Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the games sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups of the most noteworthy moves. If you have a staffing change you think belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role/company 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 took on 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 game creation.
"Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry, with a reputation and technical credibility that speak for themselves," remarked CodeDev Group founder Myke Parrot. "He has seen game development from every angle – from writing engine code to managing developer relations for the world’s biggest platforms. Bringing Ben on as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a clear signal: if your title suffers from performance issues on any engine, we have the premier team on the planet to resolve them." James Turner has re‑joined The Pokémon Company International, this time 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.
Billy King steps into the role of lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games. Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as brand marketing manager after a spell as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery.
Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people‑and‑culture manager, having previously filled the same position at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Christopher Wulf is promoted to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveller. He first joined Fellow Traveller in 2021 and before that 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 on the role of international social lead at Mojang Studios. He previously acted as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid.
Linus Johnsson is elevated to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson entered Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed within the audio team.
Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. At Epic his most recent titles were senior vice‑president of partnerships and monetisation.
"The ambition and vision for what lies ahead are incredibly exciting," Nanzer said. "My career has always sat at the crossroads of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the chance to help shape Paramount's next chapter was simply too compelling to decline." "I’m deeply grateful to everyone at Epic and to all the partners I’ve worked with over the years.
I’ll always be proud of what we achieved together and will be cheering the team from the sidelines," he added. Julia Gutnik is appointed head of media at Amazon Gaming after serving as head of media, social, and analytics at Kia America.
She also spent more than six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she led digital and ad‑tech media efforts. "After two years in the automotive sector, I’m returning to my entertainment roots and to the company that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik explained. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes art producer at Studio MDHR, having previously produced at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Aysu Kutbay is named product manager at Grand Games, after a product‑management role at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey first joined Games Workshop in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 to become director of business affairs at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to help steer licensing for the Warhammer universe. "It’s a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer worlds and help drive new licensing opportunities," Bailey said.
"It’s an incredible opportunity and great to be back working alongside talented colleagues." Liana Murphy takes the post of account director, US operations at Second Stage. She previously held dual roles as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing.
Tim Coombs is appointed head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously served as director of brand management at Xbox until July 2026, after joining Xbox in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy.
Earlier, he was product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020. 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. "It’s not lost on me how special it’s been to work on, and for, my favourite brands – from the original Warhammer to Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers and beyond.
I look forward to the next chapter, wherever it may lead," Mogensen reflected. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer. Rubin previously held senior producer roles at Netflix, overseeing two shipped mobile titles – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and spent five years at Riot Games working 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 operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for games. Dan Lazarides is named chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments.
Lazarides previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and steps into the role following Jo Cooke’s promotion to CEO in January. "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, bringing a wealth of experience from some of the industry’s biggest IPs," Cooke said.
"His leadership will sustain Frontier’s upward momentum and reinforce our player‑first strategy, ensuring our publishing team champions player creativity and celebrates how they engage with our games." Karen Ionescu takes the position of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK after roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. "We’re thrilled to have Karen on board at Kalypso Media UK," said managing director Andrew Johnson. "She brings extensive commercial experience and strong relationships across both retail and digital channels, making her a fantastic addition." Hannah Barrett is promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years.
Nathan Solbrandt becomes senior vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD. He previously worked as senior account executive at Motorica and was vice‑president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee is hired as internal events producer at Riot Games, having previously served as associate producer for internal events and programs.
Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as account coordinator after a stint as account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as vice‑president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009 as director of publications, later becoming associate VP of communications before leaving in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she led product and studio integrated communications. "I look forward to partnering with the talented teams across Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the creators behind some of the most iconic franchises and helping bring their vision to players worldwide," Thompson said.
Maddie Richter becomes social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after serving as social media manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer, having previously been 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, previously junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang (publishing coordinator, formerly producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and instructor at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join 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. "At Jars AI we saw hundreds of thousands of creators use AI to shape weird new worlds and stories, and we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of AI entertainment in our new roles," Holm said.
Sathvik Sudireddy is hired by Rockstar Games as marketing manager for live services, after serving as product manager on Call of Duty at Activision and completing a business‑development internship at the studio. Joe Chard becomes lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard previously held senior positions at Jam City—including vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product—for six years, and also held leadership roles in games at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment.