July 2026 Jobs Roundup: Key Appointments and Departures in the Gaming Industry

The games industry has witnessed significant personnel shifts in recent times. To keep track of these developments, we have compiled a roundup of the latest appointments, promotions, and departures. For inclusion in future updates, please submit details of new hires and role changes to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Notable appointments include Martin Keely, who has joined Epic Games as vice president and general manager of the Epic Games Store and Online Services, following a seven-year tenure at Blizzard. Tracey Johnson has been named chair of trustees at the National Videogame Museum's governing charity, The British Games Institute, succeeding Claire Boissiere. Jared Palmer has left Xbox to lead engineering at Cognition AI, while Nina Brown has stepped down as president of GDC Festival of Gaming. Other key moves include Neil McClarty launching Kritiq, an advisory for live-service games, and Al Bickham returning to Creative Assembly as senior brands communication manager. Cedrick Collomb has been appointed CTO at Liquidnitro Games, and Bill Kang has joined Lil Snack as chief operating officer. Additional appointments include Cody Woodside as social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, Joe Ziegler's departure from Bungie, and Criss Bürki joining Capcom as manager of marketing strategy – influencers. Fanny Vaudour has been appointed as a producer at CD Projekt Red, and Mahmoud Ziater has taken on the role of commercial lead at Qwacks. Chris Chung has been named head of global business group at Neowiz, with Dylan Beale appointed studio head of Larian's Guildford studio. Jonnie Bryant has joined Team17 as communications director, and Gemma Cannon has been appointed creative designer at Sega Europe. Teemu Koski has taken on the role of CEO of MENA business at Nodwin Gaming, while Robert Henrysson will step down as CEO of Supermassive Games. Tim Stokes has joined Nex Playground as interim general manager, and Ryan Ferwerda has been promoted to head of live services & mobile at Electronic Arts Tiburon. Emily Dixon has been appointed senior account executive at Bastion, and Hakan Burak Karaman has been promoted to head of games at Rovio Entertainment. Christopher Serra has joined Paramount Games as VP of business development and licensing, and Alexis Bonte will leave his role as CEO of Stillfront. Jakub Karolczak has been promoted to production coordinator at 11 Bit Studios, and Hector Parra has been appointed live game producer at Niantic. Nicholas Penwarden has announced his departure from Epic Games, and Raptor PR has appointed Ruzbeh Gazdar as account director and Sophia Hollis as senior account executive. Joe Kearns has joined Yrs Truly as project manager, and Jaakko Harlas has departed from Supercell.