Megan Ellison has tapped Netflix games executive Leanne Loombe to head Annapurnas gaming operations.

Loombe has been named executive vice president, head of games, and will focus on publishing, development, and creative for the companys games slate, reporting to Hector Sanchez,the president of Interactive and New Media. Said Loombe, Im excited to build onAnnapurnas legacy as a home for developers pushing the boundaries of storytelling.

Loombe most recently oversaw Netflixs second and third-party game development and publishing operations, bringing in games like Hades and Grand Theft Auto to the streamer, allowing Netflix users to download and play over 150 titles. Before this, Loombe held positions at Riot and EA, working on franchises like League of Legends and Needs for Speed. Few leaders have Leannes breadth of experience across QA, publishing, and internal game development, said Sanchez,who joined Annapurna from Epic this past summer. She understands what it takes to make a good game from the inside-out, which is what makes her a great partner for our developers.

Leannes obvious passion for games and love of developers, paired with her experience bringing games to players all over the world, make her a perfect fit for Annapurna, said Ellison. Im excited to welcome her to the team as we continue to grow our games business and help our developers push the boundaries of interactive entertainment.

Loombe arrives as head of Annapurnas gaming division amid a time of transition. In September, Annapurna said that its then-president, Nathan Gary, who also oversaw the companys video game operations, would be exiting along with the co-heads of Annapurnas indie gaming division, Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella. Later Bloomberg reported that Gary and the staffers in the companys gaming division, over two dozen in total, resigned after negotiations to spin off the video game division from the larger company fell through.

Loombe will manageAnnapurnas in-house publishing team, reporting to Sanchez, who will continue to oversee the companys larger gaming strategy and partnerships with otherAnnapurnadepartments to adapt game IP into film, television, and other media. Recently, Annapurna signed a deal that will see the company adapt the games Control and Alan Wake for the screen. An animated movie based onAnnapurna title Strayis already indevelopment.

Since launching its gaming operation in 2016, Annapurna has ascended in the indie gaming space, producing award-winning indie games likeWhat Remains of Edith FinchandStray, the latter of which sold multimillion units in its first month of release and won the gaming world equivalent of an Oscar in 2022. Other lauded titles includeCocoonandOuter Wilds.