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 you know of a change that belongs in this list—whether it’s a new appointment, a transition, or a return—please forward the name, new title, company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Former Epic Games executive Ben Board has been tapped to lead CodeDev Group’s optimisation arm, The Performance Guys, as its chief executive officer. Board’s résumé includes a stint as business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine, a role he assumed after joining Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager. Earlier in his career he held senior positions at celebrated studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead, and BossAlien, giving him a breadth of experience that spans both classic and modern game development. "Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," remarked 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." 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 been appointed lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King arrives from ZeniMax Online Studios, where he served as lead concept artist, and previously held a senior concept‑artist role at Amazon Games, contributing to a range of high‑profile projects. Sam Duncombe moves to Team 17 as brand‑marketing manager after a tenure as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery.
His experience bridging entertainment and interactive media is expected to strengthen Team 17’s market presence. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people‑and‑culture manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her background in talent development and organisational design will support Loom’s growing indie portfolio. Christopher Wulf has been promoted to senior business‑development manager at Fellow Traveller.
Wulf, who entered the firm in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager, bringing a solid network of industry contacts. Julie Derhak steps into the role of producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast.
Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, where she contributed to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite crossover, honing her production chops on large‑scale live‑service titles. Alvaro Menéndez becomes international social lead at Mojang Studios. Before this, he was senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, overseeing community initiatives for titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League. Linus Johnsson receives a promotion to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments.
Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since worked on the soundscapes for several of the studio’s simulation titles. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to assume the position of EVP, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games.
Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of partnerships and monetisation. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," he said, adding that his career has always sat at the intersection of games, entertainment and fandom. Julia Gutnik is named head of media at Amazon Gaming.
Gutnik previously led media, social and analytics for Kia America, and spent over six years within Amazon’s broader entertainment divisions—including Prime Video and Amazon Studios—where she oversaw digital and ad‑tech media strategy. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as art producer, after producing at Roarty Digital on titles such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Her expertise in art pipelines will help MDHR maintain its distinctive visual style. Aysu Kutbay becomes product manager at Grand Games, following a product‑management role at Rollic where she helped launch several successful mobile titles.
David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey originally joined the company 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 on the position of account director, US operations, at Second Stage after serving as COO and head of public relations 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. His prior 23‑year stint at Games Workshop included heading business development and consumer‑product licensing for iconic brands such as Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer. Rubin’s background includes senior production work on Netflix mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, as well as five years at Riot Games on creative development for the League of Legends franchise.
Andrey Odintsov becomes head of marketing at Battlestate Games, after experience as user‑acquisition manager at Multicast Games and work as an independent growth consultant. Dan Lazarides is named chief marketing officer of Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke who moved to the CEO role. Lazarides previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and will oversee Frontier’s player‑first strategy. Karen Ionescu takes the digital sales manager role at Kalypso Media UK, bringing prior experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
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 appoints Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt becomes senior‑vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account work at Motorica and a vice‑president role at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as internal events producer, building on her prior experience as associate producer for internal events and programs.
Ciarah Pritchard is hired as account coordinator at Xsolla, 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 looks forward to supporting the studio’s flagship franchises.
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 senior narrative‑design work at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announces 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 (former producer, animator and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and educator at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join Roblox’s Foundation AI team to advance 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‑management work on Call of Duty at Activision. Joe Chard is appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games, bringing experience as former vice‑president, studio general manager and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior roles at Disney and Warner Bros.
These appointments reflect the ongoing dynamism of the video‑game industry, where talent moves fluidly between studios, bringing fresh perspectives and reinforcing the creative engine that powers the sector.