Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel moves across the industry. If you know of a change that belongs in this list—whether it’s a new appointment, a promotion, or a departure—please email the relevant details (name, new role, new company, 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 first joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager and later became 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 deep‑rooted understanding of both game creation and platform strategy. "Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder Myke Parrot.
"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 other news, James Turner has rejoined 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, a studio that released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024.
His return marks a homecoming to the brand he helped shape for years, and he will now oversee the visual direction of Pokémon across all media. Respawn Entertainment announced that Billy King will serve as its lead concept artist. King arrives from ZeniMax Online Studios, where he led concept work, and previously held a senior concept role at Amazon Games. His extensive experience in crafting immersive visual concepts is expected to bolster Respawn’s upcoming projects.
Team17 has named Sam Duncombe its new brand‑marketing manager. Duncombe moves from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he managed product strategy for games and film, and will now steer Team17’s brand initiatives across its diverse portfolio. Loom Games welcomed Cansu Karahan Can as people‑and‑culture manager.
Can previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), bringing a strong background in talent development and organisational culture to the indie studio. At Fellow Traveller, Christopher Wulf was promoted to senior business‑development manager. Wulf, who joined the company in 2021, previously served as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative, and will now focus on expanding Fellow Traveller’s partnership network. Wizards of the Coast appointed Julie Derhak as a producer for Dungeons & Dragons.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration, and will now bring that production expertise to the tabletop giant. Mojang Studios added Alvaro Menéndez as its international social lead.
Menéndez comes from Epic Games Madrid, where he was senior marketing manager, and will oversee global community engagement for Minecraft and related titles. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to senior audio designer. Johnsson, who joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer, has now earned a senior role, responsible for shaping the soundscapes of upcoming Frontier releases.
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 senior vice‑president of partnerships and monetisation.
He said, "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 over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios as head of digital and ad‑tech media. She remarked, "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 named Lorna Antoniazzi as art producer.
Antoniazzi previously produced at Roarty Digital, contributing to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, and will now support Studio MDHR’s artistic pipelines. Grand Games hired Aysu Kutbay as product manager; Kutbay moves from Rollic, where she managed several mobile titles. Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey 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 returns to help steer licensing for the Warhammer universe.
Second Stage appointed Liana Murphy as account director for U.S. operations.
Murphy previously held the dual roles of COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Amazon Luna announced Tim Coombs as head of brand marketing. Coombs came from Xbox, where he served as director of brand management until July 2026, and has a history with Amazon Game Tech dating back to 2017. Erik Mogensen exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as senior director of business development for digital gaming.
Mogensen’s prior 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated in heading business development and consumer‑product licensing. Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as senior producer.
Rubin previously produced two mobile titles for Netflix—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and spent five years at Riot Games working on League of Legends creative development. Battlestate Games named Andrey Odintsov head of marketing. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth consultant.
Frontier Developments appointed Dan Lazarides as chief marketing officer, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO. Lazarides formerly was senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and will drive Frontier’s player‑first strategy. Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as digital sales manager. Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games, and will oversee digital distribution channels.
Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to senior account executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an account executive. Supercell named Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years. Fintech platform ZBD appointed Nathan Solbrandt as senior vice‑president of business development.
Solbrandt’s background includes senior account work at Motorica and a vice‑president role at Xsolla 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 formerly was account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as vice‑president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left for EA in 2019, and now returns to oversee communications for the studio’s flagship franchises. Nintendo of America named Maddie Richter social‑media marketing manager.
Richter previously managed social channels for Alaska Airlines. Yotta Games brought on Dana Duffield as narrative designer; Duffield’s prior role was senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment. Yogscast Games announced 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 (previously producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and instructor at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone).
Roblox’s Foundation AI team added 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 after raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Rockstar Games hired Sathvik Sudireddy as marketing manager for live services. Sudireddy previously managed product for Call of Duty at Activision. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as lead product manager.
Chard’s résumé includes senior leadership roles at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.