Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most notable moves. If your organization has news about new appointments or role changes that belong in a future edition, please forward the details – name, new title, new company, plus previous role and employer – 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 position he earned after joining Epic in 2017 as a developer‑support manager.
Earlier in his career he held senior leadership posts at classic studios such as Bullfrog Productions, Lionhead Studios, and BossAlien, giving him a breadth of experience across both legacy and modern development pipelines. "Ben is a genuine heavyweight in the industry, with a reputation and technical credibility that speak for themselves," said Myke Parrot, CEO of CodeDev Group.
"He understands game creation from every angle – from writing engine scripts to managing developer relations on the world’s biggest platforms. Bringing Ben on board as CEO of The Performance Guys sends a clear signal: if a title is struggling with performance on any engine, we have the most capable team on the planet to fix it." In other news, 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 indie studio released its debut title, The Plucky Squire, in September 2024. His return marks a homecoming for a designer who has helped shape the visual language of the franchise for years.
Billy King has been appointed lead concept artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as a senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a strong portfolio of sci‑fi and fantasy visuals to his new role.
Sam Duncombe moves to Team17 as brand marketing manager after a tenure as product manager for games and film at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he oversaw cross‑media product strategies.
Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as people‑and‑culture manager, having previously performed the same function at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion), where she helped build inclusive workplace practices. Christopher Wulf has been promoted to senior business‑development manager at Fellow Traveller.
Wulf, who entered the firm in 2021, previously worked for The Triple‑i Initiative as senior business and event manager. Julie Derhak is now a producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. Derhak spent seven years at Epic Games, contributing to Fortnite Tech Art and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration before moving to the tabletop giant. Alvaro Menéndez takes the role of international social lead at Mojang Studios after serving as senior marketing manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global community initiatives.
Linus Johnsson has been elevated to senior audio designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since progressed through the sound‑design ladder. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year stint to become executive vice‑president, head of commercial & marketing at Paramount Games.
At Epic his most recent titles were senior‑vice‑president of partnerships and monetisation. "The scale of ambition and vision for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said. "I've spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the chance to help shape Paramount's future was simply too compelling to pass up." Julia Gutnik is named head of media at Amazon Gaming. Before this, she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, heading digital and ad‑tech media functions.
"After two years in the auto sector, I'm returning to my entertainment roots and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik explained. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as art producer, after producing 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 where she managed mobile‑game portfolios. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as lead commercial manager – licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as senior licensing manager, left in 2021 to become director of business affairs at Sumo Digital, and now says, "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new licensing business." Liana Murphy is appointed account director for U.S. operations at Second Stage after simultaneously holding COO and head‑of‑PR positions at Vicariously and V Publishing.
Tim Coombs becomes head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox (2020‑2026) and held product‑marketing roles for Amazon Lumberyard (2017‑2020) 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.
His prior 23‑year career at Games Workshop culminated as head of business development and consumer‑product licensing. "It's not lost on me how special it’s been to work on my favourite brands – Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers – and I look forward to the next chapter, wherever it leads." Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer. Rubin previously produced two shipped mobile titles at 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 is appointed head of marketing at Battlestate Games after serving as user‑acquisition manager at Multicast Games and consulting independently on growth and go‑to‑market strategies.
Dan Lazarides becomes chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides formerly served as senior vice‑president of marketing at Sega Europe and succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved to Frontier’s CEO role in January. Cooke praised Lazarides, saying his experience with large IPs will reinforce Frontier’s player‑first strategy.
Karen Ionescu takes the digital‑sales manager post at Kalypso Media UK, bringing prior experience from Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson noted her extensive retail and digital relationships.
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 account work at Motorica and a vice‑president role at Xsolla for the Americas.
Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as internal events producer, building on her prior experience as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard is named account coordinator at Xsolla, after serving 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 at Alaska Airlines.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer, having previously been senior narrative designer 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, with a background as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching experience 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, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors. Holm remarked, "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 is hired by Rockstar Games as marketing manager for live services.
He previously managed product on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Joe Chard becomes lead product manager at Netflix Games, after serving as vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City for six years, and holding senior games roles at Disney and Warner Bros. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the fluid nature of talent movement across the gaming ecosystem, highlighting how experience from major publishers, indie studios, and adjacent industries continues to cross‑pollinate and drive innovation throughout the sector.