Annapurna Interactive's Recent Employee Issues Reportedly Caused by Staff Concerns

By Renz O. Soliman Published 09/23/24 EDT

Annapurna Interactive's recent mass employee resignation and splitting into two groups were reportedly caused by staff concerns over the company's direction moving forward.

One detail that was recently revealed is that the company's workers were unaware of the Remedy deal until the day it was actually announced. The employees were reportedly "confused, concerned, and frustrated."

Annapurna Interactive's Recent Issues

This led to workers walking out due to a breakdown in negotiations to spin off its games division from its parent company Annapurna Pictures.

The original plan was to have a new company known as Verset. It would have been created out of Annapurna Interactive to become its "indie arm."

The team reportedly discovered in August that Annapurna Interactive co-founder Hector Sanchez was "quietly rehired." He was then put into the role of president of interactive and new media, according to GamesIndustry.

The decision was made as negotiations were underway and was made by Annapurna Pictures CEO Megan Ellison. Sanchez was reportedly working on "gaming projects without the knowledge of the rest of the Interactive staff."

It was in 2019 when Sanchez left Annapurna Interactive to become a member of Epic Games as Head of Epic Games Publishing. He then left this particular position in February of this year.

Before this year, tensions were already high as employee opinions regarding Ellison and Annapurna Interactive varied. These range from indifference to even mistrust amid reports of her behavior toward workers, Rock Paper Shotgun.

Anonymous sources for IGN even said that some had a strong fear of reprisal from Ellison, particularly due to her resources, history, and reach. It was reported that the company was "business as usual" despite the concerns.

Workers were then shocked in mid-March earlier this year after they learned that Anna Pictures CEO James Masi was let go. This led to a shake-up that even reached Annapurna president Nathan Gary.

A Messy Situation

This led to negotiations regarding the potential spin-off of the company that would oversee currently existing Interactive projects. Some people were aware of the situation and were told that "their contracts would be fulfilled."

Annapurna Interactive was founded in 2016 as a gaming-focused subsidiary of Ellison's Annapurna Pictures. It has since had a successful run producing various films.

These include 'The Master,' 'Her,' and 'Zero Dark Thirty.' However, it then started to struggle financially in the last 2010s.

The Interactive division, on the other hand, was still successful, releasing titles such as Neon White, Outer Wilds, and Stray.

The most recent news was Annapurna Interactive's deal with Remedy to make live-action adaptations of the Alan Wake and Control franchises, according to PCGamer.