Keeping tabs on the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a daunting task. To make life easier for readers, we gather the most noteworthy movements in a semi‑regular roundup. If you know of any new appointments or role changes that belong in this list, please forward the individual's name, new position, and company, along with their previous role and employer, to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Ben Board, formerly a senior figure at Epic Games, has been installed as Chief Executive Officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board entered Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later taking charge of business development for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes leadership stints at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien. "Ben is a true industry heavyweight whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group.
"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 is back at The Pokémon Company International, this time as Creative Director of Pokémon Art and Design. Turner left Game Freak in 2022 to co‑found All Possible Futures with Jonathan Biddle; the studio released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return signals a renewed focus on artistic direction within the Pokémon franchise.
Billy King has stepped into the role of Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously held the same title at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as Senior Concept Artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in crafting visual concepts for large‑scale projects. Sam Duncombe joins Team17 as Brand Marketing Manager after a tenure as Product Manager – Games and Film at Warner Bros.
Discovery. In his new capacity, Duncombe will steer brand initiatives and strengthen Team17’s market presence.
Cansu Karahan Can becomes People and Culture Manager at Loom Games, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her expertise in talent development and organisational culture is expected to support Loom’s rapid growth.
Christopher Wulf receives a promotion to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller. Wulf, who entered the company in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as Senior Business and Event Manager, giving him a solid background in partnership cultivation. Julie Derhak is appointed Producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast.
Before this, she spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration, honing her production skills on high‑profile live‑service titles. Alvaro Menéndez takes on the role of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Menéndez formerly served as Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community strategies.
Linus Johnsson advances to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. He originally joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed through the sound team, contributing to the studio’s acclaimed audio experiences. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year stint to become Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
At Epic, Nanzer most recently held the title of Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer remarked. "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 named Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Prior to this, she led Media, Social, & Analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she directed digital and ad‑tech media operations. "After two years navigating the auto industry, I am returning to my entertainment roots, and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik said. Lorna Antoniazzi becomes Art Producer at Studio MDHR, after previously producing at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Aysu Kutbay is appointed Product Manager at Grand Games, having come from a product‑management role at Rollic. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey first 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 business for licensing here." Liana Murphy takes the position of Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage.
Murphy previously served simultaneously as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is appointed Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Before joining Amazon, Coombs was Director of Brand Management at Xbox until July 2026, after arriving in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. He also held product‑marketing 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. Mogensen 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 have worked on, and for, my favourite brands," he reflected. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin previously produced two mobile titles for 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. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant. Dan Lazarides is named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after she moved to Frontier’s CEO role.
Cooke praised him, stating his leadership will "continue Frontier's upward momentum" and focus on a "player‑first" strategy. Karen Ionescu takes on the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu brings experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson said, "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales 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 position at Metacore for four years.
Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior roles at Motorica and Xsolla (where he was VP of Business Development for the Americas). Olivia Lee is hired as Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, having previously served as Associate Producer for internal events and programs.
Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after working as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, rose to Associate VP of Communications, 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." 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 Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative design role 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, 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 and raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors. Holm said, "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 becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games, after product‑management work on Call of Duty at Activision and an internship in business development at Rockstar. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard previously served as Vice President, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product at Jam City for six years, and held senior gaming positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.