Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task. To make it easier for readers and professionals alike, we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel changes across studios, publishers, and service providers. If you have a news tip about a new appointment or a transition within your organisation, please forward the details—name, new title, company, and previous role—to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. One of the headline announcements this month is the elevation of former Epic Games executive Ben Board to chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of the 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, giving him a breadth of experience that spans both classic and modern development pipelines. "Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder and CEO Myke Parrot.
"He understands game development from every angle – from coding 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 originally left Game Freak in 2022 to co‑found All Possible Futures with Jonathan Biddle, a studio that launched its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return signals a renewed focus on artistic direction within the Pokémon franchise. Respawn Entertainment announced the hiring of Billy King as its lead concept artist. King previously held the same senior creative role at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist at Amazon Games, bringing a rich portfolio of sci‑fi and fantasy visual development to Respawn’s upcoming projects.
Team17 named Sam Duncombe its new brand‑marketing manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he managed product strategy for games and film, and will now steer Team17’s brand initiatives across its diverse catalogue of indie and mid‑tier titles.
Loom Games welcomed Cansu Karahan Can as people‑and‑culture manager. Can previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she championed employee engagement 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, and will now focus on expanding Fellow Traveller’s partnership network. Wizards of the Coast added Julie Derhak to its Dungeons & Dragons team as a producer.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, before moving to tabletop role‑playing games. Mojang Studios appointed Alvaro Menéndez as international social lead. Menéndez previously served as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community programmes for titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League.
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 a senior role, shaping the soundscapes of the studio’s simulation titles.
After a seven‑year tenure 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 senior vice‑president 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." Amazon Gaming named Julia Gutnik head of media. Gutnik previously led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she directed digital and ad‑tech media strategy.
"After two years navigating the auto industry, I am returning to my entertainment roots, and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," she explained. Studio MDHR announced Lorna Antoniazzi as art producer.
Antoniazzi formerly worked at Roarty Digital on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, bringing valuable experience in large‑scale art pipelines. Grand Games hired Aysu Kutbay as product manager. Kutbay previously managed product development at Rollic, a mobile‑gaming publisher known for hyper‑casual titles. Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey as lead commercial manager – licensing.
Bailey originally joined the company in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now returns to oversee licensing for the Warhammer universe. "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he remarked. 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, where she oversaw multi‑platform communication strategies.
Amazon Luna named Tim Coombs head of brand marketing. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 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.
Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating as head of business development and consumer‑product licensing. "It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands," Mogensen said, referencing Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Transformers. Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as senior producer.
Rubin previously produced two mobile titles for Netflix—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Battlestate Games appointed Andrey Odintsov as head of marketing. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant. Frontier Developments hired Dan Lazarides as chief marketing officer.
Lazarides formerly served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum, and his appointment to the role of CMO highlights our focus on our communities," Cooke said.
Kalypso Media UK named Karen Ionescu digital sales manager. Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games, offering a deep understanding of both retail and digital distribution channels.
Swipe Right, an esports and gaming communications agency, promoted Hannah Barrett to senior account executive. Barrett joined the firm in December 2025 as an account executive and quickly proved her capability in client strategy. Supercell selected Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years, overseeing contractual negotiations for mobile game publishing.
Fintech platform ZBD appointed Nathan Solbrandt as senior vice‑president of business development. Solbrandt earlier worked as senior account executive at Motorica and served as vice‑president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla. Riot Games added Olivia Lee as internal events producer, after she served as associate producer for internal programs and events.
Xsolla hired Ciarah Pritchard as account coordinator. Pritchard previously worked as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards, focusing on affiliate and partner optimisation. Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as vice‑president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left for EA in 2019, and now returns to steer messaging for some of the industry's most iconic franchises.
Nintendo of America named Maddie Richter social‑media marketing manager. Richter previously managed social channels for Alaska Airlines, bringing a fresh perspective to Nintendo's community outreach.
Yotta Games recruited Dana Duffield as narrative designer. Duffield formerly served as senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment, crafting storylines for mobile and console experiences. 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 in production, animation, and teaching at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone).
Roblox's Foundation AI team welcomed 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 and raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors, positioning them as leaders in AI‑driven interactive entertainment. Rockstar Games added Sathvik Sudireddy as marketing manager for live services.
Sudireddy previously managed product development for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as lead product manager. Chard brings extensive experience from a six‑year stint as vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the games industry, where talent moves fluidly between development, publishing, and ancillary services, constantly reshaping the creative and commercial landscape.