Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves in one convenient place.
If your organization has recent staffing changes that you think belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, company, and previous position to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. **Brian Trunk – Senior Vice President, Route‑to‑Market, Americas, Asmodee** After more than ten years as a partner at Asmodee, Brian Trunk has been promoted to senior vice president overseeing the Route‑to‑Market function for the Americas region. Trunk’s career spans 17 years at Wizards of the Coast, where he most recently served as vice‑president of commercial, digital games revenue, and the Wizards Play Network.
During his tenure at Wizards, he also held senior leadership positions as vice‑president and general manager for the EMEA, LATAM and APAC territories. “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.” **David Scarborough – Senior Manager, EMEA Communications, Blizzard Entertainment** Blizzard Entertainment welcomes David Scarborough as its new senior manager for EMEA communications. Scarborough previously held the senior account director role at Brands2Life and served as head of communications at Inflexion Games.
His résumé also includes senior communications positions at Improbable and at Koch Media/Deep Silver, giving him a broad perspective on media strategy across both indie and AAA publishers. **Esther Lopez – Principal VFX Artist, King** King has announced the return of Esther Lopez, promoting her to principal VFX artist.
Lopez originally joined King in 2014 as a senior artist, earned an associate principal title in 2020, and then left in 2022 for Meta, where she worked as a real‑time VFX art specialist focusing on VR‑AR experiences. “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 – Production Manager, Marketing, CD Projekt Red** Magda Marcinkowska steps into the production manager role for CD Projekt Red’s marketing department. Before this appointment, she acted as publishing operations director at Techland, where she oversaw the coordination of multiple titles across several platforms.
**Linh Lai – Accounting Assistant, Newzoo** Following a six‑month internship, Linh Lai has been hired as an accounting assistant at Newzoo. “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 – Senior Game Programmer, Kokoon Games** Kokoon Games welcomes Tommi Virolainen as a senior game programmer. Virolainen previously served as a tech programmer at Metacore and held senior programming and development positions at Lightneer, bringing extensive expertise in engine optimization and cross‑platform development.
**Christopher Holtorf – Senior Quest Designer, CD Projekt Red** Christopher Holtorf joins CD Projekt Red as senior quest designer. He formerly worked as senior narrative designer at Intrepid Studios, where he helped craft story‑driven quests for large‑scale multiplayer experiences. **Amir Satvat – General Manager, 1Up Ventures** Amir Satvat has taken the helm as general manager of 1Up Ventures. Prior to this, he was business development director at Tencent Games and the founder of Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), a platform that assists job seekers in the industry.
“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.” **Lasse Seppänen – Departing Supercell** After seven years at Supercell, Lasse Seppänen announced his departure.
He joined the Finnish studio in 2019 as a producer and later served as 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.” **Giles Derrington – Director of Global Affairs, UK, Take‑Two Interactive** Take‑Two Interactive has appointed Giles Derrington as director of global affairs for the United Kingdom. Derrington previously led public affairs for TikTok in the UK, where he managed regulatory engagement and stakeholder relations.
**Jess Pearce – Senior People Partner, Kepler Interactive** Jess Pearce has been promoted to senior people partner at Kepler Interactive. She first joined Kepler in 2022 as a people advisor and advanced to people partner in 2024, focusing on talent acquisition and organizational development.
**Shreya Godha – Producer, PlaySimple Games** Shreya Godha moves up to producer at PlaySimple Games after serving as associate producer. In her new capacity, she will oversee end‑to‑end development cycles for the studio’s casual‑gaming portfolio.
**Kelly Ekins – Director of Communications, Epic Games** Epic Games announces Kelly Ekins as its new director of communications. Ekins previously held the senior director of global PR role for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program, and before that she was marketing lead for media and entertainment at Unity, following a stint as studio lead for game marketing and communications at Warner Brothers Games Montreal. **Ilari Kuittinen – Stepping Down as Managing Director, Housemarque** Ilari Kuittinen, co‑founder and managing director of Housemarque, is leaving the studio after 31 years.
Kuittinen and Harri Tikkanen merged their companies Bloodhouse and Terramarque in 1995 to create Housemarque. “Looking back, I feel immensely fortunate,” Kuittinen 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 added that the transition has been carefully planned, with Sami “Haxu” Hakala assuming the managing director role on July 1. **Tamara Feiman – CEO, Lion Studios (Tripledot Studios)** Tamara Feiman has been promoted to chief executive officer of Lion Studios, the publishing arm of Tripledot Studios. Feiman began her career at Lion in 2020 as EMEA business development lead and later served as 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 has always made 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 – Community Manager, Sega of America** Sega of America welcomes Heather Sangria as community manager.
Sangria’s background includes contract work as a social strategist and community lead at One More Game, as well as a digital strategy and community management role at Undead Labs. **Emily Rose Chen – Senior Product Manager, Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard** Emily Rose Chen has been elevated to senior product manager for the Call of Duty franchise. She joined Activision Blizzard in 2020 as a financial analyst, later moving into product management before earning this senior title. **Scot McCarron – Senior Director of Product Management, Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard** Scot McCarron receives a promotion to senior director of product management for Call of Duty.
McCarron originally joined Activision in 2018 as product marketing manager for emerging franchises and has since overseen multiple high‑profile releases. These announcements illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the video‑game ecosystem, highlighting how experience across publishing, development, communications and finance continues to shape the industry’s future.