Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy movements in one place. If you know of a change that belongs in this list—whether it’s a new appointment, a transition, or a departure—please forward the details (name, new role, new company, previous role and former employer) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Ben Board, a veteran of Epic Games, 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 stepped into after joining Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager.
Prior to his Epic tenure, Board held senior leadership positions at iconic studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a broad perspective on both classic and contemporary game development pipelines. “Myriad developers know Ben as a heavyweight in the industry whose technical credibility is unquestioned,” said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. “He has a rare ability to understand games from the ground up—whether it’s writing engine scripts or navigating developer relations for the world’s biggest platforms. Appointing Ben as CEO sends a clear signal: if your title suffers from performance bottlenecks on any engine, we have the premier team on the planet to resolve them.” In other news, James Turner has rejoined 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 earned praise for its inventive storytelling and art direction. His return to Pokémon signals a renewed focus on visual innovation within the franchise.
Billy King has been tapped as Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously shaped the visual language at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in crafting immersive worlds and character designs.
Team17 announced Sam Duncombe as its new Brand Marketing Manager. Duncombe transitions from a product‑manager role overseeing games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he helped align cross‑media marketing strategies for high‑profile releases. Loom Games welcomes Cansu Karahan Can as People and Culture Manager.
Can previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she built inclusive workplace programs and talent‑development frameworks. Christopher Wulf has earned a promotion to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller. Since joining the company in 2021, Wulf has driven partnership initiatives, building on earlier experience as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative. Julie Derhak steps into 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, honing her skills in large‑scale production pipelines. Alvaro Menéndez is now International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Before this, he was senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, overseeing community engagement across multiple titles. Linus Johnsson advances to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments.
Johnsson began his Frontier career in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since contributed to the soundscapes of several flagship projects. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer’s most recent Epic role was SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation, where he helped shape the company’s revenue strategies.
“The ambition and vision for what’s next at Paramount are incredibly exciting,” Nanzer said. “I’ve spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and this opportunity was simply too compelling to pass up.” He added, “I’m deeply grateful to everyone at Epic and to all the partners I’ve worked with. I’ll always be proud of what we accomplished together and will be cheering the team on from the sidelines.” Julia Gutnik takes the helm as 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 directed digital and ad‑tech media initiatives.
“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,” she explained. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes Art Producer at Studio MDHR, moving from a producer role at Roarty Digital where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay joins Grand Games as Product Manager, after serving in the same capacity at Rollic, where she oversaw live‑ops and monetisation strategies for mobile titles.
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 licensing business.
It’s an incredible opportunity and great to be back working alongside talented colleagues.” Liana Murphy is appointed Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage. Murphy previously held dual responsibilities as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs becomes 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, he was product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020. Erik Mogensen exits Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming. Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently 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—first Warhammer, then Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers… the list goes on. I look forward to my next chapter, wherever that may be,” he reflected. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer.
Rubin’s background includes senior producer roles at Netflix, where he helped ship mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, as well as a five‑year stint at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov is named Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for game studios.
Dan Lazarides assumes the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Before joining Frontier, Lazarides was Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO in January. “We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry’s largest IPs,” said Cooke.
“His leadership will continue Frontier’s upward momentum and reinforce our player‑first strategy.” Karen Ionescu becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s résumé includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, as well as positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson remarked, “We’re delighted to welcome Karen; she brings extensive commercial experience and strong relationships across retail and digital 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 title at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt takes on the role of SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
Solbrandt’s prior experience includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president position for business development at Xsolla covering the Americas. Olivia Lee becomes Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, after serving as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard is hired as Account Coordinator at Xsolla, coming from a role as account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications.
Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009 as Director of Publications, later becoming Associate VP of Communications, before leaving in 2019 for EA where she led product and studio integrated communications. “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, and helping bring their creativity and vision to players around the world,” Thompson said.
Maddie Richter is named Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after previously managing social media for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative designer role 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 (formerly 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, 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 becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games.
He previously served as product manager on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at the developer. Joe Chard is 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 in gaming at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the interactive entertainment industry, highlighting how experience across different studios, platforms, and business functions continues to shape the future of gaming.