Megan Ellison has tapped Netflix games executive Leanne Loombe to head Annapurna’s gaming operations.
Loombe has been named executive vice president, head of games, and will focus on publishing, development, and creative for the company’s games slate, reporting to Hector Sanchez, the president of Interactive and New Media. Said Loombe, “I’m excited to build on Annapurna’s legacy as a home for developers pushing the boundaries of storytelling.”
Loombe most recently oversaw Netflix’s 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.
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“Few leaders have Leanne’s 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.”
“Leanne’s 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. “I’m 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 Annapurna’s gaming division amid a time of transition. In September, Annapurna said that its then-president, Nathan Gary, who also oversaw the company’s video game operations, would be exiting along with the co-heads of Annapurna’s indie gaming division, Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella. Later Bloomberg reported that Gary and the staffers in the company’s 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 manage Annapurna’s in-house publishing team, reporting to Sanchez, who will continue to oversee the company’s larger gaming strategy and partnerships with other Annapurna departments 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 on Annapurna title Stray is already in development.
Since launching its gaming operation in 2016, Annapurna has ascended in the indie gaming space, producing award-winning indie games like What Remains of Edith Finch and Stray, 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 include Cocoon and Outer Wilds.
