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 notable moves. If your organization has news to share—new appointments, role changes, or departures—please forward the details (name, new position, 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’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 leadership positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a broad perspective on game development pipelines.
"Ben is a true industry heavyweight 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 critical praise for its inventive storytelling.
Billy King steps into the role of lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously headed concept art at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where he contributed to several high‑profile projects. Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as brand marketing manager after a tenure as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros.
Discovery. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people‑and‑culture manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Christopher Wulf receives a promotion to senior business‑development manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who entered the firm in 2021, earlier worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager.
Julie Derhak is appointed producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, where she helped shape Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration.
Alvaro Menéndez takes the helm of international social at Mojang Studios after serving as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid. Linus Johnsson is promoted to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments, having joined the studio in 2022 as a graduate audio designer. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year stretch 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." Julia Gutnik assumes the position of head of media at Amazon Gaming.
Prior to this, she 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. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes art producer at Studio MDHR after a spell as producer at Roarty Digital, contributing to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay is named 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 Games Workshop 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 takes on the role of account director, US operations, at Second Stage after serving simultaneously as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing.
Tim Coombs is appointed head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026 and held product‑marketing positions 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.
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. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer, after senior producer roles at Netflix (where he helped launch Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset) and five years at Riot Games working on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov becomes head of marketing at Battlestate Games, having previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now consulting independently on growth and go‑to‑market strategies.
Dan Lazarides is named chief marketing officer of 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 the digital sales manager post at Kalypso Media UK after sales‑manager roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive commercial 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; Pyy 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 executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president stint at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee is hired as internal events producer at Riot Games, building on her experience as associate producer for internal events and programs. 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 for EA in 2019, and now looks forward to supporting iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox. Maddie Richter is appointed social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a role as social media manager for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as narrative designer, following a senior narrative designer position 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 (previous junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang as publishing coordinator (former producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and educator at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join Roblox's Foundation AI team 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. Sathvik Sudireddy becomes marketing manager, live services at Rockstar Games, after product‑manager work on Call of Duty at Activision.
Joe Chard is appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games, following senior roles at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.