Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves.
If your studio has announced a new appointment or a transition that belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, plus the previous role and employer 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 stepped into 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 breadth of experience that spans both classic and modern development pipelines. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry, and his technical credibility speaks for itself," remarked Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He knows game creation from every angle – from writing engine code to shepherding developer relations on the world’s biggest platforms. Appointing Ben as CEO sends a clear signal: whenever a title suffers a performance bottleneck on any engine, we have the premier team on the planet to resolve it." In other news, 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 and earned praise for its inventive mechanics and charming aesthetic. Billy King has taken the lead concept‑artist role at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously headed concept art at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a portfolio that includes high‑fantasy environments and gritty sci‑fi designs. Team 17 announced Sam Duncombe as its new Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he was product manager for games and film, and will now steer Team 17’s brand strategy across its diverse portfolio of indie hits.
Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager after a similar tenure at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her focus will be on nurturing talent and fostering an inclusive workplace as Loom expands its indie‑first development pipeline.
At Fellow Traveler, Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager. Wulf, who entered the company in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager, and will now drive partnership growth for the studio’s narrative‑driven titles. Julie Derhak moves to Wizards of the Coast 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 apply her production expertise to the tabletop‑gaming giant’s flagship franchise. Alvaro Menéndez steps into the International Social Lead role at Mojang Studios after serving as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid.
He will oversee global community engagement for Minecraft and related projects. Linus Johnsson has been elevated to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since contributed to the soundscapes of several of the studio’s simulation titles.
After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to become EVP, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer most recently held the SVP title for partnerships and monetisation at Epic. "The scale of ambition here is incredibly exciting," he said. "I've spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment and fandom, and the chance to help shape Paramount's next chapter was too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik is now Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Prior to this, she led media, social and analytics at Kia America and spent six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios overseeing digital and ad‑tech media. "Returning to my entertainment roots feels like coming home," Gutnik noted.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer, after producing at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, having previously managed products at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now looks forward to expanding licensing opportunities for the Warhammer universe.
Liana Murphy is appointed Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage, after serving simultaneously as COO and head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs takes the helm as 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.
His 23‑year tenure at Games Workshop culminated in heading business development and consumer‑product licensing. "Working on my favourite brands – Warhammer, D&D, Magic, Transformers – has been a privilege," he reflected. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer.
Rubin’s background includes senior production roles at Netflix (Squid Game: Unleashed, Selling Sunset) and five years at Riot Games on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov is named Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games, after experience as user‑acquisition manager at Multicast Games and consulting for independent growth projects.
Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, following a senior vice‑president stint at Sega Europe. He replaces Jo Cooke, who moved to Frontier’s CEO role in January. "Dan brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IPs and will champion our player‑first strategy," said Cooke. Karen Ionescu takes the Digital Sales Manager role at Kalypso Media UK, after sales positions at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive retail and digital channel relationships. 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 appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously held the same title 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 hired as Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, building on her prior experience coordinating internal 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, later moved to EA in 2019, and now looks forward to supporting iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox. Maddie Richter becomes Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as social media manager 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 & Influencer Manager, formerly at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator, previously junior producer at Atelier 11) and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, former producer/animator at 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. Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after product‑manager work on Call of Duty at Activision. Joe Chard becomes Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership roles at Jam City, Disney and Warner Bros.