(Bloomberg) -- The former staffers of the independent video-game publisher Annapurna Interactive, who resigned abruptly last summer following an acrimonious power struggle, will be taking over the portfolio of a past rival, which will be laying off some of its employees.
Their new company, which does not yet have a name, will inherit the games and franchises of Private Division, the label formerly owned by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., according to people familiar with the deal.
In November, Take-Two said it had sold Private Division for an undisclosed price. The unnamed buyer, according to the people who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information, was Haveli Investments, a private equity firm based in Austin.
A spokesperson for Haveli said the firm did not immediately have comment.
In recent weeks, according to the people familiar, Haveli struck a deal with the ex-Annapurna staffers to fund the new company and place them in charge of distributing the former Private Division titles, including Tales of the Shire, out March 25, a farming game based on The Lord of the Rings. They will also take over the popular Kerbal Space Program series as well as an unannounced title from Game Freak, the developer and co-owner of the Pokémon franchise.
When Haveli purchased Private Division from Take-Two, it inherited around 20 employees, some of whom will be laid off as part of the new arrangement, said the people familiar, although the specifics have not yet been finalized. The current leadership of Private Division has told employees to explore their options due to the uncertainty surrounding their jobs.
Private Division was founded in 2017 to publish mid-sized titles. It started strongly with hits such as the 2019 role-playing game The Outer Worlds, which sold 5 million copies. But the label lost momentum and proved to be an awkward fit within its larger parent company, eventually leading to layoffs and studio closures.
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