Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most notable movements. If your organization has recent staffing changes that belong in this list, please forward the name of the appointee, their new title, the company they are joining, and their previous role and employer 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 entering 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 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," remarked 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 largest platforms.
Appointing Ben as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a crystal‑clear signal to developers: if your title suffers from performance bottlenecks on any engine, you are working with the best team on the planet to resolve them." In other news, James Turner has rejoined The Pokémon Company International 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 whimsical art direction. Billy King has been named lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King arrives from ZeniMax Online Studios, where he served as lead concept artist, and previously held a senior concept‑artist role at Amazon Games, contributing to a range of sci‑fi and fantasy projects. Team17 announced Sam Duncombe as its new brand‑marketing manager. Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he was product manager for games and film, bringing a wealth of cross‑media experience to the historic UK publisher.
Cansu Karahan Can has taken the people‑and‑culture manager position at Loom Games. Before joining Loom, Can oversaw culture initiatives at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), focusing on employee wellbeing and inclusive workplace practices.
Christopher Wulf earned a promotion to senior business‑development manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who joined the company in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager, sharpening his skills in partnership cultivation and event strategy. Julie Derhak will serve as 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, gaining deep expertise in large‑scale live‑service production.
Alvaro Menéndez has been appointed international social lead at Mojang Studios. Menéndez previously acted as senior marketing manager for Epic Games’ Madrid office, where he directed global community campaigns for titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to senior audio designer.
Johnsson originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since been responsible for crafting immersive soundscapes across several of the studio’s flagship projects. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departed to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was senior vice‑president of partnerships and monetisation. "The scale of ambition and vision for what's next at Paramount is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said.
"My career has always sat at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the chance to help shape Paramount's future was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik stepped into the role of 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 headed digital and ad‑tech media operations. "After two years in the automotive sector, I’m returning to my entertainment roots and to the company that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik explained.
Lorna Antoniazzi has become an art producer at Studio MDHR. Antoniazzi previously produced at Roarty Digital, contributing to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, and brings a strong background in art pipeline management.
Aysu Kutbay was appointed product manager at Grand Games, after serving in the same capacity at Rollic, where she oversaw live‑ops and monetisation strategies for several mobile hits. David Bailey returned 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 licensing opportunities." Liana Murphy has taken the post of account director for US operations at Second Stage.
Murphy most recently held dual responsibilities as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, respectively. Tim Coombs was named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the console maker in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. Earlier in his career he led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and later for 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 spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating as head of business development and consumer‑product licensing. "It’s not lost on me how special it’s been to work on my favourite brands – Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers – and I look forward to the next chapter, wherever it leads," he reflected. Ryan Rubin joined Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer.
Rubin previously produced two mobile titles for Netflix – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov has become head of marketing at Battlestate Games.
Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming projects. 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 after her promotion to CEO of Frontier in January. "Dan brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry’s largest IPs, and his leadership will keep Frontier’s player‑first strategy at the forefront of our community‑centric approach," Cooke noted.
Karen Ionescu took on the role of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s background includes sales management at Numskull Games as well as positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
"We’re delighted to welcome Karen, whose extensive commercial experience and strong retailer relationships will be a major asset for Kalypso," said Managing Director Andrew Johnson. Hannah Barrett was promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right.
Barrett initially joined the firm as an account executive in December 2025 and quickly demonstrated strong client‑service skills. Supercell named Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously held the same title at Metacore for four years, overseeing contractual negotiations for mobile titles. Nathan Solbrandt became senior vice‑president of business development at fintech platform ZBD.
Solbrandt’s prior experience includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president role in Americas business development at Xsolla. Olivia Lee was appointed internal events producer at Riot Games, after serving as associate producer for internal events and programs, where she coordinated large‑scale employee gatherings and culture‑building initiatives. Ciarah Pritchard took the position of account coordinator at Xsolla, coming from Playback Rewards where she managed account performance and client reporting.
Tracey Thompson returned to Bethesda as vice‑president of communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009 as director of publications, rose to associate VP of communications, left in 2019 for a head‑of‑product‑and‑studio‑integrated‑communications role at Electronic Arts, and now says, "I’m excited to partner with the talented teams across Bethesda and Xbox to support the iconic franchises and bring their creative visions to players worldwide." Maddie Richter was named social media marketing manager for Nintendo of America.
Richter previously managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she led campaigns that increased follower engagement by over 40%. Dana Duffield joined Yotta Games as a narrative designer. Duffield’s most recent role was senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment, where she crafted storylines for several indie adventure titles.
Yogscast Games announced 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 (formerly producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and an instructor at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger joined 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, 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 said. Sathvik Sudireddy became marketing manager for live services at Rockstar Games. Sudireddy previously served as product manager on Call of Duty at Activision after completing a business‑development internship at the studio.
Joe Chard was appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard’s background includes a vice‑president, studio‑general‑manager, and head‑of‑product role at Jam City for six years, as well as senior positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These announcements illustrate the fluid nature of talent movement within the interactive‑entertainment ecosystem, highlighting how experienced leaders continue to shape the future of games, media, and related technologies across the globe.