Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we gather the most noteworthy moves in periodic round‑ups, giving industry professionals a single place to catch up on who’s joining which studio, who’s stepping up, and who’s moving on. If you know of a transition that belongs in this list, simply send the name, new title, new company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Brian Trunk has been named senior vice president of Route‑to‑Market for the Americas at Asmodee.
Trunk’s relationship with Asmodee stretches back more than ten years, during which he has served as a partner and contributed to the company’s growth across multiple regions. Before re‑joining Asmodee, he spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast, most recently holding the title of vice‑president of commercial, digital games revenue, and overseeing the Wizards Play Network.
While at Wizards, Trunk also acted as vice‑president and general manager for the EMEA, LATAM, and APAC territories, gaining a truly global perspective on publishing, distribution, and community engagement. “I’m grateful for my years at Wizards of the Coast and for the people who challenged, taught, and shaped me into the leader I am today,” Trunk said. “I’ve always believed the most successful businesses are built on great people, strong relationships, trust, and community. At Asmodee, those values intersect with something else I care deeply about: a shared love of games.
That’s why this move feels personal, and it’s at the heart of how I want to lead here.” In other news, David Scarborough has joined Blizzard Entertainment as senior manager of EMEA communications. Scarborough arrives with a robust background in brand and media relations, having previously served as senior account director at Brands2Life and head of communications at Inflexion Games. His résumé also includes senior communications roles at Improbable and at Koch Media/Deep Silver, giving him a broad view of how to craft messaging for diverse gaming audiences across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
King has announced the return of Esther Lopez as principal VFX artist. Lopez originally joined King in 2014 as a senior artist, earned a promotion to associate principal VFX artist in 2020, and then departed in 2022 to work at Meta as a real‑time VFX specialist for VR‑AR projects. “Coming back to somewhere I know well, in a new role, is a rare kind of privilege,” Lopez explained.
“King is where I grew up as an artist, and where some of my best memories were made, making this opportunity even more special. After almost four years at Meta building immersive experiences, I hope I can bring the best of that back with me.” Magda Marcinkowska steps into the role of production manager, marketing, at CD Projekt Red. Before this appointment, she acted as publishing operations director at Techland, where she oversaw the logistical side of getting games from development pipelines to market shelves.
Her experience in coordinating cross‑functional teams will be valuable as CD Projekt Red expands its portfolio of high‑profile titles. Linh Lai has been promoted to accounting assistant at Newzoo after completing a six‑month internship.
“The experiences I’ve gained throughout these six months have helped me better understand not only how individual accounting processes work, but also how they connect to the wider business,” Lai said. “I’m excited to take on more responsibility, deepen my accounting and finance knowledge, find more ways to make our accounting processes even more efficient, and contribute more to the team as I grow with Newzoo.” Tommi Virolainen joins Kokoon Games as a senior game programmer.
Virolainen brings a strong technical pedigree, having previously worked as a tech programmer at Metacore and holding senior programming and development positions at Lightneer. His expertise in engine optimization and gameplay systems is expected to accelerate Kokoon’s upcoming releases. Christopher Holtorf has been appointed senior quest designer at CD Projekt Red.
Holtorf’s most recent role was senior narrative designer at Intrepid Studios, where he helped shape story‑driven experiences for a range of action‑RPG titles. At CD Projekt Red, he will focus on crafting compelling quest lines and narrative arcs for the studio’s next generation of open‑world games. Amir Satvat takes on the general manager position at 1Up Ventures.
Satvat previously served as business development director at Tencent Games and is also the founder of Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), a platform that connects job seekers with opportunities in the gaming sector. “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. “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.” He added that 1Up’s unique investment approach is a vital part of the ecosystem and he hopes to help it thrive for years to come. Lasse Seppänen announced his departure from Supercell after a seven‑year tenure that began in 2019 as a producer. Over the years he held several senior positions, including head of game production services and general manager for Supercell London.
“Now it’s time to follow my passion for creating new game IPs again,” Seppänen said. “I’m staying in the UK, and in 2027 I’m planning to start my own studio once again – more on that when the time is right.” Take‑Two Interactive named Giles Derrington director of global affairs, UK. Derrington comes from TikTok, where he led public affairs for the UK market, bringing a deep understanding of regulatory environments and media relations to the interactive entertainment giant.
Jess Pearce has been promoted to senior people partner at Kepler Interactive. Pearce joined Kepler in 2022 as a people advisor, advanced to people partner in 2024, and now oversees talent strategy for the rapidly expanding independent publisher.
Shreya Godha moves up to producer at PlaySimple Games after serving as associate producer. Her promotion reflects the company’s confidence in her ability to manage live‑ops, feature updates, and cross‑functional coordination for their casual‑gaming portfolio.
Epic Games appointed Kelly Ekins as director of communications. Ekins previously held the senior director of global PR role for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program, after earlier stints as marketing lead for media and entertainment at Unity and as studio lead for game marketing and communications at Warner Brothers Games Montreal. Housemarque co‑founder and managing director Ilari Kuittinen steps down after 31 years. Kuittinen co‑founded the studio in 1995 alongside Harri Tikkanen following the merger of Bloodhouse and Terramarque.
“Looking back, I feel immensely fortunate,” he reflected. “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 noted that the transition to new leadership, with Sami ‘Haxu’ Hakala assuming the managing director role on July 1, has been carefully planned to ensure continuity. Tamara Feiman has been named CEO of Lion Studios, the publishing arm of Tripledot Studios.
Feiman started at Lion in 2020 as EMEA business development lead, later becoming publishing general manager. “I joined Lion six years ago,” she said.
“Since then, I’ve had the privilege of growing alongside the company through its biggest successes, challenges and transformations. What makes 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.” Heather Sangria joins 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 solid foundation in building and nurturing player communities. Emily Rose Chen has been promoted to senior product manager for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard. Chen began her career at the company as a financial analyst in 2020, later moving into product management and now overseeing key aspects of the franchise’s live service roadmap.
Finally, Scot McCarron advances to senior director of product management for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard, after joining the firm in 2018 as product marketing manager for emerging franchises and later serving as director of product management for the same title. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the gaming industry, where talent mobility fuels innovation and shapes the future of interactive entertainment.