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 you know of any new appointments or role changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, company, and previous position 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 broad perspective on both classic and contemporary game development. "Ben is a true industry heavyweight whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group.
"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." 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; the studio’s debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and received praise for its inventive mechanics and charming aesthetic.
Billy King has been promoted to lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously headed concept art at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where he contributed to several high‑profile projects.
Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as brand marketing manager, after a tenure as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people‑and‑culture manager, having previously performed the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Christopher Wulf advances to senior business‑development manager at Fellow Traveller, a company he joined in 2021.
Prior to that he was senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative. Julie Derhak becomes a producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, where she worked on Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration. Alvaro Menéndez takes the post of international social lead at Mojang Studios, after serving as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid.
Linus Johnsson is promoted to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments. He originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since risen through the ranks.
Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after seven years to assume the role of EVP, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. At Epic his most recent titles were 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. Before that she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she oversaw digital and ad‑tech media.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as art producer, after producing at Roarty Digital on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay becomes product manager at Grand Games, having previously held the same title at Rollic.
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 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 business for licensing here." Liana Murphy is named 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 becomes head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. He 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. His 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated as head of business development and consumer‑product licensing. "First Warhammer, and most recently Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers… the list goes on. I'm very much looking forward to my next chapter, whatever and wherever that may be," he remarked.
Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer, after senior producer stints at Netflix (Squid Game: Unleashed, Selling Sunset) and five years at Riot Games on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov is appointed head of marketing at Battlestate Games, having previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operating as an independent growth consultant. Dan Lazarides steps into the chief marketing officer role at Frontier Developments. He previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and replaces Jo Cooke, who became Frontier’s CEO in January.
"His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum," said Cooke. Karen Ionescu becomes digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK, after sales‑manager roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels," noted managing director Andrew Johnson.
Hannah Barrett is promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, having joined as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell names Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt is appointed 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 becomes internal events producer at Riot Games, following an associate‑producer role 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. She 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 is named social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as social media manager for 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, formerly producer/animator/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 help develop 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.
Sathvik Sudireddy becomes marketing manager, live services at Rockstar Games, after product‑manager work on Call of Duty at Activision. 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.