Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that gather the most noteworthy moves in one place. 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 stepped into after joining Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager. Earlier in his career he held senior leadership positions at classic studios such as 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 writing 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 debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and earned praise for its inventive mechanics and charming visuals.
Billy King has been named lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously headed concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where his designs helped shape the visual identity of several high‑profile projects. Sam Duncombe steps into the role of brand marketing manager at Team 17 after a tenure as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros.
Discovery. His experience spans both interactive entertainment and cinematic media, positioning him to strengthen Team 17’s brand presence across multiple platforms. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people and culture manager, bringing prior experience from a similar role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
Her focus will be on nurturing talent and fostering an inclusive workplace as Loom expands its indie portfolio. Christopher Wulf receives a promotion to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who entered the company in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative where he managed business and event operations.
Julie Derhak becomes a producer for the Dungeons & Dragons line 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 solid foundation in large‑scale live‑service production. Alvaro Menéndez is appointed international social lead at Mojang Studios. Before this, he was senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives for titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League.
Linus Johnsson moves up to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments. He 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 seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to become executive vice‑president and 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," he said, adding that his career has always sat at the intersection of games, entertainment and fandom. Julia Gutnik takes the helm of media at Amazon Gaming. Her previous position was head of media, social & analytics at Kia America, and she also spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios leading digital and ad‑tech media efforts.
"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," Gutnik explained. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes art producer at Studio MDHR, after serving as a producer at Roarty Digital where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and its Lego counterpart.
Aysu Kutbay is appointed product manager at Grand Games, following a product‑management role at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey originally joined the company in 2019, 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 assumes the position of account director, US operations at Second Stage after simultaneously serving as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing.
Tim Coombs is named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026 and 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.
His earlier 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated in heading business development and consumer‑product licensing. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin’s background includes senior producer work on Netflix mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, as well as five years at Riot Games on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov becomes head of marketing at Battlestate Games.
He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant. Dan Lazarides is appointed chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke who moved to the CEO role. Lazarides formerly served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe.
"His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum," said CEO Jo Cooke. Karen Ionescu takes on the role of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK, after sales positions at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive retail and digital experience. Hannah Barrett is promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, having joined as an account executive in December 2025.
Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as contract manager; she previously held the same title at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt becomes senior vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account work at Motorica and a VP role at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee is hired as internal events producer at Riot Games, where she previously coordinated internal programs and events. 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, left in 2019 for EA, and now looks forward to supporting iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox. Maddie Richter is named social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as social media manager for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer, following senior narrative design work at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and influencer manager (formerly creator and community director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as production coordinator (formerly junior producer at Atelier 11) and Charlotte Pang as 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 become members of Roblox’s Foundation AI team, supporting 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 joins Rockstar Games as marketing manager for live services, after product‑management work on Call of Duty at Activision. Joe Chard is appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games, having previously served as vice‑president, studio general manager and head of product at Jam City, plus senior roles at Disney and Warner Bros.