Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task. To make life easier for industry watchers, we regularly assemble concise round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel moves. If your organization has recent appointments or staff changes that merit inclusion, feel free to forward the relevant details—name, new title, new company, plus previous role and employer—to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. One of the headline announcements this month is the elevation of former Epic Games executive Ben Board to 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 iconic studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a rare blend of technical depth and commercial savvy. "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." 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 studio’s debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and earned praise for its whimsical storytelling and inventive mechanics. Billy King also made a move, stepping into the role of Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously led concept teams at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where his work helped define the visual direction of several high‑profile projects. The round‑up continues with a series of additional appointments: - Sam Duncombe is now Brand Marketing Manager at Team 17, after a tenure as Product Manager – Games and Film at Warner Bros.
Discovery. - Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, having previously filled the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
- Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveler, a company he’s been with since 2021 following a senior role at The Triple‑i Initiative. - Julie Derhak becomes a Producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast.
She spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite crossover. - Alvaro Menéndez takes on the International Social Lead position at Mojang Studios after serving as Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid. - Linus Johnsson advances 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 stint to become EVP, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
He most recently held the SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation title at Epic. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer remarked.
"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 is appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Prior to this, she directed media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios overseeing digital and ad‑tech media. - Lorna Antoniazzi becomes Art Producer at Studio MDHR, after producing at Roarty Digital on titles such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. - Aysu Kutbay steps into the Product Manager role at Grand Games, having previously managed products 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 is appointed Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage, after concurrently serving as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. - Tim Coombs becomes Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product marketing leadership 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 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing. - Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer.
His background includes senior production at Netflix (working on Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset), and five years at Riot Games on creative development for the League of Legends IP. - Andrey Odintsov takes the helm as Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games, following a stint as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and freelance growth consulting. - Dan Lazarides is named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, after serving as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe.
Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised his "wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IP" and highlighted his focus on a player‑first strategy. - Karen Ionescu becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, bringing prior experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
- Hannah Barrett is promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right. - Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; she previously held the same role at Metacore for four years. - Nathan Solbrandt steps in as SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior roles at Motorica and Xsolla. - Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, having earlier coordinated internal programs for the studio.
- Ciarah Pritchard becomes Account Coordinator at Xsolla, after working as an Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. - Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as VP 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, transitioning from a social media role at Alaska Airlines.
- Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, after senior narrative work at Series Entertainment. - Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR and Influencer Manager, formerly at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator, previously a junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, with past experience as producer, animator, and educator at Team Gramps, Queensguard, and Submarine Art School). - 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 management on Call of Duty at Activision.
- Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership roles at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These movements illustrate the fluid nature of talent within the interactive entertainment ecosystem, where seasoned veterans and emerging leaders alike continue to shape the future of games, media, and related technologies.