Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If you know of any recent appointments or role changes that belong in this list, please email the details (name, new role, new company, previous role and previous 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 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 legacy and modern development pipelines. "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 originally 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 signals a renewed focus on artistic direction for the global Pokémon brand. Billy King has been named Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously led concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist at Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in crafting visual identities for large‑scale live‑service and AAA projects. Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as Brand Marketing Manager after a tenure as Product Manager – Games and Film at Warner Bros. Discovery. His new role will see him shaping the public face of Team17’s diverse portfolio of indie and mid‑tier titles.
Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, having previously held the same title at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her expertise in talent development and workplace culture will support Loom’s growing development teams. Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller.
Wulf, who entered the company 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. Julie Derhak becomes a Producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, where she contributed to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, giving her a strong background in large‑scale live‑service production. Alvaro Menéndez takes on the role of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Before this, he was Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives for titles such as Minecraft. Linus Johnsson is promoted to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments.
Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since risen through the ranks, contributing to the soundscapes of titles like Elite Dangerous and Planet Coaster. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
Nanzer most recently served as SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation at Epic. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," he 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 is appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Gutnik previously led media, social and analytics for Kia America, and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios as Head of Digital and AdTech Media. "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. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes Art Producer at Studio MDHR, after serving as a producer at Roarty Digital where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite projects.
Aysu Kutbay is named Product Manager at Grand Games, having previously held a product‑manager role 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 says, "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here." Liana Murphy takes the position of Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage after serving simultaneously as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is appointed Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026 and earlier served as Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 before moving to senior roles within Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen exits 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, most recently as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing. He reflected, "It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands – Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers… I look forward to my next chapter, wherever that may be." Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin previously produced two shipped mobile titles at Netflix – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP.
Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously worked as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for the gaming sector.
Dan Lazarides is named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides formerly held the Senior Vice President of Marketing role at Sega Europe and steps into the CMO slot following Jo Cooke’s promotion to CEO. Cooke praised his appointment, noting that his leadership will reinforce Frontier’s player‑first strategy and community focus.
Karen Ionescu takes the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK after sales leadership positions at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson said, "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels, making her a fantastic addition to the team." Hannah Barrett is promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, having started as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore.
Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD after senior roles at Motorica and Xsolla, where he was Vice President of Business Development for the Americas. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs.
Ciarah Pritchard is hired as Account Coordinator at Xsolla, after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as VP of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to Associate VP of Communications, left for EA in 2019, and now says, "I'm looking forward to partnering with the talented people across Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the teams behind some of the most iconic franchises in entertainment, and helping bring their creativity and vision to players around the world." Maddie Richter becomes Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative designer role 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/Artist at 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 and raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Holm noted, "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." Sathvik Sudireddy is hired by Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager, Live Services, after product‑manager work on Call of Duty at Activision and a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard becomes Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, after serving as Vice President, Studio General Manager and Head of Product at Jam City for six years, and holding senior game roles at Disney and Warner Bros.