Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, departures and other personnel shifts in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task. That’s why we regularly assemble these brief round‑ups, gathering the most noteworthy movements into a single, easy‑to‑read summary. If you know of a colleague who has recently changed roles or joined a new studio, please forward the name, new title, new employer, as well as the previous position and company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Amir Satvat has taken on the role of General Partner at 1Up Ventures. Prior to this, he was the Business Development Director for Tencent Games, where he oversaw strategic partnerships and expansion initiatives across multiple regions. In addition to his corporate experience, Satvat founded and runs Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), an organization dedicated to helping professionals find employment within the gaming industry. "I wanted to feel a more direct connection between the things I could influence and do with a team and putting people back to work," Satvat explained.
"I wanted to see more people's dreams of making games come true because of something I did. I also hoped I could work in a setting focused on smaller studios, because I love games of that size so much, and in a setting built around community first." He continued, "My final wish was to work with colleagues who share the same values and integrity I try to hold myself to.
In accepting the team’s invitation to join 1Up, I am seeing all of these wishes realised." Satvat also praised 1Up's unique position in the ecosystem, stating, "1Up is a very important player in the games ecosystem, and I want to see its unique approach to games investing survive for as long as possible." Lasse Seppänen announced his exit from Supercell after a seven‑year tenure. He entered the company in 2019 as a producer and later held senior positions, including Head of Game Production Services and General Manager of Supercell London.
"Now it's time to follow my passion for creating new game IPs again," Seppänen said. He confirmed that he will remain based in the United Kingdom and plans to launch his own studio in 2027, promising to share more details when the timing is right.
Take‑Two Interactive has named Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs for the UK. Derrington previously served as Head of Public Affairs for TikTok in the United Kingdom, where he managed government relations and policy advocacy for the platform. At Kepler Interactive, Jess Pearce earned a promotion to Senior People Partner.
Pearce originally joined Kepler in 2022 as a People Advisor and advanced to People Partner in 2024 before receiving her latest title. PlaySimple Games promoted Shreya Godha to Producer. Godha had been working as an Associate Producer at the studio prior to this elevation.
Epic Games announced the appointment of Kelly Ekins as Director of Communications. Ekins comes from Unity, where she was Senior Director of Global PR for the Games and Made with Unity program. Her Unity career began in 2018 as Marketing Lead for Media and Entertainment after a stint at Warner Brothers Games Montreal, where she was Studio Lead for Game Marketing and Communications.
Housemarque co‑founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen stepped down after an impressive 31‑year run. Kuittinen co‑founded Housemarque in 1995 alongside Harri Tikkanen, merging their earlier studios Bloodhouse and Terramarque. Reflecting on his career, Kuittinen said, "Looking back, I feel immensely fortunate.
We had the luck of being in the right place at the right time during three decades of incredible industry growth, allowing us to stay fiercely independent for 26 years before finding a home within the PlayStation Studios family." He added, "We have been planning this leadership transition carefully behind the scenes. On July 1, Sami 'Haxu' Hakala officially stepped into the Managing Director role, and I have continued supporting him and the leadership team until today to ensure complete operational continuity and stability. Housemarque’s strategy and creative vision are in exceptional hands." Tamara Feiman has been appointed CEO of Lion Studios, the publishing arm of Tripledot Studios. Feiman began her career at Lion in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead and later served as Publishing General Manager.
"I joined Lion six years ago," Feiman remarked. "Since then, I've had the privilege of growing alongside the company through its biggest successes, challenges and transformations. But what has always made Lion special is how we work with our partner studios.
Together, we've taken risks, learned quickly and turned great ideas into games played by millions." She continued, "And Lion has never been about one person. I'm fortunate to work alongside an incredible team across publishing, growth, product, engineering and market intelligence, as well as our talented studio partners around the world." Sega of America welcomed Heather Sangria as Community Manager. Sangria previously worked as a contract Social Strategist and Community Lead at One More Game, and before that she was Digital Strategy and Community Manager at Undead Labs. Activision Blizzard promoted Emily Rose Chen to Senior Product Manager for Call of Duty.
Chen entered the company as a Financial Analyst in 2020, later moving into product management before receiving her current senior role. Scot McCarron also received a promotion at Activision Blizzard, becoming Senior Director of Product Management for Call of Duty. McCarron originally joined the firm in 2018 as Product Marketing Manager for emerging franchises, later advancing to Director of Product Management on the Call of Duty series.
These moves illustrate the dynamic nature of talent flow within the gaming industry, where seasoned veterans transition to new challenges, emerging leaders rise through the ranks, and companies continually reshape their leadership teams to stay competitive in a fast‑moving market. The ongoing reshuffling underscores how important both experience and fresh perspective are for driving innovation, supporting community growth, and delivering the next generation of interactive entertainment.