What happened to Annapurna Interactive video games?

All members of the video game company Annapurna Interactive quit their jobs recently after they couldn’t come to an agreement with the owner about spinning off the business. The company, which in the last eight years has published some of the most innovative and popular indie video games on the market, will reportedly continue with new employees.

Annapurna Interactive is one part of the larger Annapurna studio, owned by Megan Ellison. Ellison is the daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison, the CFO of Oracle and the third (and sometimes second) richest man in the world.

Now, former Annapurna Interactive President Nathan Gary said he was negotiating with Megan Ellison about spinning off the company as its own entity when she suddenly stopped negotiating.

“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’’ Gary and the other employees said in a statement. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.”

Ellison responded to the resignations by saying that the company’s top priority was “continuing to support our developer and publishing partners.” She called the move a “transition” and said Annapurna was looking to “take a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling across film and TV, gaming, and theater.”

Understandably, the move caused some anxiety in the Annapurna Interactive’s partners for upcoming projects. Video game publishers typically handle things like game testing, marketing and the adaptation of games for different markets. Still, Annapurna said it was going to honor all existing projects.

Hector Sanchez, the company’s new president, said there will be new hires to complete pending projects. The Annapurna Interactive name carries a lot of weight in the video game community. Games like Stray, Outer Wilds, and What Remains of Edith Finch are some of the most classic indie games ever.

Annapurna Pictures, the parent company of the video game outfit, has produced movies like American Hustle, Her, and Zero Dark Thirty. It had a deal with Remedy Entertainment to help finance the film version of Stray, as well as adaptations of the popular Alan Wake and Control franchises.

It’s not yet known what the 25 employees who resigned from the company plan to do moving forward. Will they start their own publishing company as a direct competitor? Will they all join a different company? Also, will Annapurna Studios be able to bounce back from this and produce the same type of content with all-new employees? Only time will tell.