Annapurna Interactive's entire workforce collectively resigned yesterday following a dispute with the publisher's parent company Annapurna Pictures, but some developers working with both groups have given an update on their upcoming games.
Annapurna Interactive made a name for itself by publishing widely acclaimed, creative 'arthouse' games such as catventure Stray, speedrunning platformer Neon White, space puzzlebox Outer Wilds, and horny RPG Thirsty Suitors. As a publisher, Annapurna Interactive is responsible for funding projects, and providing QA and localization support, among other things, which obviously left many worried about its upcoming slate of games since many studios no longer have a point of contact within the company.
Stanley Parable co-creator Davey Wreden had announced the subversive, not-so-cozy shop management sim Wanderstop with the boutique publisher earlier this summer, which is supposedly going full steam ahead. "Just for the folks asking, we are 100% okay," Wreden tweeted. "Nothing's gonna stop us from getting Wanderstop out the door very soon."
- "We never would have made decisions that are so blatantly not player-focused": Ex-Dauntless dev "can't be silent" after an update under the dev's new owner "gutted the core gameplay and crafting"
- After Alan Wake 2 and Control, FBC: Firebreak represents a bold new frontier for Remedy: "It's time to expand the Remedy Connected Universe into shared spaces and brave something new"
Former Minecraft composer C418, who's now behind the decks of Wanderstop, also said, "We're fine and our game is doing just fine!"
Lushfoil Photography Sim, the hyper-realistic game about snapping pics of gorgeous landscapes, is also seemingly unphased by the news given that it's almost done, but its developer can't say anything for certain since there's no one left at the subsidiary to answer their questions. "Can assume at this stage that Lushfoil Photography Sim will be unaffected, given that the game itself is mostly complete," the game's social media account tweeted. "Will keep you all updated but this news is definitely a loss, the Annapurna Interactive team were great to work with and gave the project a lot of love."
Work on The Artful Escape developer's new genre-shifting coming of age story called Mixtape also "continues."
Appreciate all those who reached out. Mixtape continues. pic.twitter.com/8n3U4DiYyjSeptember 13, 2024
There's no word on how the employee exodus affects games that aren't quite so far into production, though. The statuses of dinosaur survival horror The Lost Wild and the internally-developed Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, among others, is still unknown. An Annapurna Pictures spokesperson did tell Bloomberg that all existing games would remain under the Annapurna Interactive label, however.
Many questions were also raised about how this affects Remedy Entertainment's deal with the company, as the studio recently announced that Annapurna would be co-financing the Control sequel and bringing some of its games to TV and film. The simple answer is: this doesn't affect Remedy.
"Many of you are reaching out about the news around Annapurna (sorry to see what is going on to all involved ) Interactive," Remedy communications manager Thomas Puha explained online. "Thank you for your care! Remedy's deal for Control 2, including Alan Wake and Control TV rights, is with Annapurna Pictures, and we are self-publishing Control 2."
Check out all the video game release dates coming up.
