Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we gather the most noteworthy moves in a semi‑regular roundup, giving you a single place to see who’s joining which studio and what roles they’ll be filling. If you know of a change that belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, plus the previous position and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Ben Board, a veteran of Epic Games, has been installed as chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group. Board’s career at Epic began in 2017 when he arrived as a developer support manager, later moving on to become the business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine.
His résumé also includes senior leadership posts at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry, with a reputation and technical clout that speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He understands game creation from the low‑level engine code to high‑level developer relations on the world’s biggest platforms.
Appointing Ben as CEO sends a clear signal: if your title suffers from performance issues on any engine, we have the premier team on the planet to fix it." James Turner has re‑joined The Pokémon Company International as the 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 marks a homecoming to the brand he helped shape for many years. Billy King steps into the role of lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously headed concept art at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in visual development to Respawn’s upcoming projects. Sam Duncombe has taken the position of brand marketing manager at Team 17, after a stint as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery.
In his new role, Duncombe will oversee brand strategy and promotional campaigns for the publisher’s diverse portfolio. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people and culture manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her focus will be on nurturing talent and fostering an inclusive workplace environment.
Christopher Wulf has been promoted to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who entered the company in 2021, formerly worked as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative. 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 before moving to the tabletop giant.
Alvaro Menéndez assumes the role of international social lead at Mojang Studios. He previously held the senior marketing manager title for Epic Games’ Madrid office, where he oversaw global community initiatives.
Linus Johnsson has been elevated to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson first joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has progressed steadily through the sound team. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs 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.
"The ambition and vision for what’s next at Paramount is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said. "I’ve spent my career at the crossroads of games, entertainment and fandom, and the chance to help shape the next chapter was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik is appointed head of media at Amazon Gaming.
Prior to this, she led media, social and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she managed digital and ad‑tech media operations. "Returning to my entertainment roots after a two‑year detour in the auto sector feels like coming home," Gutnik remarked.
Lorna Antoniazzi becomes art producer at Studio MDHR, after previously producing at Roarty Digital on titles such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay has been named product manager at Grand Games, following a product‑management role at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop 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 comes back to help drive new licensing opportunities for the Warhammer universe. Liana Murphy takes on the post of account director, US operations, at Second Stage. Murphy most recently served as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is now head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna.
He previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the console maker in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. Earlier in his career he managed product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard and later 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. Mogensen’s prior 23‑year tenure at Games Workshop culminated in heading business development and consumer‑product licensing. "Working on my favourite brands – Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers – has been a privilege," he reflected, "and I look forward to the next chapter wherever it leads." Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as a 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 creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov becomes head of marketing at Battlestate Games.
He formerly led user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant. Dan Lazarides has been appointed chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. Before joining Frontier, Lazarides served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO.
"Dan brings a wealth of experience from some of the industry’s biggest IPs, and his leadership will keep Frontier’s momentum strong," Cooke said. Karen Ionescu is now digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s background includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, as well as roles at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. "Her extensive commercial experience and strong relationships across retail and digital channels make her an excellent addition," said managing director Andrew Johnson.
Hannah Barrett has been promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining the firm as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell names Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously held the same title at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt becomes senior vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account work at Motorica and a vice‑president role at Xsolla for the Americas.
Olivia Lee is appointed internal events producer at Riot Games, building on her experience as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as account coordinator, after serving as account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as vice‑president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left in 2019 for EA, and now comes back to support the studio’s flagship franchises.
Maddie Richter is now social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, following a stint as social media manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer, after senior narrative design work 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 (previous junior producer at Atelier 11) and Charlotte Pang as 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 have been added to 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 joins Rockstar Games as marketing manager for live services, after product management on Call of Duty at Activision and an internship in business development at the developer. 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.