Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel moves. If your organisation has a new appointment or a transition that 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 optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board entered Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager, later taking on the role of 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 genuine heavyweight in the industry, with a reputation and technical authority that speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He has seen game development from every angle – from writing engine scripts to overseeing developer relations for the world’s biggest platforms.
Appointing Ben as CEO sends a clear signal: any performance issue on any engine can be solved by the best team on the planet." 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. Billy King steps into the role of Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously held the same title at ZeniMax Online Studios and was a senior concept artist at Amazon Games. Sam Duncombe becomes Brand Marketing Manager at Team 17, 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 is 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. Julie Derhak is appointed Producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast.
She spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration. Alvaro Menéndez takes the post of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios, after a stint as Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid. Linus Johnsson is elevated to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments.
He began at Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has progressed steadily since. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after seven years to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. His most recent Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation.
"The scale of the ambition and vision for what’s next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said. "I’ve spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment and fandom, and the chance to help shape Paramount’s future was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik is named Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Before this, she led media, social and analytics at Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, heading digital and ad‑tech media. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes Art Producer at Studio MDHR, after producing at Roarty Digital where she worked on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay is appointed Product Manager at Grand Games, having previously been product manager at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey first joined Games Workshop in 2019, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now says, "It’s a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new licensing business." Liana Murphy takes the role of Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage, after serving simultaneously as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is hired as Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product marketing positions 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.
He spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin’s prior experience includes senior producer roles at Netflix (working on Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset) and a five‑year tenure at Riot Games on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games, after user‑acquisition work at Multicast Games and consulting independently on growth and go‑to‑market strategies.
Dan Lazarides is appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke who moved to the CEO role. Lazarides previously served as SVP of Marketing at Sega Europe. Frontier’s CEO Jo Cooke praised his arrival, noting that his leadership will reinforce the studio’s player‑first strategy and community focus. Karen Ionescu takes the Digital Sales Manager position at Kalypso Media UK, bringing experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson welcomed her, citing her extensive retail and digital sales relationships. 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 work at Motorica and a VP role at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee is named Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, having earlier served as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after a stint as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left in 2019 for EA, and now looks forward to supporting iconic franchises alongside Xbox. Maddie Richter becomes Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after managing social media for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative designer role 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, formerly 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, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors, and aim to push the boundaries of AI‑driven entertainment. Sathvik Sudireddy becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games, after product management on Call of Duty at Activision and a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership roles at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment.