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 noteworthy moves. If your organisation has recent staffing changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new 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 breadth of experience across both indie and AAA development pipelines. "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 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 another high‑profile move, James Turner has rejoined 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 signals a renewed focus on artistic direction for the global Pokémon brand. Billy King has been appointed lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously headed concept art at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a rich portfolio of sci‑fi and fantasy visuals to his new role. Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as brand marketing manager after a tenure as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he oversaw cross‑media campaigns and brand partnerships.
Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people and culture manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her expertise in talent development and workplace culture is expected to help Loom scale its growing indie portfolio.
Christopher Wulf receives a promotion to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf first joined the firm in 2021 and before that spent several years as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative, where he helped launch a number of successful gaming conferences. Julie Derhak is now a producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, giving her a solid foundation in large‑scale live‑service production.
Alvaro Menéndez becomes international social lead at Mojang Studios after serving as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives for Minecraft. Linus Johnsson is promoted 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.
Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year stint to take on the role of EVP, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer most recently held the title of SVP of partnerships and monetisation at Epic. "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." 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 Prime Video and Amazon Studios as head of digital and ad‑tech media. "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 explained.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as art producer. Antoniazzi formerly produced at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, bringing valuable experience in managing large art pipelines.
Aysu Kutbay becomes product manager at Grand Games after a product‑management role at Rollic, where she oversaw live‑ops and monetisation strategies for several mobile hits. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing.
Bailey originally joined the company in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 to become director of business affairs 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 for US operations at Second Stage, after serving simultaneously as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs takes the helm as head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined Microsoft in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy.
Earlier, he was product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later senior product marketing manager for Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen leaves 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. 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. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for the gaming sector. Dan Lazarides becomes chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously served as senior vice president of marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after she moved to the CEO role at Frontier.
Cooke praised his appointment, noting that his leadership will reinforce Frontier’s player‑first strategy. Karen Ionescu is appointed digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
Managing director Andrew Johnson said, "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels." Hannah Barrett is promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell hires Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of business development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president role at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee is appointed internal events producer at Riot Games, having previously served as associate producer for internal events and programs.
Ciarah Pritchard takes the role of account coordinator at Xsolla, after working as account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as VP of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left for EA in 2019, and now says, "I'm looking forward to partnering with the talented people across Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the teams behind some of the most iconic franchises in entertainment." Maddie Richter becomes social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as social media manager at Alaska Airlines.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer, following senior narrative designer work 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 and artist for 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.
Holm noted, "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." Sathvik Sudireddy becomes marketing manager, live services at Rockstar Games, after serving as product manager on Call of Duty at Activision and completing a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard is appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard previously held senior positions at Jam City—including VP, studio general manager, and head of product—plus roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the fluid nature of talent movement within the interactive entertainment industry, underscoring how experience across multiple studios and disciplines continues to shape the future of gaming.