A brand new report claims that an as-yet unnamed firm comprising former Annapurna Interactive staff is about to take over publishing duties for franchises that may have been overseen by ex-Take-Two indie label Personal Division.
Based on a report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, ex-Annapurna Interactive staffers have fashioned a brand new firm following their abrupt resignation in September, which resulted from the failure of talks to spin the division off into its personal entity.
The brand new firm will, in line with Schreier, “inherit the video games and franchises of Personal Division”, which was bought off by former dad or mum firm Take-Two in November to an unknown purchaser. The report, citing “individuals acquainted with the deal”, names that purchaser because the Texas-based Haveli Investments.
Supposedly, Haveli will fund the brand new firm and “place them in command of distributing the previous Personal Division titles”, which can embrace the likes of cozy hobbit life sim Tales of the Shire and beleaguered house sandbox Kerbal Area Program.
Based on Schreier, “an unannounced title” by Pokemon developer Sport Freak may even be included within the deal. That recreation is sort of definitely the previously-revealed Venture Bloom, which does not have an official title but, so hopefully we’ll get to see a brand new reveal for it quickly.
Schreier’s report says that a few of Personal Division’s 20 staff “will probably be laid off as a part of the brand new association”, though we do not but know which staff or in what departments these layoffs will probably be centered.
The writing was arguably on the wall for Personal Division as early as April final 12 months, when Take-Two laid off 5% of its workforce and scrapped quite a lot of tasks. Following that, Personal Division and Bloober Group ended a previously-announced partnership for a brand new horror IP in Could.
It is price noting that the brand new firm hasn’t formally been introduced but, so we do not know what it will be referred to as or what its plans are for the IPs now apparently underneath its stewardship. Keep tuned for extra on this one.