Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups of the most noteworthy moves. If you know of any new appointments or role changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, company, and previous position 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 joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later taking on the role of business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes senior leadership positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios and BossAlien.
"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 writing 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; the studio’s debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and received critical praise. Billy King has been named Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment.
King previously held the same title at ZeniMax Online Studios and was a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a strong portfolio of sci‑fi and fantasy visuals to his new role. Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as Brand Marketing Manager after serving as Product Manager – Games and Film at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he oversaw cross‑media marketing initiatives for several high‑profile releases. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
Her focus will be on nurturing talent and shaping company culture as Loom expands its indie portfolio. Christopher Wulf has been promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller.
Wulf, who joined the firm in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager. Julie Derhak takes on the role of Producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration before moving to tabletop gaming.
Alvaro Menéndez becomes International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. He comes from Epic Games Madrid, where he was Senior Marketing Manager, and will now oversee global community strategies for Minecraft and related titles. Linus Johnsson is promoted to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments.
Johnsson began his Frontier career in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed to senior responsibilities on titles such as Elite Dangerous. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to assume the EVP, Head of Commercial & Marketing position at Paramount Games.
At Epic his most recent title 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 is appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Gutnik previously led media, social and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she managed digital and ad‑tech media operations. "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.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer, after a stint as Producer at Roarty Digital where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, having previously overseen product strategy at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop 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 says, "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here." Liana Murphy is named Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage after serving concurrently as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs takes the helm of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 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.
His prior 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated in heading business development and consumer product licensing. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as 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 League of Legends creative development.
Andrey Odintsov is appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth consultant. Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, arriving from Sega Europe where he was Senior Vice President of Marketing.
He replaces Jo Cooke, who moved to the CEO role at Frontier. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum, and his appointment to the role of CMO highlights our focus on our communities," said CEO Jo Cooke. Karen Ionescu is hired as Digital Sales Manager for Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson remarked, "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels." Hannah Barrett is promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an Account Executive in December 2025.
Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously held the same position at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior roles at Motorica and Xsolla. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard is hired as Account Coordinator at Xsolla, 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, 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 is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a role as Social Media Manager for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative design position 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 (formerly Junior Producer at Atelier 11) and Charlotte Pang as Publishing Coordinator (previously 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 a product‑manager stint on Call of Duty at Activision. Joe Chard is named Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership roles at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.