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 a change at your studio that belongs 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 breadth of experience that spans both classic and modern development pipelines. "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 creation from every angle – from writing engine code to managing developer relations for the world’s largest platforms.
Appointing Ben as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a clear signal: if your title suffers from performance issues on any engine, we have the most capable team on the planet to resolve them." In another headline, 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’s debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and earned praise for its whimsical storytelling and inventive mechanics. 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 for Amazon Games, contributing to a range of sci‑fi and fantasy visual designs.
Sam Duncombe steps into the role of Brand Marketing Manager at Team 17 after a tenure as Product Manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he oversaw cross‑media initiatives and brand alignment. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, bringing prior experience from a similar role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
Her focus will be on nurturing studio culture and talent development. Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller, a position he now holds after joining the company in 2021. Before that, he worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager, handling partnership negotiations and large‑scale event planning.
Julie Derhak is now a Producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. She spent seven years at Epic Games, where she contributed to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, honing her skills in large‑scale live‑service production. Alvaro Menéndez takes on the role of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. He previously served as Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he managed global community campaigns and influencer outreach.
Linus Johnsson has been promoted to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. He originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and quickly advanced thanks to his work on immersive soundscapes for titles such as Planet Coaster and Elite Dangerous. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation. "The scale of ambition and vision for what's next at Paramount is incredibly exciting," he said.
"I've spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the chance to help shape the next chapter there was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik steps into the position of Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Previously she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she oversaw digital and ad‑tech media strategy. "After two years in the auto sector, I'm returning to my entertainment roots and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik noted. Lorna Antoniazzi has been appointed Art Producer at Studio MDHR, having previously produced at Roarty Digital on projects including Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, after a product‑management role at Rollic where she helped launch several successful mobile titles. 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 returns to help expand the Warhammer licensing portfolio.
Liana Murphy is now Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage, after serving as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs takes the helm as Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined Microsoft in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. Earlier, he managed product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard and later for 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, culminating as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing. "Working on my favourite brands – Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic, Transformers – has been a privilege.
I look forward to the next chapter, wherever it leads," he reflected. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. He previously produced two mobile titles at Netflix – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and spent five years at Riot Games developing creative content for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov is appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games.
His background includes user‑acquisition leadership at Multicast Games and independent consulting on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for games. Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, following a tenure as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe.
He replaces Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO role in January. "Dan brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IPs and will drive our player‑first strategy," said CEO Jo Cooke.
Karen Ionescu is now Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. She previously managed sales at Numskull Games and has held roles at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive commercial experience and strong retailer relationships.
Hannah Barrett has been 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; she 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 (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 programs. Ciarah Pritchard takes the role of Account Coordinator at Xsolla, after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards.
Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications. She originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to Associate VP of Communications, left in 2019 for EA, and now comes back to support iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox.
Maddie Richter is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, following a stint as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, after senior narrative work at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR & Influencer Manager, previously Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator, former Junior Producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, who has experience as Producer, Animator, and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and has taught game design and animation). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join Roblox’s Foundation AI team to help develop 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. "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 becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games. He previously managed product on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Joe Chard is named 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 positions at Disney and Warner Bros.
These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the gaming ecosystem, where talent moves fluidly between development, publishing, and service-oriented roles, constantly reshaping the industry's creative and commercial landscape.