Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel changes across studios, publishers and related companies. If you know of a move that belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, new employer and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. One of the headline announcements this month is the appointment of former Epic Games executive Ben Board as chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later becoming business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes senior leadership positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien.
"Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder Myke Parrot. "He understands game development from every angle – from writing engine scripts to managing developer relations for the world’s biggest platforms and engines. Bringing Ben in as CEO of The Performance Guys sends an unmistakable message to the market: if your game has a performance problem on any engine, we have the best team on the planet to fix it." In other news, James Turner has rejoined The Pokémon Company International as Creative Director of Pokémon Art and Design. Turner left Game Freak in 2022 to co‑found All Possible Futures with Jonathan Biddle; the studio’s debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024.
His return marks a homecoming to the brand he helped shape for many years. Respawn Entertainment announced Billy King as its new Lead Concept Artist. King previously held the same senior role at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist at Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in high‑budget franchise visual development.
Team17 welcomed Sam Duncombe as Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he oversaw product management for both games and film divisions. Loom Games added Cansu Karahan Can as People and Culture Manager.
Can’s prior experience includes a similar role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she focused on talent acquisition and organisational development. Fellow Traveller promoted Christopher Wulf to Senior Business Development Manager. Wulf, who joined the firm in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager. Wizards of the Coast named Julie Derhak a producer for Dungeons & Dragons.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration. Mojang Studios appointed Alvaro Menéndez as International Social Lead. Menéndez was formerly senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he led global community initiatives.
Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to Senior Audio Designer. Johnsson began his Frontier career in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to senior responsibilities. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departed to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation.
He said, "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting. I've spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the opportunity to help build what comes next at Paramount was simply too compelling to pass up." Amazon Gaming announced Julia Gutnik as Head of Media. Gutnik previously led media, social and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, heading digital and ad‑tech media.
Studio MDHR hired Lorna Antoniazzi as Art Producer. Antoniazzi’s background includes a producer role at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Grand Games named Aysu Kutbay as Product Manager; Kutbay previously worked in the same capacity at Rollic.
Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined the company in 2019, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now returns to oversee licensing for the Warhammer universe. Second Stage appointed Liana Murphy as Account Director for US Operations.
Murphy most recently served as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Amazon Luna named Tim Coombs Head of Brand Marketing.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product marketing positions for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming. Mogensen spent 23 years at Games Workshop, finishing as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing.
Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as Senior Producer. Rubin came from Netflix, where he produced mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, and previously spent five years at Riot Games working on League of Legends creative development. Battlestate Games appointed Andrey Odintsov as Head of Marketing.
Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now consults independently on growth and go‑to‑market strategies. Frontier Developments announced Dan Lazarides as Chief Marketing Officer. Lazarides was formerly Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved to the CEO role. Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as Digital Sales Manager.
Ionescu’s résumé includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to Senior Account Executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an account executive. Supercell named Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years.
Fintech platform ZBD appointed Nathan Solbrandt as SVP of Business Development. Solbrandt’s prior roles include senior account executive at Motorica and VP of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Riot Games added Olivia Lee as Internal Events Producer, after serving as associate producer for internal programs.
Xsolla hired Ciarah Pritchard as Account Coordinator; she previously worked as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as VP of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left for EA in 2019, and now returns to oversee communications across the studio and Xbox partnership.
Nintendo of America appointed Maddie Richter as Social Media Marketing Manager. Richter’s earlier position was social media manager at Alaska Airlines. Yotta Games recruited Dana Duffield as Narrative Designer; Duffield was senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR and Influencer Manager, formerly creator and community director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator, previously junior producer at Atelier 11) and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, with a background as producer, animator and educator at Team Gramps, Queensguard and Submarine Art School). Roblox’s Foundation AI team added Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger to support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023 after raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors, and they aim to push the boundaries of AI‑driven entertainment.
Rockstar Games hired Sathvik Sudireddy as Marketing Manager, Live Services. Sudireddy previously managed product for Call of Duty at Activision following a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as Lead Product Manager. Chard’s background includes VP, studio general manager and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment.