Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a daunting task. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel moves. If your organization has recent appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, company, and previous role 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’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 positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a broad perspective on both classic and modern game development pipelines.
"Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group. "He understands game development from every angle – from coding 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." In other headline news, 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; that studio released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024.
His return to Pokémon marks a homecoming for a designer whose work has helped shape the visual language of the franchise for over a decade. Billy King has been named Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept teams at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in sci‑fi and fantasy visual development to Respawn’s upcoming projects. Team17 announced Sam Duncombe as its new Brand Marketing Manager.
Duncombe comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he managed product strategy for games and film, and will now steer Team17’s brand positioning across its diverse portfolio of indie and mid‑tier titles. Loom Games welcomed Cansu Karahan Can as People and Culture Manager. Can previously fulfilled the same role at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she championed employee wellbeing and talent development initiatives.
At Fellow Traveller, Christopher Wulf earned a promotion to Senior Business Development Manager. Since joining the firm in 2021, Wulf has driven partnership growth, building on earlier experience as senior business and event manager for The Triple‑i Initiative.
Wizards of the Coast appointed Julie Derhak as a Producer for the Dungeons & Dragons line. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration, and now brings her production expertise to the tabletop giant. Mojang Studios named Alvaro Menéndez International Social Lead.
Menéndez previously served as Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, overseeing global community campaigns for titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League. Frontier Developments promoted Linus Johnsson to Senior Audio Designer.
Johnsson began his Frontier career in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since advanced through the sound team, contributing to the immersive audio landscapes of games like Elite Dangerous. After a seven‑year tenure at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departed 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 shaped the company’s global revenue strategy. He remarked, "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." Amazon Gaming welcomed Julia Gutnik as Head of Media. Gutnik previously led media, social, and analytics for Kia America, and before that she spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, heading digital and ad‑tech media operations. Studio MDHR announced Lorna Antoniazzi as Art Producer. Antoniazzi previously produced at Roarty Digital, contributing to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, and will now oversee art pipelines for titles such as Cuphead.
Grand Games added Aysu Kutbay as Product Manager, after a product‑management role at Rollic where she helped launch several successful mobile titles. Games Workshop welcomed back David Bailey as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for Sumo Digital, and now returns to steer licensing for the Warhammer universe.
Second Stage named Liana Murphy Account Director, US Operations. Murphy most recently held dual roles as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing, bringing extensive agency experience to the consultancy. Amazon Luna appointed Tim Coombs as Head of Brand Marketing. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product‑marketing leadership positions for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech.
Erik Mogensen exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming. Earlier, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing, overseeing iconic brands such as Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons.
Blizzard Entertainment added Ryan Rubin as Senior Producer. Rubin’s prior experience includes senior production on Netflix mobile titles Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset, as well as five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends IP.
Battlestate Games named Andrey Odintsov Head of Marketing. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now consults independently on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for games. Frontier Developments announced Dan Lazarides as Chief Marketing Officer.
Lazarides came from Sega Europe, where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing, and succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved to the CEO role in January. Cooke praised his appointment, noting his deep experience with large‑scale IPs and his focus on community‑first publishing. Kalypso Media UK hired Karen Ionescu as Digital Sales Manager.
Ionescu’s background includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games, giving her a strong grasp of both retail and digital distribution channels. Swipe Right, a specialist esports and gaming communications agency, promoted Hannah Barrett to Senior Account Executive after she joined as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell appointed Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore.
Fintech platform ZBD named Nathan Solbrandt SVP of Business Development. Solbrandt’s earlier roles include senior account executive at Motorica and Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Riot Games added Olivia Lee as Internal Events Producer, building on her prior experience coordinating internal programs and events.
Xsolla welcomed Ciarah Pritchard as Account Coordinator after she worked as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Bethesda reinstated Tracey Thompson as Vice President of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to Associate VP of Communications, left for EA in 2019, and now returns to guide messaging for flagship franchises.
Nintendo of America hired Maddie Richter as Social Media Marketing Manager. Richter previously managed social channels for Alaska Airlines, bringing a fresh consumer‑focused perspective to Nintendo’s community outreach.
Yotta Games added narrative designer Dana Duffield, who formerly served as Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment, to bolster its storytelling talent pool. Yogscast Games announced 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 educator at Team Gramps, Queensguard, and Submarine Art School). Roblox’s Foundation AI team expanded with Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger, co‑founders of Jars AI, an interactive AI platform that raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors in 2023. They will help develop the platform’s mobile‑first AI creation tool, Build, in New Zealand.
Rockstar Games appointed Sathvik Sudireddy as Marketing Manager, Live Services. Sudireddy previously managed product for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar.
Netflix Games named Joe Chard Lead Product Manager. Chard’s background includes VP and Studio General Manager roles at Jam City, senior product positions at Disney and Warner Bros., and extensive experience launching live‑service games. These moves illustrate the dynamic nature of talent flow within the interactive entertainment industry, highlighting how seasoned leaders and creative specialists continue to shape the future of games across studios, publishers, and emerging platforms.