Video game publisher Annapurna Interactive has announced several major hires for its in-house development studio, first announced in October 2020. What remains of Edith Finch’s Technical Art Lead, Chelesa Hash, will lead the studio as Game Director and will be joined by Technical Director Brett Lajzer, Senior Producer Evan Hembacher, Art Director Cosimo Galluzzi and Environment Artist Nate Grove.
“We have worked closely with the folks at Annapurna Interactive for years and this has been an exciting next step for us to integrate with the team,” Hash said in a press statement. “We are working on a special new experience and look forward to revealing more details.”
For their debut project, the team plans to draw inspiration from their work on games like What Remains of Edith Finch, Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, as well as other outside projects like Radiohead’s Kid A Mnesia and Childish Gambino’s immersive concert Pharos.
The team will continue to grow and is currently hiring more to handle 3D environment art, character art, technical art, VFX and technical design while working on an unannounced project.
One of Annapurna Interactive’s next big games is Stray, in which players take on the role of a backpack-carrying cat making its way through a city full of dangerous robots. As revealed during last week’s State of Play, Stray will be available on July 23rd on PC, PS5 and PS4.