Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If your studio has announced a new appointment or a staff 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 joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager and later served as 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 true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder Myke Parrot. "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." 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 released its debut title The Plucky Squire in September 2024. His return marks a homecoming to the franchise he helped shape for many years. 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, bringing a wealth of experience in crafting visual identities for large‑scale projects. Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as brand marketing manager after a stint as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros.
Discovery. His background in both entertainment and interactive media is expected to strengthen Team17’s brand presence. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people and culture manager, having previously filled the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
She will oversee talent development and organisational health for the indie studio. Christopher Wulf earns a promotion to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who entered the company 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.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration, before moving into the tabletop‑gaming arena. Alvaro Menéndez takes on the role of international social lead at Mojang Studios. He previously acted as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives. Linus Johnsson is promoted to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments.
Johnsson began his career at Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to a senior position, shaping the soundscapes of the studio’s upcoming titles. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games.
At Epic his most recent titles were senior vice‑president 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 steps into the role of 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.
"After two years navigating the auto industry, I am returning to my entertainment roots, and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," she remarked. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes art producer at Studio MDHR, after previously producing at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Aysu Kutbay is appointed product manager at Grand Games, coming from a product‑manager 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 says, "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here." Liana Murphy takes the post of account director, US operations at Second Stage after serving concurrently as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is named 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 prior 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated in heading business development and consumer product licensing.
"It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands," he reflected. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer. Rubin’s background includes senior producer roles at Netflix (Squid Game: Unleashed, Selling Sunset) and a five‑year tenure at Riot Games working on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov becomes head of marketing at Battlestate Games after experience as user‑acquisition manager at Multicast Games and independent growth consulting.
Dan Lazarides is appointed chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke who moved to the CEO seat. Lazarides previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum, and his appointment to the role of CMO highlights our focus on our communities," said CEO Jo Cooke.
Karen Ionescu takes the digital sales manager position at Kalypso Media UK, bringing prior experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson praised her commercial expertise.
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 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 executive work at Motorica and a VP role at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee is appointed internal events producer at Riot Games, following a stint 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, 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 becomes social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a role as social media manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as 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, former 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 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 becomes marketing manager, live services at Rockstar Games after product‑manager experience on Call of Duty at Activision.
Joe Chard is appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games, having previously served as vice‑president, studio general manager and head of product at Jam City, plus senior roles at Disney and Warner Bros.