Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions across the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that gather the most noteworthy personnel moves in one place. If you know of a change at your studio that belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, and company, along with the previous role and employer, to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. In a significant leadership shuffle, former Epic Games executive Ben Board has been appointed chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later taking on the role of business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes senior positions at Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a rare blend of technical depth and commercial insight.
"Ben is a true industry heavy‑hitter whose reputation and technical authority speak for themselves," said CodeDev Group CEO Myke Parrot. "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." James Turner has rejoined The Pokémon Company International, this time 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 studio’s debut title, The Plucky Squire, launched in September 2024 and earned praise for its inventive mechanics and art direction. His return to Pokémon signals a renewed focus on visual storytelling and brand consistency across the franchise’s expanding media portfolio. Billy King steps into the role of 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, where he contributed to several high‑profile projects.
His experience in creating compelling visual narratives is expected to bolster Respawn’s upcoming titles, which continue to blend cinematic storytelling with cutting‑edge gameplay. Other notable moves include: - Sam Duncombe, now Brand Marketing Manager at Team17, after a stint 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 Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). - Christopher Wulf is promoted to Senior Business Development Manager at Fellow Traveller, a company he’s been with since 2021 following senior roles 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 worked on Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego Fortnite collaboration.
- Alvaro Menéndez takes the post of International Social Lead at Mojang Studios, moving from a senior marketing manager position at 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 tenure to become EVP, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. Nanzer, who most recently served as SVP of Partnerships and Monetisation, 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, after leading media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spending six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios. - Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer, previously a producer at Roarty Digital where she contributed to Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
- Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, moving from a similar role at Rollic. - David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing, after a period as Director of Business Affairs at Sumo Digital. - Liana Murphy takes on Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage, after serving as COO and Head of PR at Vicariously and V Publishing. - Tim Coombs is named Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna, following a director role at Xbox and earlier positions on Amazon Lumberyard and Game Tech.
- Erik Mogensen exits Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming; he previously spent 23 years at Games Workshop. - Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer, after senior producer roles at Netflix (Squid Game: Unleashed, Selling Sunset) and five years at Riot Games on League of Legends. - Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games, having previously worked in user acquisition at Multicast Games and as an independent growth consultant. - Dan Lazarides steps in as Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, after serving as SVP of Marketing at Sega Europe.
Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised his experience with major IPs and his player‑first mindset. - Karen Ionescu is appointed Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK, bringing prior 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. - Supercell hires Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; she previously held the same role at Metacore for four years.
- Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior roles at Motorica and Xsolla. - Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, having earlier coordinated internal programs for the studio. - Ciarah Pritchard is named Account Coordinator at Xsolla, after work as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
- Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as VP of Communications, having previously led communications at Electronic Arts. - Maddie Richter takes the role of Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint at Alaska Airlines. - Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following senior narrative work at Series Entertainment.
- Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR and Influencer Manager), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator), and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator), each bringing experience from agencies and indie studios. - Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join Roblox’s Foundation AI team to support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand; they co‑founded Jars AI in 2023 after raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors. - Sathvik Sudireddy becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games, after product management on Call of Duty at Activision. - Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, after senior leadership roles at Jam City, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros.
Entertainment. These appointments illustrate the fluid nature of talent within the interactive entertainment sector, where seasoned veterans frequently shift between studios, bringing fresh perspectives and deep expertise to new challenges.
The ongoing movement of leaders like Ben Board, James Turner, and Billy King underscores how companies are investing heavily in experienced creative and operational talent to drive the next wave of game development, publishing, and community engagement.