Keeping track of the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish regular round‑ups that collect the most noteworthy movements in one place. If you have a new appointment or a transition at your studio that you think belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, 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 performance‑optimisation arm of CodeDev Group. Board joined Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager before moving on to become business‑development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes senior leadership positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien, giving him a rare blend of technical depth and commercial savvy.
"Ben is a true heavyweight in the industry, and his reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He understands game development from the ground up – from writing engine scripts to managing developer relations for the world’s biggest platforms. Appointing Ben as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a crystal‑clear signal to publishers and studios: if your title suffers from performance bottlenecks on any engine, you now have the most capable team on the planet to fix it." In other news, James Turner has re‑joined The Pokémon Company International as Creative Director of Pokémon Art and Design. Turner 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 has been named Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously held the same senior position at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where he contributed to several high‑profile projects. Sam Duncombe moves to Team 17 as Brand Marketing Manager after a stint as Product Manager – Games and Film at Warner Bros. Discovery.
In his new role, Duncombe will oversee brand strategy for the iconic UK developer and publisher. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, bringing experience from a similar role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
Her focus will be on nurturing talent and shaping company culture as Loom expands its indie portfolio. Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who entered the firm in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager, and will now lead strategic partnerships for the travel‑gaming hybrid venture. Julie Derhak becomes a producer for the Dungeons & Dragons line at Wizards of the Coast.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, where she contributed to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, giving her a solid background in large‑scale live‑service production. Alvaro Menéndez takes on the role of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios.
Menéndez formerly served as Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives for titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League. Linus Johnsson has been elevated to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson 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, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation. "The scale of ambition and vision for what's next at Paramount is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said. "I've spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment and fandom, and the chance to help shape the future there was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik is appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Gutnik previously led media, social and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Amazon’s entertainment divisions, including Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she headed digital and ad‑tech media. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes Art Producer at Studio MDHR, after producing at Roarty Digital on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
She will oversee art pipelines for the creators of Cuphead and other upcoming projects. Aysu Kutbay joins Grand Games as Product Manager, following a product‑management role at Rollic where she helped launch several successful mobile titles.
David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now looks forward to expanding licensing opportunities across the Warhammer franchise.
Liana Murphy is appointed Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage, after serving concurrently as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs becomes 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 exits 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, before moving on to new challenges. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin previously produced two shipped mobile titles at Netflix—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov is named Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games.
Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for game studios. Dan Lazarides takes the reins as Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, after serving as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe. He replaces Jo Cooke, who moved to the CEO role earlier this year. "Dan brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IPs," Cooke said.
"His leadership will continue Frontier's upward momentum and reinforce our player‑first strategy." Karen Ionescu becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, after roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive commercial experience and strong relationships across retail and digital channels. Hannah Barrett is promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, having joined the firm as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years.
Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account work at Motorica and a vice‑presidential stint at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee is hired as Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, following an associate‑producer role 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, rose to Associate VP of Communications, left for EA in 2019, and now looks forward to supporting the studio’s iconic franchises alongside Xbox.
Maddie Richter is named Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a tenure as Social Media Manager for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, having previously been Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment. Yogscast Games announces 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, former Producer/Animator/Artist at Team Gramps and Queensguard, and instructor 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‑management work on Call of Duty at Activision and an internship in business development at Rockstar.
Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard previously served as VP, Studio General Manager and Head of Product at Jam City for six years, and held senior roles at Disney and Warner Bros.