Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves across studios, publishers, and related businesses. If you know of a change that belongs in this list—new appointments, role shifts, or departures—please forward the details (name, new title, company, and previous position) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
One of the headline announcements this month comes from CodeDev Group, which has tapped former Epic Games executive Ben Board to lead its optimisation arm, The Performance Guys, as chief executive officer. Board joined Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager and later became business‑development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes senior leadership posts at iconic UK studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead, 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." In other news, 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 indie studio released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return signals a renewed focus on artistic direction within the Pokémon brand.
Respawn Entertainment announced the appointment of Billy King as its 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 experience spans a range of high‑profile franchises and should bolster Respawn’s visual development pipeline.
Team17 welcomed Sam Duncombe as brand marketing manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he was product manager for games and film, bringing a cross‑media perspective to the UK‑based publisher. Loom Games added Cansu Karahan Can as people and culture manager.
Can previously held the same title at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she oversaw talent acquisition, employee engagement, and organisational development. Fellow Traveller promoted Christopher Wulf to senior business‑development manager.
Wulf joined the company in 2021 after a stint as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative. Wizards of the Coast named 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, before moving to the tabletop‑gaming giant.
Mojang Studios appointed Alvaro Menéndez as its international social lead. Menéndez previously worked as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, giving him deep insight into community building for large‑scale titles.
Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to senior audio designer. Johnsson began his Frontier career in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to a senior role, shaping the soundscapes of upcoming projects. 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 senior vice‑president of partnerships and monetisation. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," he 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 hired Julia Gutnik as 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 oversaw 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 remarked.
Studio MDHR announced Lorna Antoniazzi as art producer. Antoniazzi came from Roarty Digital, where she produced work on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, adding valuable experience in large‑scale live‑service titles. Grand Games appointed Aysu Kutbay as product manager.
Kutbay previously held the same role at Rollic, where she managed mobile‑game portfolios and product‑life‑cycle strategies. Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey originally joined the company in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now returns to steward the Warhammer franchise’s extensive licensing opportunities.
"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 named Liana Murphy as account director for U.S. operations. Murphy previously served as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, bringing operational and communications expertise to the agency.
Amazon Luna promoted Tim Coombs to head of brand marketing. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026 and held product‑marketing positions for Amazon Lumberyard and 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. 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 working on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Battlestate Games hired Andrey Odintsov as 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 appointed Dan Lazarides as 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, and his appointment to the role of CMO highlights our focus on our communities," said CEO Jo Cooke.
Kalypso Media UK named Karen Ionescu digital sales manager. Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
Managing director Andrew Johnson praised her "wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels." Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to senior account executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an account executive and quickly earned a promotion. Supercell appointed Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore. Fintech platform ZBD hired Nathan Solbrandt as senior vice‑president of business development.
Solbrandt’s background includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president role for Xsolla’s Americas division. Riot Games added Olivia Lee as internal events producer, after she served as associate producer for internal events and programs. Xsolla welcomed Ciarah Pritchard as account coordinator; she formerly worked as account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Bethesda re‑appointed Tracey Thompson as vice‑president of communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left for Electronic Arts in 2019, and now returns to oversee communications for some of the industry’s most iconic franchises. Nintendo of America hired Maddie Richter as social media marketing manager. Richter previously managed social media for Alaska Airlines.
Yotta Games added narrative designer Dana Duffield, who came from 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, as well as teaching game design and animation). Roblox’s Foundation AI team welcomed 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. Rockstar Games appointed Sathvik Sudireddy as marketing manager for live services. Sudireddy previously managed product for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Netflix Games named Joe Chard as lead product manager.
Chard’s prior experience includes a vice‑president and studio‑general‑manager role at Jam City, as well as senior positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.