24 employees of Annapurna Interactive have left the company as plans to spin off the division by Megan Ellison Studio with former division head Nathan Gary have fallen through. The intention of the spin-off was to allow Annapurna Interactive to further expand into the area of ​​big-budget games.

The Annapurna Interactive division is still operational, we hear, with some staff still on site. There are plans to bring in additional staff. Last week it was reported that Gary had left the company, along with heads of gaming, Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella. Hector Sanchez, who originally launched the division in 2016, was immediately appointed President of Interactive and New Media.

Sanchez said in a statement: “Annapurna Interactive would not exist without Megan’s unique support of these stories that have not been told anywhere else in the games industry. She saw something nearly a decade ago that no other backer we’ve spoken to has seen. Every conversation we’ve had with our development partners this week has reinforced the decision to come back and work with Megan to support our artists and our entire existing game portfolio.”

“Our top priority is to continue to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Annapurna CEO Megan Ellison said in a statement provided to Deadline. “We are not only committed to our existing games offering, but we are also expanding our presence in the interactive space as we continue to explore opportunities to take a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling across film and TV, games and theater.”

The Annapurna Interactive games library includes third-person cat adventure games, Straying, What remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilderness, Silent Hill: Cityfall And Neon white among several others. Straying sold millions of copies in the first month after its release and won gaming awards.

Bloomberg was the first to learn about the resignations of Annapurna Interactive employees.