Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures and promotions in the games sector can be a daunting task, 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 forward the name, new title, company, and previous position 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 developer support manager.
Earlier in his career he held senior leadership positions at classic studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien, giving him a deep‑rooted perspective on both legacy and modern game development pipelines. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry, and his technical credibility speaks for itself," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He has seen the development process from every angle – from writing engine scripts to overseeing developer relations for the world’s largest platforms. Bringing Ben on board as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a clear signal to developers: if your title suffers from performance bottlenecks on any engine, we have the most capable team on the planet to resolve them." 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’s debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and earned praise for its inventive mechanics and whimsical art direction. Billy King has been promoted to Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept teams at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, contributing to a range of high‑profile projects and sharpening his skill set in both sci‑fi and fantasy visual development.
Sam Duncombe now serves as Brand Marketing Manager for Team17. Before joining the iconic UK publisher, Duncombe worked as Product Manager for games and film at Warner Bros.
Discovery, where he oversaw cross‑media campaigns and helped align product roadmaps with broader entertainment strategies. Cansu Karahan Can has taken the role of People and Culture Manager at Loom Games. Can’s prior experience includes a similar position at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she championed employee wellbeing, diversity initiatives and talent development programs. Christopher Wulf has been elevated to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveler.
Wulf, who joined the company in 2021, previously served as Senior Business and Event Manager for The Triple‑i Initiative, where he coordinated large‑scale industry events and forged strategic partnerships. Julie Derhak is now 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, before moving to the tabletop giant to help shape new D&D experiences. Alvaro Menéndez has become International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Menéndez previously held the Senior Marketing Manager role for Epic Games’ Madrid office, where he oversaw community engagement across multiple titles and regions.
Linus Johnsson has been promoted to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to senior status, contributing to the soundscapes of titles such as Planet Coaster and Elite Dangerous. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to assume the position of 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 here is incredibly exciting," Nanzer remarked. "I’ve spent my career at the crossroads of games, entertainment and fandom, and the chance to help shape Paramount’s next chapter was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik has been 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, where she managed digital and ad‑tech media strategies.
"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," she said. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer. Antoniazzi’s earlier role was Producer at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite projects.
Aysu Kutbay is now Product Manager at Grand Games, after previously holding the same title 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 comes back to steward the expansive Warhammer IP. "It’s a privilege to return to the evergreen Warhammer universes and help drive new licensing opportunities," he said.
Liana Murphy has been named Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage. Murphy most recently served as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing, overseeing multi‑disciplinary teams. Tim Coombs takes the helm as Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, after joining Microsoft in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. He also held product marketing roles for Amazon Lumberyard and 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, 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 my favourite brands – Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic, Transformers – and I look forward to the next chapter, wherever it leads," he reflected.
Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin’s background includes senior producer roles at Netflix (where he shipped Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset mobile games) and a five‑year stint at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games.
Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for the industry. Dan Lazarides has been named Chief Marketing Officer of Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after her promotion to Frontier CEO in January.
Cooke praised his arrival: "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier’s upward momentum and underscores our player‑first strategy." Karen Ionescu steps into the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s résumé includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, as well as positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson commented, "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital channels." 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.
Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore. Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. Solbrandt’s prior experience includes senior account work at Motorica and a Vice President role for business development at Xsolla covering the Americas.
Olivia Lee takes on the position of Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, following a role as Associate Producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to Associate VP of Communications, left for EA in 2019, and now comes back to support the studio’s flagship franchises. Maddie Richter is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America. Prior to Nintendo, Richter managed social media for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, after a senior narrative design 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, with past experience as Producer, Animator and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and teaching roles at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox’s Foundation AI team to bolster 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 said, "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 joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services.
Sudireddy previously worked as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at the developer. Joe Chard becomes Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard’s background includes a VP and Studio General Manager role at Jam City, senior product positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment, and six years overseeing product strategy for Netflix’s gaming initiatives.