Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes across the games sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If you know of any new appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new company, and previous position 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 became the business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine.
His résumé also includes senior leadership stints at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry, with a reputation and technical credibility that speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He has seen game development from every angle – from writing engine scripts to overseeing developer relations for the world’s largest platforms.
Appointing Ben as CEO sends a clear signal: if your title is suffering from performance issues on any engine, we have the world’s best team to fix it." 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 released its first title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. Billy King has been named lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously held the same title at ZeniMax Online Studios and worked as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games. Sam Duncombe steps into the role of brand marketing manager at Team17 after serving as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery.
Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people‑and‑culture manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Christopher Wulf has been promoted to senior business‑development manager at Fellow Traveler. He originally joined the company in 2021 after a senior business and events role with The Triple‑i Initiative.
Julie Derhak is now a producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Prior to this, she spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration.
Alvaro Menéndez takes on the position of international social lead at Mojang Studios. He moves from a senior marketing manager role at Epic Games’ Madrid office. Linus Johnsson has been elevated to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments.
He entered Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has progressed steadily since. 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 ambition and vision for what comes next at Paramount are incredibly exciting," Nanzer explained.
"My career has always sat at the crossroads of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the chance to help shape the next chapter was simply too compelling to refuse." Julia Gutnik assumes the role of head of media at Amazon Gaming. Before this she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she headed digital and ad‑tech media. "After two years in the automotive sector, I’m returning to my entertainment roots and to the company that forged my path as a global marketing leader," she said. 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, moving from a similar role at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing.
Bailey originally joined the firm in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 for a director‑of‑business‑affairs post at Sumo Digital, and now says, "It’s a privilege to go back to the ever‑expanding Warhammer universes and help drive new licensing opportunities." Liana Murphy takes the post of account director for US operations at Second Stage, after simultaneously serving as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs becomes head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having risen through the ranks from senior manager for brand strategy in 2020. Earlier, he was product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020.
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 as head of business development and consumer‑product licensing. "Working on my favourite brands – from Warhammer to Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Transformers – has been a dream," he reflected, adding that he looks forward to the next chapter, wherever it leads. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer.
Rubin’s background includes senior producer roles at Netflix on mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, as well as five years at Riot Games where he contributed to creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov is named head of marketing at Battlestate Games.
He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for gaming projects. Dan Lazarides steps into the chief‑marketing‑officer seat at Frontier Developments. Before this, he was senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after she was promoted to Frontier’s CEO in January. Cooke praised Lazarides, noting his extensive experience with major IPs and his focus on a player‑first strategy that will keep Frontier’s community‑centric ethos alive.
Karen Ionescu becomes digital‑sales manager for Kalypso Media UK. Her résumé includes sales‑manager positions at Numskull Games, as well as roles at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson said, "Karen brings deep commercial expertise and strong relationships across both retail and digital channels, making her a fantastic addition." 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 title at Metacore for four years.
Nathan Solbrandt takes the role of senior‑vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD, after serving as senior account executive at Motorica and vice‑president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee becomes internal events producer at Riot Games, moving up from associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard is hired as account coordinator at Xsolla, having formerly been account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as vice‑president of communications. Thompson first joined Bethesda in 2009 as director of publications, later becoming associate VP of communications before leaving for EA in 2019.
She now says, "I’m eager to work with the talented teams at Bethesda and Xbox, supporting iconic franchises and helping bring their visions to players worldwide." Maddie Richter is named social‑media marketing manager for Nintendo of America, after a stint as social‑media manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer, having previously been senior narrative designer 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, with past experience as producer, animator and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching roles at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join Roblox’s Foundation AI team to bolster 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. Holm remarked, "At Jars AI we saw creators use AI to craft strange new worlds and stories, and we’re excited to keep pushing AI entertainment boundaries in our new roles." Sathvik Sudireddy becomes marketing manager, live services at Rockstar Games.
He previously managed product for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Joe Chard is appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard’s background includes vice‑president, studio general manager and head of product at Jam City for six years, as well as senior gaming positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment. Overall, this August round‑up highlights a wave of senior‑level moves, returns to former employers, and strategic hires that signal where major studios and publishers are focusing their talent investments for the coming year.