Entire staff of game publisher Annapurna Interactive has reportedly resigned

https://www.theverge.com/games/2024/9/12/24243317/annapurna-interactive-staff-reportedly-resigns

by nickcotter • 2 years ago

464 217 2 years ago

theverge.com

darby_nine5• 2 years ago

This is hilarious and rather sad. How did Annapurna fumble such famous talent so bad?

NotGMan• 2 years ago

Probably through "line must always go up" mentality.

Creative business, especially games, should really not be publicly traded or thought of as having major returns on investments.

It might work on start, but sooner or later the "current hit game" will fade out of popularity and then people will get fired and crunch will become the norm etc... in order to satisfy the "line must go up" mentality, but since game dev is a hit driven business that clashes with the "Line must go up" concept at its core since, being a hit driven business, means that it's totaly unpredictable.

thih9• 2 years ago

Do we have any source or other data indicating that this happened here?

Beretta_Vexee• 2 years ago

The video game business is very similar to the film or literary publishing business. You need to publish ten novels for one to do well enough financially to pay off the others. Nobody really knows why that one worked. It's possible to do a few sequels, but the formula quickly becomes boring.

No one can guarantee the commercial success of a novel, film or video game.

flohofwoe2• 2 years ago

It sounds like a good decision by the team tbh. Blurring the lines by 'integrating' functioning teams into a bigger entity which does completely unrelated things (TV, film and theater) never goes well. The team will most likely found their independent 'spin-off' company as they had planned already, no talent or knowledge is lost, only risk is financing for new projects.

darby_nine5• 2 years ago

It seems like all their other IP is derived from the game IPs, so I'm a little confused how this leaves Annapurna in a better position.

bobthepanda• 2 years ago

in particular, media mergers have a long history of going south pretty quickly because company culture is so fundamental to media production.

AOL+Time Warner is up there in the history of worst mergers.

a1371• 2 years ago

I don't mean to diminish their work and I don't know much about the matter but the company founder is some billionaire's daughter. I fear ever having a boss like that just because of the fundamental difference in perspective and life experiences. I'm sure I won't be able to communicate with them.

Aeolun2• 2 years ago

Hmm, I think you have more in common than you differ. It’s hard to escape the human condition using money.

xkbarkar• 2 years ago

A bit myopic to disqualify someone from the credibility pool because they had a headstart in life imho.

jgowdy• 2 years ago

"but the company founder is some billionaire's daughter. I fear ever having a boss like that just because of the fundamental difference in perspective and life experiences. I'm sure I won't be able to communicate with them."

Imagine invalidating a person as a potential colleague and declaring your incompatibility with that person remotely based on a quarter inch deep evaluation of their background. I think this kind of take is in really bad taste.

Chris2048• 2 years ago

It's "boss", not "colleague"; and they're your boss based purely on having a lot of money from their parent, hardly a "quarter inch deep" evaluation.

edm0nd• 2 years ago

For the curious, the daughter of multibillionaire Larry Ellison, the cofounder of Oracle.

sonofhans• 2 years ago

“The report, which IGN can confirm based on conversations with our own sources, states that Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary had recently been in negotiations with Annapurna founder and billionaire Megan Ellison to spin the gaming segment off as its own company. However, Ellison eventually pulled out of negotiations, at which point Gary resigned. Almost 30 other individuals, including division co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella, as well as the entire remaining staff of Annapurna Interactive, joined him.”

From IGN — https://www.ign.com/articles/annapurnas-entire-gaming-team-h...

I don’t blame them. I’d rather negotiate my arm out of a shark’s mouth than the cost of a hot dog with Larry Ellison, or his daughter. You don’t get that awful rich by ever believing you’re awful rich enough.

hinkley8• 2 years ago

Another lawnmower is born.

robjwells2• 2 years ago

For those who don’t get the lawnmower reference, take 5 minutes and have a hearty laugh: https://youtube.com/watch?t=1980&v=-zRN7XLCRhc

(Start at the 33 minute mark if it doesn’t jump you there.)

stefan_2• 2 years ago

Imagine having to negotiate with Larry Ellisons nepo daughter, how can you even keep a straight face. "It says here you are a film producer?"

ZeroGravitas• 2 years ago

I only found out recently that animated film company Laika was created after Nike founder Phil Knight bought his son a new career after he failed at being a rapper.

He bought into Will Vinton studios and then forced Oscar winning animation pioneer Will Vinton out of his own company.

There's a whole documentary, sad and interesting.

rowanG0772• 2 years ago

I don't follow? Why is that funny? Why wouldn't she be able to be a film producer?

dash2• 2 years ago

It says this is the company that produced, among other films, She? Did Megan Ellison have anything to do with it?

WorldMaker• 2 years ago

It's just as weird that it happens twice in Hollywood today. Another of Larry Ellison's nepo baby heirs runs Skydance, which has had a bit more success in "blockbuster" terms (and has recently been flirting with buying CBS Viacom aka Paramount).

ryandrake3• 2 years ago

Wow, I didn't make the last name connection until reading this thread. The Wikipedia page[1] for Annapurna Pictures doesn't even mention that the founder is the child of a billionaire. It just kind of implies the founder dabbled in film school for two semesters, went off to travel the world, and then -poof- a media production company is conjured into existence. Pretty rosy depiction of nepotism.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapurna_Pictures

markus_zhang3• 2 years ago

This is what people with talents should do if they don't agree with the super riches who don't do anything substantial but inherit a shit ton of money.

loupol• 2 years ago

Article is missing some context imo :

* Annapurna Pictures (the parent company of Interactive) had some financial issues previously at least (see [0] from 2019) while Annapurna Interactive was doing well for itself.

* Annapurna Pictures wanted to integrate the gaming division in-house (possibly to prop up the rest of the company)

* Staff and exec at Annapurna Interactive wanted to be spin off (see [1])

* Negotiations fell through, so most exec and staff at Interactive left

[0] https://variety.com/2019/film/news/annapurna-resolves-more-t...

[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-12/annapurna...

threeseed3• 2 years ago

There is another way to look at this.

Annapurna Pictures in Dec 2022 produced Nimona for Netflix which debuted at #9 globally and was as high as #3 i.e. it was a massive hit.

So they now have the Stray IP which could be extremely lucrative and are looking at how CD Project Red handled their successful Cyberpunk integration on Netflix as a model. Which is where you cross-promote a game add-on or sequel with the movie.

Which means for the gaming side they really wouldn't have any control over their direction as it would be entirely driven by the movie side. Not exactly compelling for them hence why they want to leave.

With the success of Fallout, The Last of Us, Cyberpunk Edgerunners etc there's definitely big money to be made from video game IP.

delusional• 2 years ago

This seems like the same way to look at it. The only disagreement between these two comments is if the potential integration is motivated by a lack of success, or the outlook of even greater success. Those are is, at least economically, identical motivations.

jajko• 2 years ago

It also goes back, when CP2077 TV show premiered, sales and number of players skyrocketed again, same for Fallout.

InDubioProRubio2• 2 years ago

IP, content, blobs - container words - a sure-fire indicator in any conversation that , that the parties involved areunable to accurately value, evaluate, organize and produce, the valuables that should reside inside the container. So here the daily reminder, that logistics is a commodity now, but producing something of value, is not.

Maken3• 2 years ago

That seems to be the goal of their partnership with Remedy Games, whose games are already pretty much interactive movies.

chupasaurus• 2 years ago

how CD Project Red handled their successful Cyberpunk integration on Netflix as a model

A reminder that Cyberpunk IP holder is Mike Pondsmith, not CD Project.

stuckinhell• 2 years ago

Nimona was not a massive hit.

Maken3• 2 years ago

They were too successful for their own good?

gorbachev• 2 years ago

dupe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41526074

hashtag-til2• 2 years ago

Any idea why the previous is flagged?

pvg4• 2 years ago

Most company personnel changes are not particularly interesting (in the sense of there's not much 'intellectually curious' conversation to be had about them) and are also extensively covered and discussed elsewhere.

PoignardAzur• 2 years ago

I hope whatever entity these people reform has the same magic.

Every single game they published had something unique. Outer Wilds, Telling Lies, Twelve Minutes, Edit Finch, Neon White, etc.

They didn't develop these games, but they have an eye for talent.

personjerry• 2 years ago

In their nascent years I played two of their early games, both mobile games - Florence and Gorogoa. Both beautiful. I still play Florence once in a while and it really evokes emotions. Gorogoa is a great puzzle game that the HN crowd would love. Highly recommend both if you haven't tried them!

j_maffe• 2 years ago

Both games are incredible but Gorogoa is a masterpiece. It attempted to communicate something about humanity that couldn't have been expressed in any other form.

ashwin-b• 2 years ago

I agree. They are like the A24 for games. They don't make the product themselves but invest and promote some really good games. Outer Wilds being one of my favourites of all time.

SV_BubbleTime2• 2 years ago

Outer Wilds is top three all-time for me. And hands-down, the most underrated game and at least one generation.

it’s a good point that the publisher does have an eye for talent.

eleveriven3• 2 years ago

I feel the same way! Annapurna Interactive consistently published games with something special

misnome• 2 years ago

Absolutely. "Annapurna Interactive" essentially made anything an instant buy for me. Very disappointed to see what sort of undead monster the label will become.

simonw2• 2 years ago

I adored Donut County, it had everything I could possible want from a game about trash pandas and LA county donut culture.

mintplant2• 2 years ago

Donut County is my favorite game to sit someone down and watch them play through in a single sitting.

mercer• 2 years ago

It's probably the best donutlike I've played

duxup• 2 years ago

What kind of lift is there in just becoming a publisher from scratch?

I'm trying to imagine what their role is ... if you can just "be a publisher" or if you need a lot of cash up front or what.

facorreia2• 2 years ago

I don't know the answer, but I imagine that the execs and staff that left as a block have some plan lined up.

paledot• 2 years ago

I don't know either, but it seems like approximately 100% of the reason game studios opt not to self-publish in this day and age is that lift. Annapurna's name alone carried a lot of clout.

(Side note: continue to be disappointed that they didn't brand themselves as "Annapurrna" on the Stray opening screen.)

oneepic• 2 years ago

I would add a couple games that moved me (Hindsight, A Memoir Blue). but I also have to mention not all of their titles are smash hits IMO -- I disliked Florence, Last Stop, If Found, and Open Roads.

That said, I agree that their good games have made me a fan, and I hope the original staff keeps going in some form.

facorreia2• 2 years ago

I agree. Seeing the Annapurna logo in a game has become a signal to me that I will really enjoy that game and that it has a unique, fresh perspective to offer.

jeffwask• 2 years ago

They were a top indie publisher who you could rely on releasing interesting and quality game. Sad loss for gaming.

AzzyHN• 2 years ago

They were one of the few publishing companies that people liked as a _publishing_ company.

eleveriven3• 2 years ago

I am a big fan of Stray! The atmosphere was both haunting and beautiful, and the emotional connection you feel as you guide the cat through puzzles, etc. Hearing about the uncertainty at Annapurna Interactive feels personal a little

Torkel2• 2 years ago

I have feelings about Stray... What an awesome game it could have been!

I played it with one of my daughers. Lovely father/daughter playing session. Guiding the cat through the maze/puzzles. Cat can't fall, it's just calm and nice.

And then, out of nowhere - blinking screaming wildly stressful and awful rats come chase us.

My daughter dropped the controller, I played it through. But after that the game lost its charm. The second time the rats came, she left. We never played it again.

I checked if there was some "please don't ever give me rats" setting, but nope. I checked with a friend and they said the rats appear throughout the game.

So I'm really sorry, but stray is a 1/10 game for me. Remove the rats and its 9/10.

What is the purpose of the rats? It's an arcade moment in a game that was nice, calm, cute and relaxing. Totally breaks the contract that I felt was established with us as players.

nicolaslem• 2 years ago

It seems you just wanted a different game than what Stray is.

teamonkey• 2 years ago

My kids had a similar experience. They had more luck with Little Kitty Big City, which has a more cartoony vibe but fewer sticking points.

Sammi• 2 years ago

Totally breaks the contract that I felt was established with us as players.

Lots of people like surprise and excitement. The game is rated: Age 12+ Violence

msh• 2 years ago

They are not rats and they are quite essential to the story so they would not be easy to remove.

yungporko• 2 years ago

stray has a pretty dark and foreboding atmosphere, the rats fit right in imo. seconding the other commenter who recommended little kitty big city though, i didn't expect to enjoy it as much as i did.

mafro• 2 years ago

Played through with my 7yo daughter. She loved the game, but would freak out when chased by the "rats". It was a good opportunity to show her how to try to keep playing when you're stressed! She found it exciting after a couple of goes. You didn't mention how old your daughter is, but that is surely the key factor.

I'm still hopeful for a "Stray 2" - or whatever they can do now the devs lost the IP. My daughter cried when at the game's ending (no spoiler)

eleveriven3• 2 years ago

I think the purpose of the rats was probably to introduce a sense of danger and urgency, adding some challenge. Yet are there any other games you and your daughter enjoyed together?

aavshr• 2 years ago

Sad to see, Outer Wilds is probably the best game I've ever played. But I'm sure the staff will continue doing great work in whatever they decide to do next.

Maken3• 2 years ago

This is the publisher, not the developer, of Outer Wilds imploding. The people who actually made the game are still working at the studio.

nubinetwork• 2 years ago

Every time I hear thr name Annapurna, I think about the ARM SoC maker...

umanwizard3• 2 years ago

Every time I hear it I think of the restaurant on Capitol Hill in Seattle.

thoroughburro3• 2 years ago

Annapurna is a god of food and nourishment in Hinduism; a manifestation of Parvati.

openthc• 2 years ago

Bong shop in Berkeley, CA

FrojoS• 2 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapurna Just in case anyone is unaware, it's a mountain in Nepal. The 10th highest in the world.

mangamadaiyan• 2 years ago

The first eight-thousander that was summitted, as well as the name of the book that Maurice Herzog wrote. Which book is well worth reading.

thoroughburro3• 2 years ago

The mountain is named after Annapurna, the Hindu goddess of food and nourishment, who is said to reside there.

Derelicts• 2 years ago

Aren't these the same guys who published Stray?

poikroequ• 2 years ago

It's literally the first game mentioned in the article...

debo_• 2 years ago

I was looking forward to Blade Runner 2033. It's nice to have moody adventure games in this era. I imagine that this will delay it at the very least, but likely worse.

actinium226• 2 years ago

Makes you wonder, did the last person to leave turn off the lights?

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF2• 2 years ago

Good for them!

There's a lot to be said about certain large publishers but this publisher's list of games includes some very good titles. Just knowing they worked with the developers to release certain titles makes me very interested to see who they'll work with next. They seem like a group who will become a household name with a little luck in their marketing.

I understand why Annapurna would not want to spin off such a successful division but it sounds like the only leverage they had was existing IP, which the employees probably understand as a sunk cost. I'm glad they were all able to realize they could just do what they do under a different name; I get the feeling the developers they've worked with will remember them and they know it.

sss111• 2 years ago

aw man these people made Sayonara: Wild Hearts, which is hands down the best iPhone game I have ever played.

javier_e06• 2 years ago

I hope the staff land on their feet...

and move on.

They produced the best games out there and that, remains patent.

What happens next is corporate wrangling less to do with creativity and more to do with profits.

oglop• 2 years ago

The stranger thing in this thread is how many people are breathlessly defending nepo babies. They really don’t need your help guys. They are fine.

Entire staff of game publisher Annapurna Interactive has reportedly resigned

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