Annapurna Pictures gets into game publishing
American Hustle studio signs projects from devs behind Katamari Damacy, Unfinished Swan, Monument Valley, more
Annapurna Pictures is the latest Hollywood studio to cast an eye toward the gaming industry. The production company behind films like American Hustle, Zero Dark Thirty, and Her today announced the launch of its new game publishing division Annapurna Interactive.
"Annapurna Interactive will focus on developing personal, emotional, and original games that push the boundaries of interactive content and encourage artists to bring new visions to the medium," the company explained.
The first two projects from the West Hollywood-based publishing label are expected to launch in the Spring. One of them is What Remains of Edith Finch, a PlayStation 4-exclusive from Giant Sparrow, creators of The Unfinished Swan. The other is an adventure/puzzle game from Jason Roberts called Gorogoa.
Looking a bit further down the line, Annapurna has also signed deals to publish a project from Funomena with Katamari Damacy designer Keita Takahashi serving as creative director, as well as a game from Mountains, the new studio founded by Monument Valley lead designer Ken Wong.
"The artistry and diversity of interactive storytelling is exciting and we look forward to exploring the limitless possibilities in gaming," Annapurna CEO and founder Megan Ellison said. "We want to empower artists across this medium to make Annapurna Interactive their home and I believe we've assembled the perfect team to make that happen."
That team includes Deborah Mars, Hector Sanchez, Nathan Gary, Jeff Legaspi, Neale Hemrajani, and James Masi, as well as thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen as a founding member and advisor.