Ebbe Altberg joins Second Life dev Linden Lab as CEO

Microsoft and Yahoo veteran Ebbe Altberg is joining Second Life developer Linden Lab as its new CEO, the company announced today.

Altberg, who most recently served as the COO of BranchOut, a professional networking application for Facebook, joins the company after its former CEO, Rod Humble, departed late last month.

In a press statement, the new CEO explained why he joined the developer that brands itself as the "maker of shared creative spaces" like Desura and Patterns.

"Linden Lab has long been at the forefront of building experiences that entertain people while empowering them to express themselves and profit from their creations," Altberg said. "Our customers' creativity is unparalleled, and I'm proud to join the talented team that serves them. Second Life is now in its eleventh year, and every day, users continue to create more and more amazing experiences to enjoy. Though much younger, Blocksworld has already seen hundreds of thousands of unique user-created worlds shared for everyone to play with. I'm absolutely committed to supporting our customers and helping them become even more successful. There are significant opportunities ahead, and I look forward to leading us into the next phase of growth."

For more on Linden Lab and its unique approach to creating games, be sure to read Polygon's interview with its former CEO and some of its developers.