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 regular round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves across studios, publishers and service providers. If you have a staffing change you think belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, company and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
In a major leadership shuffle, 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 breadth of experience that spans both classic and modern development pipelines. "Ben is a true industry heavyweight whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," remarked 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." James Turner has re‑joined The Pokémon Company International, this time 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 indie studio released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return signals Pokémon’s continued focus on fresh visual direction and brand cohesion. Billy King steps into the role of Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously served as lead concept artist at ZeniMax Online Studios and as senior concept artist at Amazon Games, bringing a strong portfolio of sci‑fi and fantasy design work to Respawn’s upcoming projects.
Other notable appointments include: - Sam Duncombe, now Brand Marketing Manager at Team 17, after a product‑management tenure covering games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery. - Cansu Karahan Can, People and Culture Manager at Loom Games, formerly in the same capacity at Stoikk (previously Kompanion).
- Christopher Wulf, promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveler; he joined the firm in 2021 after a senior role at The Triple‑i Initiative. - Julie Derhak, appointed 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, International Social Lead at Mojang Studios, previously senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid. - Linus Johnsson, promoted to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments, having risen from graduate audio designer since joining in 2022.
- Nate Nanzer, leaving Epic after seven years to become EVP, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s last 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." - Julia Gutnik, now Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Before that she led media, social and analytics for Kia America and spent six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios overseeing digital and ad‑tech media. - Lorna Antoniazzi, Art Producer at Studio MDHR, formerly a producer at Roarty Digital where she worked on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. - Aysu Kutbay, Product Manager at Grand Games after a similar role at Rollic. - David Bailey, returning to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey first joined Games Workshop in 2019, left in 2021 for 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, appointed Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage, after serving as COO and head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. - Tim Coombs, Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna, previously Director of Brand Management at Xbox and product marketing lead for Amazon Lumberyard and Game Tech.
- Erik Mogensen, departing Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming; he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently heading business development and consumer‑product licensing. - Ryan Rubin, senior producer at Blizzard Entertainment, after senior producer roles at Netflix (Squid Game: Unleashed, Selling Sunset) and five years at Riot Games on League of Legends creative development.
- Andrey Odintsov, Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games, formerly user‑acquisition manager at Multicast Games and now an independent growth consultant. - Dan Lazarides, Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, after serving as SVP of Marketing at Sega Europe.
Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised his experience, noting his focus on a "player‑first" strategy. - Karen Ionescu, Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, bringing prior experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. - Hannah Barrett, promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right.
- Anni Pyy, Contract Manager at Supercell, after four years at Metacore. - Nathan Solbrandt, SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, previously senior account executive at Motorica and VP of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. - Olivia Lee, Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, formerly associate producer for internal events and programs. - Ciarah Pritchard, Account Coordinator at Xsolla, after a stint as account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
- Tracey Thompson, returned to Bethesda as VP of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left for EA in 2019, and now says she looks forward to supporting iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox.
- Maddie Richter, Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, previously social media manager at Alaska Airlines. - Dana Duffield, Narrative Designer at Yotta Games, after senior narrative designer work at Series Entertainment. - Yogscast Games announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR & 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, previously producer, animator and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and instructor at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone).
- Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger joined Roblox’s Foundation AI team to support the Build mobile‑first AI creation tool in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors. - Sathvik Sudireddy, Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games, after product‑manager work on Call of Duty at Activision. - Joe Chard, Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, previously VP, studio GM and head of product at Jam City, with senior roles at Disney and Warner Bros.
These movements illustrate the dynamic nature of talent flow in the interactive entertainment industry, where experience in one studio often translates into fresh perspectives at another, driving innovation across the whole ecosystem.