Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If your organisation has news about new appointments or role changes that belong in this list, please forward the details – name, new title, company, plus 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 took on after joining Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager. Earlier in his career he held senior positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien, giving him a breadth of experience across both classic and modern development houses. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry, and his reputation and technical credibility speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He understands every facet of game creation – from writing engine scripts to nurturing developer relationships on the world’s biggest platforms.
Appointing Ben as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a crystal‑clear signal to publishers and studios: if your title suffers from performance bottlenecks on any engine, we have the world’s premier team to fix it." In other news, James Turner has re‑joined The Pokémon Company International, this time 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 storytelling. Billy King has been named 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 his work helped define the visual language of several high‑profile projects.
Sam Duncombe steps into the role of Brand Marketing Manager at Team 17, after a tenure as Product Manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery. His experience spans both interactive entertainment and cinematic content, positioning him to strengthen Team 17’s brand presence across multiple channels. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, bringing experience from a similar role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
Her focus will be on nurturing talent and fostering an inclusive studio environment. Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who arrived at the company in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as Senior Business and Event Manager, adding a strong network of industry contacts to his new responsibilities.
Julie Derhak becomes 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, giving her a solid foundation in large‑scale live‑service production.
Alvaro Menéndez takes on the role of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Before this, he was Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives and social campaigns. Linus Johnsson has been elevated to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to become a key voice in the studio’s sound design pipeline.
After a seven‑year stint at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation.
"The scale of 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 appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Gutnik previously led media, social and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she directed digital and ad‑tech media strategy. "After two years in the automotive sector, I’m returning to my entertainment roots and the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," she remarked.
Lorna Antoniazzi becomes Art Producer at Studio MDHR, after serving as a producer at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay is 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 first joined Games Workshop 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 licensing opportunities." Liana Murphy takes the position of Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage, after simultaneously serving as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is appointed Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 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. Mogensen’s prior 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated in heading business development and consumer‑product licensing. He reflected, "It’s not lost on me how special it’s been to work on my favourite brands – Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers – and I look forward to the next chapter wherever it may be." Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer.
Rubin previously produced two shipped mobile titles at Netflix – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He formerly managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for game studios.
Dan Lazarides is named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after her promotion to Frontier’s CEO. Cooke praised his appointment, noting that his leadership will reinforce Frontier’s player‑first strategy and community focus. Karen Ionescu takes the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, after sales positions at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson said, "We’re delighted to welcome Karen, whose commercial expertise and long‑standing retailer relationships make her a fantastic addition." 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 roles at Motorica and Xsolla (Vice President of Business Development for the Americas). Olivia Lee is hired as 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 working as an 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 for EA in 2019, and now says, "I’m excited to partner with the talented teams at Bethesda and Xbox to support iconic franchises and bring creators’ visions to players worldwide." 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‑design 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, former 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. Holm noted, "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." Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after product‑management work on Call of Duty at Activision and an internship in business development at Rockstar. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard previously held senior positions at Jam City (VP, Studio General Manager, Head of Product), The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. This extensive list reflects the dynamic nature of the games industry, where talent moves quickly and expertise is constantly reshaped across studios, publishers and tech platforms.