Report: Annapurna Interactive's Entire Gaming Staff Quit After Spin Off Negotiations Break Down

Look, I know that Annapurna Interactive, the video game publishing division of Annapurna, isn't exactly huge in the multiplayer video game space, but this news is just too bizarre not to share with you. Plus, I love Remedy's Control and Alan Wake and would love to see Control 2 and see the franchise hit other media, so I'm a fan of their recent deal with Annapurna.

It's being reported by Jason Schreier over at Bloomberg that the entire staff of Annapurna Interactive resigned.

Yes, you read that right.

Going back just a bit, Annapurna Interactive was in negotiations with Annapurna's owner Megan Ellison to spin off Annapurna Interactive into its own business entity. When Ellison decided to leave the negotiations, Annapurna Interactive President Nathan Gary, other executives, and around two dozen members of the staff quit.

"Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “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."

While companies that are in active contracts with Annapurna Interactive are scrambling a bit, Annapurna is trying to assuage concerns and returning co-founder Hector Sanchez has reportedly told developers that the company will honor all existing contracts and will hire replacements for the staff that left.

It'll be interesting to see how the company handles the funding, QA, and other publisher duties they currently have on their books.