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 your organization has recent staffing changes that you think belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, company, and previous role 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 Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien, giving him a breadth of experience that spans both classic and modern development environments. "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, whether it’s writing engine scripts or overseeing developer relations for the world’s largest platforms.
Appointing Ben as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a clear signal: if a title is suffering from performance issues on any engine, we have the premier team on the planet to remedy 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 steps into the role of Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept teams at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a strong portfolio of sci‑fi and fantasy visuals to his new position.
Team17 has appointed Sam Duncombe as Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe arrives from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he managed product strategy for games and film, and will now steer Team17’s brand initiatives across its diverse portfolio of indie hits.
Loom Games welcomes Cansu Karahan Can as People and Culture Manager. Can’s prior experience includes a similar role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she helped shape employee engagement programmes and talent development pathways. At Fellow Traveller, Christopher Wulf has been promoted 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, giving him a solid foundation in partnership cultivation and event coordination. Julie Derhak moves to Wizards of the Coast as a Producer for Dungeons & Dragons. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, before taking on the new role overseeing narrative and production pipelines for the iconic tabletop franchise.
Alvaro Menéndez has taken the position of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Menéndez previously served as Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives and social‑media strategy. Frontier Developments promotes Linus Johnsson to Senior Audio Designer.
Johnsson first joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to lead the creation of immersive soundscapes for the studio’s upcoming titles. After a seven‑year tenure at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs 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." Julia Gutnik has been 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 ecosystem, including senior positions at Prime Video and Amazon Studios focused on digital and ad‑tech 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 remarked. Studio MDHR adds Lorna Antoniazzi as Art Producer.
Antoniazzi’s background includes a producer role at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite projects. Grand Games appoints Aysu Kutbay as Product Manager. Kutbay moves from Rollic, where she oversaw product strategy for several mobile titles. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop 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 says, "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here." Liana Murphy becomes Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage after serving concurrently as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is appointed Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) 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. Mogensen’s 23‑year career 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 reflected.
Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin’s prior experience includes senior production roles at Netflix (where he helped ship Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset mobile games) and five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant.
Dan Lazarides steps into the Chief Marketing Officer role at Frontier Developments, following a tenure as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe. He replaces Jo Cooke, who moved to the CEO position at Frontier in January. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum," Cooke said, emphasizing a player‑first strategy.
Karen Ionescu is appointed Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s résumé includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her extensive commercial experience and relationships across retail and digital channels. Hannah Barrett has been promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an account executive in December 2025.
Supercell names Anni Pyy as Contract Manager. Pyy previously held the same title at Metacore for four years.
Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior roles at Motorica and Xsolla (where he was VP of Business Development for the Americas). Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, having previously served as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard takes on the role of Account Coordinator at Xsolla, after working as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to associate VP of communications, left in 2019 for EA, and now says, "I'm looking forward to partnering with the talented people across Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the teams behind some of the most iconic franchises in entertainment." Maddie Richter is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, moving from a social media manager position at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, after serving as 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 a background as producer, animator and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and teaching experience at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Roblox’s Foundation AI team welcomes 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.
"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," Holm explained. Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager, Live Services, after a product‑manager stint on Call of Duty at Activision and an internship in business development at Rockstar.
Joe Chard becomes Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership positions at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Overall, August 2026 has proven to be a busy month for personnel movement across the industry, with seasoned veterans taking on fresh challenges and emerging talent stepping into influential roles. These appointments signal continued growth, diversification, and a strong focus on both creative and commercial excellence within the global games ecosystem.