Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the video‑game sector can be a daunting task. To make it easier for readers and industry insiders, we publish periodic round‑ups that collect the most noteworthy personnel moves in one place.
If you know of a change that belongs in this list—whether it’s a new executive appointment, a senior creative hire, or a strategic departure—please forward the name, new title, company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. One of the headline announcements this month is the elevation of former Epic Games veteran Ben Board to chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group. Board first joined Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager, later taking on the role of business‑development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes senior leadership positions at classic studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead, and BossAlien.
"Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder and CEO Myke Parrot. "He understands game development from every angle – from coding 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 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 indie studio released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return marks a full‑circle moment for the veteran designer, who will now oversee the visual direction of the globally beloved franchise.
Respawn Entertainment announced the appointment of Billy King as its new lead concept artist. King arrives from ZeniMax Online Studios, where he served as lead concept artist, and previously held a senior concept‑artist role at Amazon Games.
His experience across multiple high‑profile publishers is expected to enrich Respawn’s visual pipeline for upcoming titles. Team17 welcomed Sam Duncombe as brand marketing manager.
Duncombe previously worked as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing a blend of entertainment‑industry insight and gaming expertise to the long‑standing UK developer. Loom Games added Cansu Karahan Can as people‑and‑culture manager.
Can’s prior role was the same at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she helped shape HR strategy for a fast‑growing studio. At Fellow Traveler, Christopher Wulf was promoted to senior business‑development manager. Having joined the company in 2021, Wulf previously served as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative, where he oversaw partnership negotiations and large‑scale community events. Wizards of the Coast named Julie Derhak a producer on the Dungeons & Dragons line.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration, before moving to the tabletop‑gaming giant. Mojang Studios appointed Alvaro Menéndez as international social lead. Menéndez comes from a senior marketing manager position at Epic Games in Madrid, where he directed global social campaigns for flagship titles. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to senior audio designer.
Johnsson originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since risen through the ranks, contributing to the soundscapes of several recent releases. After a seven‑year tenure at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer left to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was 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." Amazon Gaming hired Julia Gutnik as head of media. Gutnik previously 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 explained.
Studio MDHR added Lorna Antoniazzi as art producer. Antoniazzi’s background includes a producer role at Roarty Digital, where she worked on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Grand Games announced Aysu Kutbay as product manager. Kutbay previously held a product‑manager position at Rollic, overseeing mobile‑game pipelines and live‑ops strategies. Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey 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 returns to steer licensing for the Warhammer universe.
"It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he remarked. Second Stage named Liana Murphy account director for US operations. Murphy most recently served as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, bringing extensive agency experience to the role. Amazon Luna appointed Tim Coombs as head of brand marketing.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026 and earlier served as product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017, followed by senior product‑marketing leadership for Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen departed Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as senior director of business development for digital gaming.
Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating as head of 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.
Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin 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 franchise. Battlestate Games appointed Andrey Odintsov as head of marketing. Odintsov’s most recent work includes user‑acquisition management at Multicast Games and independent consulting on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for games.
Frontier Developments announced Dan Lazarides as chief marketing officer. Lazarides previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after her promotion to Frontier CEO. "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 Cooke.
Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as digital sales manager. Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games, offering a strong network across both retail and digital channels. Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to senior account executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an account executive before earning the senior title.
Supercell named Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years, overseeing legal and vendor agreements for mobile titles. Fintech platform ZBD appointed Nathan Solbrandt as senior vice‑president of business development. Solbrandt’s background includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president role for Xsolla’s Americas business development.
Riot Games added Olivia Lee as internal events producer. Lee previously coordinated internal programs and events, ensuring employee engagement across the studio. Xsolla hired Ciarah Pritchard as account coordinator.
Pritchard formerly worked as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards, focusing on revenue optimisation for game publishers. Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as vice‑president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left for EA in 2019, and now returns to guide messaging for some of the industry’s most iconic franchises.
Nintendo of America appointed Maddie Richter as social media marketing manager. Richter transitions from a social‑media role at Alaska Airlines to the gaming giant’s consumer‑facing channels.
Yotta Games hired narrative designer Dana Duffield. Duffield previously served as senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment, crafting storylines for indie and mid‑tier titles. Yogscast Games announced 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 (with a background in production, animation, and teaching at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Roblox’s Foundation AI team expanded with Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger, both co‑founders of the AI‑interactive platform Jars AI, which raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors in 2023.
Their new roles will support the development of Build, Roblox’s mobile‑first AI creation tool. Rockstar Games added Sathvik Sudireddy as marketing manager for live services.
Sudireddy previously managed product on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as lead product manager. Chard’s résumé includes a vice‑president and studio‑general‑manager stint at Jam City, senior product roles at Disney, and leadership positions at Warner Bros.
Entertainment. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the gaming ecosystem, where talent moves fluidly between development studios, publishers, and ancillary services, continually reshaping the creative and commercial landscape.