Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the video‑game sector can be a daunting task. To make things easier for industry watchers, we gather the most noteworthy personnel moves in periodic round‑ups. If you know of a new appointment or a transition that belongs in this list, 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 executive 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 Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a broad perspective on both development and publishing. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry; his reputation and technical credibility speak for themselves," remarked Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group.
"He understands game creation from the low‑level engine code to high‑level developer relations on the world’s biggest platforms. Appointing Ben as CEO sends a clear signal: if your title suffers from performance issues on any engine, we have the most capable team on the planet 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 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. His return to the Pokémon franchise marks a homecoming for a designer who has helped shape the visual identity of the brand for years.
Billy King has been named Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept teams at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in crafting visual direction for large‑scale titles.
Team17 announced Sam Duncombe as its new Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he managed product lines spanning both games and film, and will now steer Team17’s brand strategy across its diverse portfolio.
Loom Games welcomed Cansu Karahan Can as People and Culture Manager. Can previously held the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she oversaw talent acquisition, employee engagement, and organisational development. Fellow Traveler promoted Christopher Wulf to Senior Business Development Manager. Wulf, who joined the company in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager, and will now focus on expanding Fellow Traveler’s partnership network.
Julie Derhak has taken on the role of 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 tabletop game production.
Alvaro Menéndez was appointed International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Menéndez’s most recent position was Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to Senior Audio Designer. Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to a senior role, shaping the soundscapes of the studio’s upcoming releases.
After a seven‑year tenure at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departed to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s last Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation.
He explained, "The scale of ambition and vision for what’s next at Paramount is incredibly exciting. I’ve spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the chance to help build the future there was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik stepped into the position 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 Amazon Studios and Prime Video, heading digital and ad‑tech media functions. "After two years in the auto sector, I’m returning to my entertainment roots and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik said.
Studio MDHR announced Lorna Antoniazzi as its new Art Producer. Antoniazzi previously worked at Roarty Digital on Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, bringing experience in managing art pipelines for live‑service titles.
Grand Games appointed Aysu Kutbay as Product Manager. Kutbay’s former role was product manager at Rollic, where she oversaw mobile game launches and live‑ops strategies. Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey 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 returns to help steer licensing for the Warhammer franchise.
"It’s a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes and help spearhead new business for licensing here," Bailey remarked. Second Stage added Liana Murphy as Account Director for US Operations. Murphy previously served as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, handling both operational oversight and media strategy. Amazon Luna named Tim Coombs Head of Brand Marketing.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the console maker in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. Earlier in his career he led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and Amazon Game Tech (until 2020). Erik Mogensen exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming.
Mogensen spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing, working on iconic brands such as Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Transformers. Blizzard Entertainment hired Ryan Rubin as Senior Producer. Rubin’s previous experience includes senior producer roles at Netflix for mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, as well as a five‑year stint at Riot Games where he contributed to creative development for the League of Legends IP.
Andrey Odintsov became Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov formerly managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for games. Frontier Developments announced Dan Lazarides as its new Chief Marketing Officer.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after she moved to the CEO role at Frontier. Cooke praised Lazarides, saying his expertise with major IPs will reinforce Frontier’s player‑first strategy. Kalypso Media UK appointed Karen Ionescu as Digital Sales Manager.
Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games, and will oversee both retail and digital distribution channels for Kalypso. Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to Senior Account Executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an account executive and has now advanced to a senior client‑facing role. Supercell named Anni Pyy as Contract Manager.
Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore, handling legal and operational aspects of game publishing. Fintech platform ZBD hired Nathan Solbrandt as SVP of Business Development.
Solbrandt’s background includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑presidential role in business development for Xsolla’s Americas division. Riot Games added Olivia Lee as Internal Events Producer. Lee formerly served as associate producer for internal events and programs, coordinating large‑scale employee gatherings.
Xsolla welcomed Ciarah Pritchard as Account Coordinator. Pritchard previously worked as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards, focusing on client retention and revenue optimisation. Bethesda announced the return of Tracey Thompson as Vice President of Communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left for Electronic Arts in 2019, and now returns to help shape messaging for Bethesda and Xbox’s flagship franchises. Nintendo of America appointed Maddie Richter as Social Media Marketing Manager. Richter’s prior role was social media manager at Alaska Airlines, where she led community engagement initiatives. Yotta Games hired Dana Duffield as Narrative Designer.
Duffield previously served as senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment, crafting storylines and character arcs for mobile titles. Yogscast Games announced 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, with past experience as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, as well as teaching game design and animation). Roblox’s Foundation AI team welcomed Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger to support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand.
The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors, and will now apply their expertise to Roblox’s AI‑driven content pipeline. Rockstar Games added Sathvik Sudireddy as Marketing Manager for Live Services.
Sudireddy previously managed product development for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as Lead Product Manager.
Chard’s background includes a six‑year tenure as VP, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, plus senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These moves reflect a vibrant and fluid talent market, with seasoned veterans shifting between major publishers, indie studios, and emerging tech ventures, underscoring the industry's continual evolution and the importance of experienced leadership in shaping the next generation of games.