Former Annapurna Interactive staff reportedly form company and acquire Private Division's portfolio

Former Annapurna Interactive staff have reportedly acquired indie label Private Division's portfolio after forming a new company.

As reported by Bloomberg, the unnamed entity has purportedly acquired franchises like Kerbal Space Program from Haveli Investments, a private equity firm from Austin, Texas that bought Private Division from Take-Two at the end of last year.

The firm will also assume distribution rights of Game Freak's upcoming, unannounced title, and Lord of the Rings farming game, Tales of the Shire, which is scheduled to release in March.

Bloomberg added that as a result of the buyout, there will be layoffs amongst the 20 or so Private Division staff who joined Haveli, but it's unclear how many people may be impacted at this time.

The majority of the Annapurna Interactive team walked out after talks with its parent company collapsed back in September.

As negotiations were underway, the team reportedly discovered that Annapurna Interactive co-founder Hector Sanchez had been "quietly rehired" as president of interactive and new media by Annapurna Pictures CEO Megan Ellison, and was working on "gaming projects without the knowledge of the rest of the Interactive staff," leaving the team "confused, concerned, and frustrated" by the direction of the company.

Take-Two relinquished Private Division back in November 2024. At the time, CEO Strauss Zelnick told GamesIndustry.biz that the sale came as part of broader plans to focus on the publisher's strengths in AAA and mobile.