Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most notable personnel moves. If you know of any new appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new company, as well as their previous role and employer 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 at Tencent Games, where he oversaw partnership strategy and market expansion initiatives.
Satvat also founded and leads Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), an organization dedicated to helping job seekers find positions 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 added that he sees 1Up as a pivotal player in the broader games ecosystem and expressed a desire to see the firm’s distinctive investment philosophy endure for as long as possible. Lasse Seppänen announced his departure from Supercell after a seven‑year tenure.
He joined the Finnish powerhouse in 2019 as a producer and subsequently held several 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 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 appointed Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs for the UK market.
Derrington comes from TikTok, where he served as Head of Public Affairs for the United Kingdom, bringing extensive experience in regulatory navigation and stakeholder engagement. Jess Pearce earned a promotion to Senior People Partner at Kepler Interactive.
Pearce originally joined Kepler in 2022 as a People Advisor, advancing to People Partner in 2024, and now oversees talent strategy for the rapidly growing independent publisher. Shreya Godha has been elevated to Producer at PlaySimple Games after previously serving as an Associate Producer. In her new capacity, Godha will lead development teams on casual and hyper‑casual titles that have become PlaySimple's hallmark. Epic Games announced the appointment of Kelly Ekins as Director of Communications.
Ekins previously held the position of Senior Director of Global PR for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program. Before joining Unity in 2018, she worked at Warner Bros. Games Montreal as Studio Lead for Game Marketing and Communications, giving her a solid background in both developer‑focused and platform‑focused messaging. Housemarque co‑founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen is stepping down after an impressive 31‑year run with the studio.
Kuittinen co‑founded Housemarque in 1995 alongside Harri Tikkanen after merging their respective companies, 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 named Chief Executive Officer of Lion Studios, the publishing arm of Tripledot Studios. Feiman began her career at Lion in 2020 as the 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 emphasized the collaborative nature of the organization: "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." Heather Sangria has joined Sega of America as Community Manager. Sangria previously worked as a contract Social Strategist and Community Lead at One More Game and held a Digital Strategy and Community Manager role at Undead Labs, giving her a strong foundation in community building and audience engagement. Emily Rose Chen has been promoted to Senior Product Manager for the Call of Duty franchise at Activision Blizzard. Chen started at Activision in 2020 as a Financial Analyst, later moving into product management where she helped shape feature roadmaps and player experience for the flagship shooter series.
Scot McCarron also received a promotion within Activision Blizzard, advancing to Senior Director of Product Management for Call of Duty. McCarron joined the company in 2018 as a Product Marketing Manager for emerging franchises and later served as Director of Product Management on the Call of Duty line, overseeing cross‑functional teams that deliver new content and live‑service updates. These moves illustrate the dynamic nature of talent flow within the gaming ecosystem, where experienced professionals shift between development studios, publishers, and service providers, often bringing fresh perspectives that drive innovation. As the industry continues to expand into new platforms, monetisation models, and immersive technologies, such personnel changes are likely to accelerate, shaping the next wave of games and the companies that bring them to market.