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 that belongs in this list—new appointments, role shifts, or departures—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 first joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later taking on the role of 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 deep‑rooted understanding of both legacy and modern development pipelines. "Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "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 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 critical praise for its inventive gameplay and hand‑drawn aesthetic. His return to the Pokémon franchise signals a renewed focus on artistic direction and brand consistency. Billy King has been promoted to Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously headed concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where he contributed to several high‑profile IPs.
His experience across both AAA and live‑service environments is expected to bolster Respawn’s visual pipeline for upcoming titles. Team17 welcomed Sam Duncombe as Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe arrives from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he oversaw product management for games and film, bringing a cross‑media perspective that should help Team17 expand its brand presence beyond traditional retail.
Cansu Karahan Can joined Loom Games as People and Culture Manager after a stint at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her background in talent development and organisational design will be instrumental as Loom scales its indie‑focused development teams. Christopher Wulf earned a promotion to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller. Since joining the company in 2021, Wulf has driven partnership initiatives and previously held a senior business and event management role at The Triple‑i Initiative.
Julie Derhak has taken on the role of 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, giving her a strong foundation in large‑scale production pipelines.
Alvaro Menéndez was named International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Menéndez comes from a senior marketing manager position at Epic Games Madrid, where he oversaw community growth across multiple regions. Linus Johnsson advanced to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since contributed to the soundscapes of several of the studio’s flagship 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 SVP 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." Julia Gutnik was 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 navigating the auto industry, I am returning to my entertainment roots, and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," she noted. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer, after producing at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Her expertise in art pipeline coordination will support MDHR’s distinctive visual style.
Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, moving from a similar role at Rollic where she oversaw live‑ops and monetisation features for mobile titles. David Bailey returned 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 was named Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage.
Murphy previously held dual responsibilities as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a broad operational background. Tim Coombs takes the helm as 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, then senior product marketing manager for 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, most recently 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," he reflected. Ryan Rubin joined Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin’s prior experience includes senior producer roles at Netflix (where he shipped Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset mobile games) and five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends franchise.
Andrey Odintsov was appointed 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 gaming studios. Dan Lazarides became Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke after she moved to the CEO role.
Lazarides formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised the hire, noting that Lazarides’ experience with large IPs will reinforce the studio’s player‑first strategy.
Karen Ionescu was hired as Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, after roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson highlighted her extensive retail and digital channel relationships.
Hannah Barrett earned a promotion to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, having joined as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell appointed Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt became SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑presidential stint at Xsolla for the Americas.
Olivia Lee was named Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, building on her experience as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joined Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards.
Tracey Thompson returned to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left in 2019 for EA, and now says she looks forward to supporting iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox.
Maddie Richter was appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a tenure as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joined Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative designer role at Series Entertainment. 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 past experience as producer, animator and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching roles at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone).
Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger entered 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, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors. Holm commented, "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 joined Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager, Live Services, after serving as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and completing a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard was named Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard previously held the titles of Vice President, Studio General Manager and Head of Product at Jam City for six years, and also occupied senior gaming roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These appointments, promotions and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the video‑game industry, where talent moves swiftly between development, publishing, marketing and technology roles, continually reshaping the creative and business landscape.