Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that gather the most noteworthy moves in one place. If you know of a transition that belongs in this list—new appointment, role change, or departure—please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous position to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. In a significant leadership shift, former Epic Games executive Ben Board has taken the helm as Chief Executive Officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group. Board’s career at Epic began in 2017 when he joined as a developer support manager, later advancing to Business Development Director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine.
Prior to his time at Epic, he held senior positions at iconic studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a deep‑rooted understanding of both classic and modern game development pipelines. "Ben is a true industry heavyweight whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder 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." 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, a venture that released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return signals a renewed focus on artistic direction across the Pokémon franchise. Respawn Entertainment announced Billy King as its new Lead Concept Artist.
King arrives from ZeniMax Online Studios, where he led concept work, and previously served as Senior Concept Artist at Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in high‑profile IP visualisation. Team17 welcomed Sam Duncombe as Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe’s background includes a stint as Product Manager for games and film at Warner Bros.
Discovery, where he oversaw cross‑media initiatives. Loom Games added Cansu Karahan Can as People and Culture Manager. Can previously performed the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), focusing on talent development and organisational health. At Fellow Traveler, Christopher Wulf earned a promotion to Senior Business Development Manager.
Wulf, who joined the firm in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as Senior Business and Event Manager. Wizards of the Coast named Julie Derhak a Producer for the Dungeons & Dragons line. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration. Mojang Studios appointed Alvaro Menéndez as International Social Lead.
Menéndez came from Epic Games Madrid, where he was Senior Marketing Manager. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to Senior Audio Designer. Johnsson started at Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since risen through the ranks. After seven years at Epic, Nate Nanzer departed to become Executive Vice President, 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," 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 announced 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 as Head of Digital and AdTech Media. "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 hired Lorna Antoniazzi as Art Producer. Antoniazzi formerly worked at Roarty Digital, contributing to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite projects. Grand Games named Aysu Kutbay Product Manager; Kutbay previously held the same title at Rollic.
Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey 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 returns to oversee licensing for the ever‑expanding Warhammer universe.
"It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," Bailey remarked. Second Stage appointed Liana Murphy as Account Director, US Operations.
Murphy most recently served as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Amazon Luna announced Tim Coombs as Head of Brand Marketing. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026 and held product marketing roles for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming.
Mogensen’s earlier 23‑year tenure at Games Workshop culminated in heading 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 said. Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as Senior Producer. Rubin came from Netflix, where he produced two shipped mobile titles—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and previously spent five years at Riot Games on creative development for League of Legends.
Battlestate Games named Andrey Odintsov Head of Marketing. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant. Frontier Developments promoted Dan Lazarides to Chief Marketing Officer, succeeding Jo Cooke after her elevation to CEO. Lazarides formerly served as SVP of Marketing at Sega Europe.
"His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum," CEO Jo Cooke noted. Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as Digital Sales Manager.
Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive retail and digital channel relationships.
Swipe Right promoted Hannah Barrett to Senior Account Executive. Barrett joined the esports and gaming communications agency in December 2025 as an Account Executive. Supercell appointed Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years.
Fintech platform ZBD named Nathan Solbrandt SVP of Business Development. Solbrandt’s background includes senior account work at Motorica and a VP role at Xsolla for the Americas. Riot Games added Olivia Lee as Internal Events Producer, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal programs.
Xsolla hired Ciarah Pritchard as Account Coordinator; she previously served as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. Bethesda welcomed back Tracey Thompson as Vice President of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, left in 2019 for EA, and now returns to support iconic franchises across Bethesda and Xbox.
Nintendo of America appointed Maddie Richter as Social Media Marketing Manager. Richter previously managed social channels for Alaska Airlines. Yotta Games added Dana Duffield as Narrative Designer, after senior narrative work at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR & 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 roles as Producer, Animator, and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching experience 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, securing $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Rockstar Games hired Sathvik Sudireddy as Marketing Manager, Live Services. Sudireddy previously managed product work on Call of Duty at Activision. Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as Lead Product Manager.
Chard brings a track record that includes VP and Studio General Manager roles at Jam City, as well as senior positions at Disney and Warner Bros.