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 movements. If your organisation has a new appointment or a transition you think 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 entered Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later taking charge of business development for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine.
His résumé also includes senior leadership positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien. "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." James Turner has re‑joined The Pokémon Company International, this time 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 released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024.
His return marks a homecoming to the franchise he helped shape for years. Respawn Entertainment announced Billy King as its new lead concept artist. King previously led concept teams at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in visual development for large‑scale live‑service titles.
Team17 welcomed Sam Duncombe as brand marketing manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he acted as product manager for games and film, and will now steer Team17’s brand strategy across its diverse portfolio.
Loom Games added Cansu Karahan Can as people and culture manager. Can previously held the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she oversaw talent acquisition, employee engagement, and organisational development. At Fellow Traveler, Christopher Wulf earned a promotion to senior business development manager.
Since joining the firm in 2021, Wulf has driven partnership initiatives; before that he was senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative. Wizards of the Coast appointed Julie Derhak as a producer for Dungeons & Dragons.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, before moving to the tabletop giant. Mojang Studios named Alvaro Menéndez its international social lead.
Menéndez previously worked as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community programs. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to senior audio designer. Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since advanced to lead the studio’s sound‑design initiatives. After seven years at Epic, Nate Nanzer departed 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. "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." Amazon Gaming promoted Julia Gutnik to head of media. 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 operations. "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 explained.
Studio MDHR hired Lorna Antoniazzi as art producer. Antoniazzi came from Roarty Digital, where she produced work on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Grand Games named Aysu Kutbay product manager; Kutbay previously managed products at Rollic.
Games Workshop announced the return of David Bailey as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 for Sumo Digital, and now returns to help expand the Warhammer licensing universe.
"It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he said. Second Stage appointed Liana Murphy as account director for US operations. Murphy most recently held dual roles as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing.
Amazon Luna named Tim Coombs head of brand marketing. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and earlier served as product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard and senior product marketing manager for Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen left 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.
"It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands," Mogensen reflected. Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as senior producer.
Rubin came from Netflix, where he produced mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, and previously spent five years at Riot Games working on League of Legends creative development. Battlestate Games appointed Andrey Odintsov head of marketing. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant.
Frontier Developments named Dan Lazarides chief marketing officer, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO. Lazarides formerly served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum," CEO Jo Cooke said, emphasizing a player‑first strategy. Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as digital sales manager.
Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive retail and digital channel relationships.
Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to senior account executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an account executive. Supercell named Anni Pyy contract manager; Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years.
Fintech platform ZBD appointed Nathan Solbrandt SVP of business development. Solbrandt previously worked 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, after serving as associate producer for internal programs. Xsolla hired Ciarah Pritchard as account coordinator; she previously was account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as vice president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left for EA in 2019, and now returns to support iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox.
Nintendo of America appointed Maddie Richter social media marketing manager. Richter previously managed social media for Alaska Airlines. Yotta Games brought on Dana Duffield as narrative designer; Duffield was senior narrative designer 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 roles as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching experience at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Roblox's Foundation AI team added Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger to support 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. Rockstar Games hired Sathvik Sudireddy as marketing manager for live services.
Sudireddy previously managed product development for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard lead product manager. Chard's background includes vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment. This extensive list illustrates the dynamic nature of talent movement across the industry, highlighting how seasoned veterans and emerging leaders alike continue to shape the future of interactive entertainment.