Sep 17, 2024

Annapurna Interactive, all employees resign en masse due to feud with Megan Ellison.

In one of the more bizarre studio meltdowns of 2024, video game studio Annapurna Interactive went to zero employees last week after all 25 employees left en masse.

The company, a division of film and television production company Annapurna, is the brother of David Ellison, who is being acquired by Skydance Media for Paramount, and Oracle co-founder Larry, who recently surpassed Mark Zuckerberg as the third richest man on the planet with a net worth of over $203 billion. The company is run by Megan Ellison, the daughter of David Ellison, who recently surpassed Mark Zuckerberg to become the third richest person on the planet with a net worth of over $203 billion.

The resignation came over a “dispute” with Ellison, according to Bloomberg, which first reported that the entire studio had quit; according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, the dispute centered on negotiations to separate the video game division into a separate company. When the two sides failed to reach an agreement, Ellison pulled out of the negotiations and all of the studio's employees quit.

“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team have resigned simultaneously,” Nathan Gary, former president of Annapurna Interactive, and other employees said in a joint statement. “This was one of the most difficult decisions we have ever had to make, and we did not take this action lightly."

‘We are very sorry for the loss of these employees,’

said Gary.

Ellison issued the following statement to Bloomberg:

Our top priority is to continue to support our developers and publishing partners during this transition. We remain committed to expanding our presence in the interactive space by continuing to explore opportunities for a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling, not only in existing game productions, but also in film, television, games and theater.

The company has appointed Hector Sanchez, one of the division's original staff members, as its new president.

Annapurna, in collaboration with other game developers, has published about three to five indie titles each year since 2017, including “Kentucky Route Zero,” “Outer Wilds,” “What Remains of Edith Finch, Cocoon, and Stray, the latter of which is currently being developed into an animated feature film through Annapurna Animation.

Annapurna has been active in the animation field in other ways as well. Last year, it produced the Oscar-nominated Netflix animated feature “Nimona,” and this year it launched “Sausage Party: Foodtopia” on Prime Video.