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 movements. If you know of a change that belongs in this list—new appointments, role shifts, or exits—please forward the person's name, the new position, the company, and their 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 entered Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager and later took charge of business development 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 true industry heavyweight whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," remarked CodeDev Group founder Myke Parrot. "He understands game creation from the low‑level engine code to the high‑level developer relations that power the world’s biggest platforms. Appointing Ben as CEO sends a clear signal: any performance challenge on any engine can be solved by the best team on the planet." 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 released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. Billy King steps into the role of lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously held the same title at ZeniMax Online Studios and was senior concept artist at Amazon Games.
Sam Duncombe is now 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 formerly performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Christopher Wulf has been promoted to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveller.
He joined the firm in 2021 after a senior business‑and‑event management role at The Triple‑i Initiative. Julie Derhak becomes a producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, where she contributed to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration.
Alvaro Menéndez takes the post of international social lead at Mojang Studios, after serving as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid. Linus Johnsson is promoted to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments. He first joined 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 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 is appointed 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 oversaw digital and ad‑tech media.
"After two years in the auto sector, I'm returning to my entertainment roots and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik explained. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes art producer at Studio MDHR, after producing at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Aysu Kutbay is named product manager at Grand Games, following a product‑management role at Rollic. 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 takes the position of account director, US operations, at Second Stage, after serving simultaneously as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is appointed head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product‑marketing roles for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and Amazon Game Tech (until 2020).
Erik Mogensen exits Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as senior director of business development for digital gaming. His 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, after senior producer work at Netflix on mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, and a five‑year stint at Riot Games on League of Legends creative development. Andrey Odintsov becomes head of marketing at Battlestate Games, following user‑acquisition work at Multicast Games and independent consulting.
Dan Lazarides is named chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. He previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke, who moved to Frontier's CEO role in January.
Cooke praised Lazarides, noting his experience with major IPs and his focus on a player‑first strategy. Karen Ionescu takes the role of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK, after sales positions at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
Managing director Andrew Johnson said, "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital channels." Hannah Barrett is promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, having joined as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously held the same role at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt becomes senior vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account work at Motorica and a VP role at Xsolla for the Americas.
Olivia Lee is hired as internal events producer at Riot Games, building on prior experience as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as account coordinator, after serving as 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 for EA in 2019, 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 becomes social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as social media manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as narrative designer, following senior narrative design work at Series Entertainment. Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and influencer manager (formerly creator and community director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as production coordinator (previous junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang as publishing coordinator (former producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and instructor at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join Roblox's Foundation AI team 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. "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 said.
Sathvik Sudireddy becomes marketing manager, live services at Rockstar Games, after product‑management work on Call of Duty at Activision and a business‑development internship at the studio. Joe Chard is appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games, after serving as vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City for six years, and holding senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment.