Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge, which is why we gather the most noteworthy moves in periodic round‑ups. If your studio has recent appointments or staff changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. One of the most significant announcements this month is the appointment of former Epic Games executive Ben Board as chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board joins the team after a distinguished career that began at Epic in 2017, where he initially served as a developer support manager before moving on to become business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. 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 insight. "Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "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 released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return to the Pokémon franchise signals a renewed focus on artistic direction and brand consistency across the global franchise.
Billy King has been named lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King arrives from ZeniMax Online Studios, where he headed concept art, and previously served as a senior concept artist at Amazon Games.
His portfolio, which includes work on high‑profile shooters and open‑world titles, is expected to influence Respawn’s upcoming projects. Team 17 announced Sam Duncombe as its new brand‑marketing manager. Duncombe moves from Warner Bros.
Discovery, where he managed product strategy for games and film, and will now steer Team 17’s brand narrative across its diverse portfolio of indie and mid‑tier titles. Loom Games welcomed Cansu Karahan Can as people‑and‑culture manager.
Can previously held the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion) and will be responsible for shaping Loom’s internal culture as the studio expands its experimental titles. At Fellow Traveller, Christopher Wulf has been promoted to senior business‑development manager.
Since joining in 2021, Wulf has overseen partnerships and events, building on his earlier experience as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative. Wizards of the Coast named Julie Derhak a producer for Dungeons & Dragons.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, bringing a strong production pedigree to the tabletop‑gaming giant. Mojang Studios appointed Alvaro Menéndez as international social lead. Menéndez previously served as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, and will now oversee global community engagement for Minecraft and related properties.
Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to senior audio designer. Johnsson, who joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer, has quickly risen through the ranks thanks to his work on immersive soundscapes for titles such as Planet Coaster and Elite Dangerous. After a seven‑year tenure at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departed to become executive vice‑president and head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of partnerships and monetisation.
He explained, "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting. 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 announced Julia Gutnik as head of media. Gutnik previously led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she managed digital and ad‑tech media operations. She said, "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." Studio MDHR added Lorna Antoniazzi as art producer.
Antoniazzi comes from Roarty Digital, where she produced work on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, and will now help shepherd the visual direction of titles like Cuphead. Grand Games appointed Aysu Kutbay as product manager, after a stint at Rollic where she oversaw several successful mobile releases. David Bailey returned to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing.
Bailey first joined Games Workshop in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 for 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. It's an incredible opportunity and it's great to be back in the fold working alongside great people." Second Stage hired Liana Murphy as account director for US operations. Murphy previously held dual roles as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a strong background in agency‑client relations. Amazon Luna named Tim Coombs head of brand marketing.
Coombs was director of brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the console maker in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. Earlier, he led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and Amazon Game Tech (until 2020).
Erik Mogensen left 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. He reflected, "It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands. First Warhammer, and most recently Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers… the list goes on.
I'm very much looking forward to my next chapter, whatever and wherever that may be." Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as senior producer. Rubin previously produced two shipped 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 appointed Andrey Odintsov head of marketing.
Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for the gaming sector. Frontier Developments announced Dan Lazarides as chief marketing officer.
Lazarides joins from Sega Europe, where he was senior vice‑president of marketing, and replaces Jo Cooke following her promotion to CEO. Cooke praised him, saying his leadership will "continue Frontier's upward momentum" and support a "player‑first" strategy. Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as digital sales manager. Ionescu previously managed sales at Numskull Games and has experience at Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing director Andrew Johnson noted her extensive retail and digital relationships. Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to senior account executive. Barrett started at the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an account executive. Supercell named Anni Pyy contract manager; Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years.
Fintech platform ZBD appointed Nathan Solbrandt as SVP of business development. Solbrandt came from Motorica (senior account executive) and Xsolla (VP of business development for the Americas). Riot Games added Olivia Lee as internal events producer, after serving as associate producer for internal programs. Xsolla hired Ciarah Pritchard as account coordinator; she previously worked as account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as vice‑president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left in 2019 for Electronic Arts, and now returns to oversee communications for iconic franchises across Xbox and Microsoft.
Nintendo of America appointed Maddie Richter as social media marketing manager. Richter previously managed social channels for Alaska Airlines. Yotta Games recruited Dana Duffield as narrative designer.
Duffield formerly served as senior narrative designer 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, plus teaching roles at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). 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, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Holm said, "At Jars AI we saw hundreds of thousands of creators use AI to shape weird new worlds and stories, and we're excited to keep pushing the boundaries of AI entertainment in our new roles." Rockstar Games hired 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 appointed Joe Chard as lead product manager. Chard brings experience as former vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment. These movements illustrate the fluid nature of talent within the gaming ecosystem, where seasoned veterans often transition between major publishers, indie studios, and emerging tech ventures, carrying with them a wealth of expertise that fuels innovation across the industry.