Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the games sector can be a real challenge, which is why we put together periodic round‑ups to capture the most noteworthy moves. If your organisation has news about new appointments or role changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous position/company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
In a significant leadership shift, 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 legendary studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead, and BossAlien, giving him a deep‑rooted perspective on both development and publishing.
"Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," remarked 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 originally left Game Freak in 2022 to co‑found All Possible Futures with Jonathan Biddle; the studio’s first title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and received praise for its inventive mechanics and narrative charm.
Billy King has been named lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King’s prior experience includes leading concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and serving as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where he helped define visual directions for several high‑profile live‑service titles. Other notable moves include: - Sam Duncombe stepping into the role of brand marketing manager at Team 17 after a product‑manager stint for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery.
- Cansu Karahan Can joining Loom Games as people‑and‑culture manager, having previously overseen similar responsibilities at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). - Christopher Wulf earning a promotion to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveller, where he originally started in 2021 following a senior business‑and‑event role at The Triple‑i Initiative. - Julie Derhak becoming 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. - Alvaro Menéndez taking the post of international social lead at Mojang Studios after serving as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid.
- Linus Johnsson advancing to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments; he first joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since worked on multiple titles across the studio’s portfolio. - Nate Nanzer departing Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of partnerships and monetisation.
He said, "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." - Julia Gutnik assuming the head‑of‑media position at Amazon Gaming. Before that she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, heading digital and ad‑tech media. - Lorna Antoniazzi being appointed art producer at Studio MDHR after a producer role at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
- Aysu Kutbay becoming product manager at Grand Games, following a product‑manager role at Rollic. - David Bailey returning to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019, left in 2021 for 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 taking the account director, US operations slot at Second Stage after serving simultaneously as COO and head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing.
- Tim Coombs being named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product‑marketing leadership roles for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech.
- Erik Mogensen exiting Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as senior director of business development for digital gaming. Mogensen spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently as head of business development and consumer product licensing. - Ryan Rubin joining Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer. Rubin’s background includes senior producer work on Netflix mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, plus five years at Riot Games on creative development for League of Legends.
- Andrey Odintsov becoming head of marketing at Battlestate Games after user‑acquisition work at Multicast Games and consulting on growth for indie projects. - Dan Lazarides taking the chief marketing officer role at Frontier Developments, following a senior vice‑president of marketing position at Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised his appointment, noting that his leadership will reinforce the studio’s player‑first strategy. - Karen Ionescu stepping in as digital sales manager for Kalypso Media UK, bringing experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
- Hannah Barrett being promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right. - Supercell hiring Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore.
- Nathan Solbrandt becoming senior vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD after senior roles at Motorica and Xsolla. - Olivia Lee taking on the internal events producer role at Riot Games, having earlier served as associate producer for internal programs. - Ciarah Pritchard joining Xsolla as account coordinator after a performance‑manager role at Playback Rewards. - Tracey Thompson returning to Bethesda as vice‑president of communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left for EA in 2019, and now looks forward to supporting iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox. - Maddie Richter being named social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as social media manager for Alaska Airlines. - Dana Duffield joining Yotta Games as a narrative designer, following senior narrative work at Series Entertainment.
- Yogscast Games announcing 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 a background in production, animation, and teaching at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). - Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger joining 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.
- Sathvik Sudireddy becoming marketing manager, live services at Rockstar Games after product‑manager experience on Call of Duty at Activision. - Joe Chard being appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership roles at Jam City, Disney, and Warner Bros.
These movements illustrate the fluid nature of talent within the interactive entertainment sector, where seasoned veterans frequently shift between studios, publishers, and emerging tech firms, bringing cross‑disciplinary expertise that fuels innovation across the industry.