that talks between Sanchez and Ellison began earlier this year before she offered him a role at Pictures, where he would “lead efforts in the AAA and AA gaming space, including transmedia properties.”
That included a deal between Annapurna Pictures and Remedy Entertainment announced in August — a deal that sources say the Interactive team didn't know about until it was announced.
During this time, Annapurna Pictures ended the discussion and spun off Interactive. The company claimed this was because Interactive boss Nathan Gary “failed to respond to requests for feedback on legal proposals”.
However, sources told IGN that they “started to see signs that Ellison was showing more involvement in Annapurna Interactive's deals, projects, and budgets in a way that made them uncomfortable with the direction of the company,” culminating in a mass walkout. out.
Annapurna also shed light on the future of games in development, including Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. Development will continue despite the resignation of game director Chelsea Hash and many members of his development team.
An Annapurna spokesperson said: “The whole situation is confusing, but we're now focused on moving forward. We've had really great conversations with the vast majority of our existing development teams and are grateful for their partnership.”