Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task, 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 appointment, internal shift, or executive exit—please forward the individual's name, new title, company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. One of the headline announcements this month is the appointment of Ben Board as chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board brings a deep pedigree to the role, having spent the better part of a decade at Epic Games where he progressed from developer support manager (joined in 2017) to business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. Earlier in his career he held senior positions at celebrated studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a rare blend of technical know‑how and commercial insight. "Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder Myke Parrot. "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 senior‑level moves, James Turner has rejoined 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 indie studio launched its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024 and earned praise for its inventive gameplay and art direction.
His return to the Pokémon franchise signals a renewed focus on artistic consistency across the brand’s expanding portfolio. Respawn Entertainment announced the promotion of Billy King to lead concept artist. King arrives from ZeniMax Online Studios, where he served as lead concept artist, and previously held a senior concept role at Amazon Games.
His extensive experience in crafting high‑impact visual concepts is expected to bolster Respawn’s upcoming titles, particularly those that lean heavily on sci‑fi and fantasy aesthetics. Team17 has added Sam Duncombe as brand marketing manager. Duncombe transitions from a product‑manager role overseeing games and film initiatives at Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing a cross‑media perspective that should help Team17 deepen its engagement with both core gamers and broader entertainment audiences.
Loom Games welcomed Cansu Karahan Can as people and culture manager. Can previously directed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she championed employee wellbeing and inclusive workplace practices.
Her mandate at Loom will be to nurture a collaborative environment as the studio scales its development pipelines. Fellow Traveller promoted Christopher Wulf to senior business development manager. Wulf, who joined the firm in 2021, previously served as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative, giving him a strong background in partnership cultivation and event strategy—skills that will be vital as Fellow Traveller expands its portfolio of immersive experiences.
Wizards of the Coast announced Julie Derhak as a producer for the Dungeons & Dragons line. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, experience that should translate well to the tabletop‑gaming space’s growing digital integrations. Mojang Studios named Alvaro Menéndez international social lead.
Menéndez moves from a senior marketing manager role at Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global campaigns for flagship titles. His expertise in community building will be applied to strengthen Minecraft’s worldwide player community. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to senior audio designer. Johnsson originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since advanced through the sound team, contributing to the auditory identity of several of the studio’s recent releases.
After a seven‑year tenure, Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was senior vice‑president of partnerships and monetisation. He praised his time at Epic, saying, "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." Amazon Gaming appointed Julia Gutnik as head of media. Gutnik comes from a two‑year stint as head of media, social, & analytics at Kia America, after more than six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios where she led digital and ad‑tech media initiatives. She noted, "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." Studio MDHR added Lorna Antoniazzi as art producer. Antoniazzi previously produced at Roarty Digital, contributing to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, experience that will support Studio MDHR’s distinctive hand‑drawn visual style.
Grand Games hired Aysu Kutbay as product manager, following her product‑management work at Rollic where she helped launch several successful mobile titles. Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey first joined the company in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now returns to shepherd licensing deals for the ever‑expanding Warhammer universe.
Second Stage appointed Liana Murphy as account director for US operations. Murphy previously juggled the COO and head of public relations responsibilities at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a strong operational and communications background.
Amazon Luna named Tim Coombs head of brand marketing. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑July 2026) and held product‑marketing leadership positions for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech, positioning him well to raise Luna’s profile in the competitive cloud‑gaming market.
Erik Mogensen exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as senior director of business development for digital gaming. Mogensen’s prior 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated as head of business development and consumer‑product licensing, and he reflected on his tenure: "It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands… First Warhammer, and most recently Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers… the list goes on.
I'm very much looking forward to my next chapter, whatever and wherever that may be." Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as senior producer. Rubin previously produced two mobile titles for Netflix—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and spent five years at Riot Games developing creative content for the League of Legends franchise. Battlestate Games appointed Andrey Odintsov head of marketing.
Odintsov brings user‑acquisition expertise from Multicast Games and operates as an independent growth consultant for gaming projects. Frontier Developments announced Dan Lazarides as chief marketing officer. Lazarides arrives from Sega Europe where he was senior vice‑president of marketing, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO.
Cooke praised the hire, noting his deep experience with large IPs and his player‑first mindset. Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as digital sales manager. Ionescu’s background includes sales roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games, providing a broad perspective on both retail and digital distribution channels.
Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to senior account executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 and has quickly progressed from account executive to a senior client‑facing role.
Supercell named Anni Pyy contract manager after four years in the same capacity at Metacore, where she oversaw licensing agreements and partnership contracts. Fintech platform ZBD appointed Nathan Solbrandt as senior vice‑president of business development. Solbrandt previously served as senior account executive at Motorica and as vice president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla.
Riot Games added Olivia Lee as internal events producer, building on her experience coordinating internal programs and community‑building activities. Xsolla hired Ciarah Pritchard as account coordinator; she previously managed account performance at Playback Rewards. Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as vice president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left for EA in 2019, and now returns to guide messaging for some of the industry’s most iconic franchises.
Nintendo of America appointed Maddie Richter as social media marketing manager. Richter transitions from a social media manager role at Alaska Airlines, bringing fresh perspective to Nintendo’s community outreach. Yotta Games added narrative designer Dana Duffield, who previously held a senior narrative designer position at Series Entertainment, enhancing Yotta’s storytelling capabilities.
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 prior experience as producer, animator, and educator at Team Gramps, Queensguard, and Submarine Art School). Roblox’s Foundation AI team welcomed Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger to support the Build‑in‑New‑Zealand mobile‑first AI creation tool.
The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023 and raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors, positioning them to push AI‑driven entertainment forward. Rockstar Games hired Sathvik Sudireddy as marketing manager for live services. Sudireddy previously managed product development for Call of Duty at Activation and completed a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as lead product manager.
Chard’s résumé includes a six‑year stint as vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior product roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.