Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that gather all the noteworthy moves in one place. If your studio has recent appointments or staff changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role/company 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’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 iconic studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a broad perspective on both legacy and modern game development pipelines. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry; his reputation and technical credibility speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He has seen game creation from every angle – from writing engine scripts to steering developer relations for 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 rejoined 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’s debut, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and earned praise for its whimsical storytelling. His return to the Pokémon franchise places him back at the heart of the brand’s visual identity.
Billy King has been named Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in crafting high‑concept visuals for large‑scale projects.
Team 17 announced Sam Duncombe as its new Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he was product manager for games and film, and will now steer Team 17’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 and organisational development. At Fellow Traveller, Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager.
Wulf, who joined Fellow Traveller in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager. Wizards of the Coast added Julie Derhak to its Dungeons & Dragons team as a Producer. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration before moving to the tabletop giant.
Mojang Studios named Alvaro Menéndez its International Social Lead. Menéndez previously acted as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, giving him deep insight into global community engagement.
Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to Senior Audio Designer. Johnsson began his Frontier career in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since risen through the ranks. After seven years at Epic, Nate Nanzer left to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation.
He remarked, "The scale of ambition here is incredibly exciting. I’ve spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the chance to shape what comes next at Paramount was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik has taken the helm as 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.
Studio MDHR appointed Lorna Antoniazzi as Art Producer. Antoniazzi previously produced at Roarty Digital, contributing to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Grand Games hired Aysu Kutbay as Product Manager; she moves from a similar role at Rollic. David Bailey returned to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019, left in 2021 for Sumo Digital, and now says, "It’s a privilege to return to the vast Warhammer universes and help spearhead new licensing opportunities." Second Stage named Liana Murphy as Account Director for U.S.
operations. Murphy most recently served as COO and head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Amazon Luna announced Tim Coombs as Head of Brand Marketing.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product marketing roles for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen departed Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming.
Earlier, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, ending as head of business development and consumer product licensing. Ryan Rubin joined Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer.
Rubin’s background includes senior producer roles at Netflix (Squid Game: Unleashed, Selling Sunset) and five years at Riot Games on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov became Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games after experience as user acquisition manager at Multicast Games and work as an independent growth consultant. Dan Lazarides was appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke, who moved to Frontier’s CEO role. Cooke praised Lazarides, noting his expertise will bolster Frontier’s player‑first strategy. Karen Ionescu took the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, bringing prior experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson said her commercial background and retail relationships make her a strong addition. Hannah Barrett was promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell named Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; she previously held the same position at Metacore for four years.
Nathan Solbrandt became SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account work at Motorica and a VP role at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee was hired as Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, having earlier served as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joined Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after a stint as account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
Tracey Thompson returned to Bethesda as VP of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left for EA in 2019, and now looks forward to supporting iconic franchises alongside Xbox. Maddie Richter was appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, moving from a social media manager role at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joined Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, after senior narrative work at Series Entertainment.
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, plus teaching roles at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). 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 and raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Holm remarked, "At Jars AI we saw hundreds of thousands of creators use AI to shape weird new worlds and stories, and we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of AI entertainment in our new roles." Sathvik Sudireddy joined Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after product management on Call of Duty at Activision and a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard was named Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard previously spent six years at Jam City as VP, studio GM, and head of product, and also held senior gaming positions at Disney and Warner Bros.