Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures in the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups of the most noteworthy moves. If you know of any personnel changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, company and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Former Epic Games executive Ben Board has been installed as chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group. Board’s résumé includes a stint as business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine, a role he assumed after joining Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager. Earlier in his career he held senior positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien, giving him a broad perspective on both development and publishing. "Ben is a true industry heavyweight whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group.
"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 re‑joined 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 released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return marks a homecoming to the brand he helped shape for many years.
Billy King has been appointed Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept teams at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as Senior Concept Artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in high‑profile IP visual development. Sam Duncombe moves to Team 17 as Brand Marketing Manager after a tenure as Product Manager for games and film at Warner Bros.
Discovery. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveler. Wulf, who joined Fellow Traveler in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as Senior Business and Event Manager. Julie Derhak becomes a Producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration.
Alvaro Menéndez takes the role of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Before this, he was Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid. Linus Johnsson advances to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments, having joined the studio in 2022 as a graduate audio designer. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after seven years to assume the position of Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
At Epic, Nanzer most recently served as SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said. "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." Julia Gutnik has been named Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Her previous roles include Head of Media, Social & Analytics at Kia America and a six‑year stint at Prime Video and Amazon Studios where she oversaw digital and ad‑tech media.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer after serving as Producer at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, having previously held a similar position at Rollic.
David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to help steer the expansive Warhammer licensing portfolio. Liana Murphy is appointed Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage, after simultaneously acting as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing.
Tim Coombs takes charge of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026 and earlier led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech.
Erik Mogensen exits Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming. Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin’s background includes senior producer roles at Netflix (working on Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset) and five years at Riot Games on creative development for the League of Legends franchise.
Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant. Dan Lazarides is appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke, who moved to the CEO role.
Lazarides formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe. "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IPs," said CEO Jo Cooke. Karen Ionescu joins Kalypso Media UK as Digital Sales Manager after roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive commercial experience and strong relationships across retail and digital channels. Hannah Barrett is promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, having joined as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell adds Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account executive work at Motorica and a Vice‑President role at Xsolla for the Americas.
Olivia Lee is appointed Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left in 2019 for EA, and now looks forward to supporting iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox. Maddie Richter becomes Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a tenure as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, previously Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR and Influencer Manager, formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator, formerly Junior Producer at Atelier 11) and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, former Producer/Animator/Artist at Team Gramps and Queensguard, and educator at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox’s Foundation AI team to support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors. Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager, Live Services, after product management work on Call of Duty at Activision.
Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership roles at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.