Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the games sector can feel like a full‑time job. That’s why we publish regular round‑ups that gather all the notable personnel changes in one place.
If your studio has recent appointments or role shifts that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous position to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. **Ben Board Takes the Helm at The Performance Guys** 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 stepped into after joining Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager.
Earlier in his career he held senior leadership posts at classic UK studios Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien. "Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group founder and CEO 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 Returns to Pokémon Company International** James Turner has re‑joined 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 indie studio released its debut title, *The Plucky Squire*, in September 2024. His return marks a homecoming to the franchise he helped shape for years, and he will now oversee the visual direction of Pokémon’s global brand. **Billy King Becomes Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment** Respawn Entertainment announced the appointment of Billy King as its new lead concept artist.
King previously headed concept art at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, where he contributed to a range of high‑profile projects. His experience in both AAA and live‑service environments is expected to bolster Respawn’s visual pipeline for upcoming titles. **Additional Notable Moves** - **Sam Duncombe** steps into the role of brand marketing manager at Team 17, after a tenure as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros.
Discovery. - **Cansu Karahan Can** joins Loom Games as people and culture manager, bringing prior experience from the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion).
- **Christopher Wulf** is promoted to senior business development manager at Fellow Traveler, where he has worked since 2021 following a senior business and events role at The Triple‑i Initiative. - **Julie Derhak** becomes a producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast after seven years at Epic Games, where she contributed to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite crossover.
- **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** advances to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments, having joined the studio in 2022 as a graduate audio designer.
- **Nate Nanzer** departs Epic Games after a seven‑year stint to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer, who most recently held the SVP of partnerships and monetisation role, said, "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting. 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, moving back from a two‑year period in the automotive sector where she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America. She previously spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, overseeing digital and ad‑tech media.
- **Lorna Antoniazzi** joins Studio MDHR as art producer, after producing at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. - **Aysu Kutbay** becomes product manager at Grand Games, having previously managed products at Rollic. - **David Bailey** returns to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019, 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 on the account director, US operations position at Second Stage, after simultaneously serving as COO and head of public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing.
- **Tim Coombs** is named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Prior to this, Coombs directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product marketing leadership 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 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 shipped mobile titles at Netflix – *Squid Game: Unleashed* and *Selling Sunset* – and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP.
- **Andrey Odintsov** becomes head of marketing at Battlestate Games, after user‑acquisition work at Multicast Games and consulting on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for independent developers. - **Dan Lazarides** steps into the chief marketing officer role at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke who moved to CEO. Lazarides previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and is expected to drive Frontier’s player‑first strategy. - **Karen Ionescu** is appointed digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK, bringing experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
- **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. - **Anni Pyy** becomes contract manager at Supercell, following four years in the same capacity at Metacore. - **Nathan Solbrandt** takes the SVP of business development slot 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 her prior associate producer experience for internal 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, 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, and helping bring their creativity and vision to players around the world." - **Maddie Richter** becomes social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as social media manager for Alaska Airlines. - **Dana Duffield** joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer, following senior narrative design work at Series Entertainment.
- **Yogscast Games** announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR and influencer manager, formerly creator and community director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (production coordinator, previously junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang (publishing coordinator, with past roles as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching experience 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. Holm notes, "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." - **Sathvik Sudireddy** is hired by Rockstar Games as marketing manager for live services, after product management on Call of Duty at Activision and a business‑development internship at the studio.
- **Joe Chard** becomes lead product manager at Netflix Games, following a six‑year tenure as VP, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, plus senior roles at Disney and Warner Bros. These movements illustrate the fluid nature of talent within the interactive entertainment industry, where expertise in development, marketing, licensing, and community engagement is constantly reshuffled to meet the evolving demands of players worldwide.
The breadth of experience represented in this roundup underscores how interconnected the sector has become, with leaders often crossing between major publishers, indie studios, and even non‑gaming enterprises before returning to the core of game creation.