Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If your organization has recent staffing changes that belong 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 appointed chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later becoming 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. "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. Billy King has been named Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously held the same title at ZeniMax Online Studios and was a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a strong portfolio of sci‑fi and fantasy visuals. Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as Brand Marketing Manager after serving as Product Manager – 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 has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who joined the company in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager.
Julie Derhak becomes 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. Alvaro Menéndez takes the role of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios.
Before that he was 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. 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 title was SVP 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 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, after a stint at Roarty Digital where she worked on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, having previously held the same position at Rollic.
David Bailey returns 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." Liana Murphy is named Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage after serving 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 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.
"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 mobile titles for Netflix—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and spent five years at Riot Games on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov is appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games, after user‑acquisition work at Multicast Games and independent consulting.
Dan Lazarides takes the CMO role at Frontier Developments. He formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved to CEO. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum," Cooke said.
Karen Ionescu becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, bringing experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her commercial expertise. 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 appoints 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 roles at Motorica and Xsolla.
Olivia Lee is hired as Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, having previously coordinated internal programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after work 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 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 role at Alaska Airlines.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, previously senior narrative designer 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 (formerly junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang as Publishing Coordinator (formerly 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. "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," Holm said.
Sathvik Sudireddy becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games after product management work on Call of Duty at Activision. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership positions at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros.
Entertainment.