Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the video‑game sector can be a daunting task. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel moves in one convenient place.
If you know of any new appointments or role changes that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new employer, and previous position and company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Ben Board, a veteran of Epic Games, has been installed as chief executive officer of The Performance Guys, the optimisation arm of CodeDev Group.
Board joined Epic in 2017 as a developer support manager, later becoming business development director for the Epic Game Store and Unreal Engine. His résumé also includes senior 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 has re‑joined 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.
His return marks a homecoming to the franchise he helped shape for many years. Billy King steps into the role of Lead Concept Artist at Respawn Entertainment. King previously led concept work at ZeniMax Online Studios and served as senior concept artist for Amazon Games, bringing a wealth of experience in crafting visual direction for large‑scale projects.
Sam Duncombe moves to Team 17 as Brand Marketing Manager after a tenure as Product Manager – Games and Film at Warner Bros. Discovery.
In his new position, Duncombe will oversee brand strategy and promotional activities for the UK‑based developer and publisher. Cansu Karahan Can joins Loom Games as People and Culture Manager, having previously held the same title at Stoikk (formerly Kompanion). Her focus will be on nurturing talent and fostering an inclusive workplace culture within the indie studio.
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 a senior business and event manager, bringing extensive partnership experience to his new role. Julie Derhak is appointed 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 into tabletop RPG production.
Alvaro Menéndez becomes International Social Lead at Mojang Studios. Prior to this, he was Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games in Madrid, where he oversaw global social campaigns for titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League.
Linus Johnsson is promoted to Senior Audio Designer at Frontier Developments. Johnsson joined Frontier in 2022 as a graduate audio designer and has since advanced to a senior role, responsible for creating immersive soundscapes across the studio’s portfolio. After seven years at Epic Games, Nate Nanzer departs to assume the position of Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
Nanzer’s Epic résumé includes senior vice‑president of partnerships and monetisation. He 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 takes the helm as Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Gutnik previously led media, social and analytics for Kia America and spent more than six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she managed digital and ad‑tech media initiatives.
"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," she explained. Lorna Antoniazzi is named Art Producer at Studio MDHR, having previously produced at Roarty Digital on projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Her new role will see her shepherding the visual pipeline for titles like *Cuphead* and its upcoming sequel. Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, after serving as product manager at Rollic where she oversaw mobile game portfolios and live‑ops strategies.
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 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to help expand the Warhammer licensing empire.
"It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he said. Liana Murphy is appointed Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage. Murphy previously held simultaneous COO and Head of PR positions at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a strong background in agency‑level client management. Tim Coombs becomes Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, after joining the console maker in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. Earlier, he served as Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and senior product marketing lead for Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen exits Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for digital gaming.
Prior to that, he 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 is appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games.
Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and now works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for the gaming sector. Dan Lazarides takes the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO of Frontier in January. Cooke praised his appointment, noting that his experience with major IPs will reinforce Frontier’s player‑first strategy.
Karen Ionescu becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s background includes sales management at Numskull Games, as well as roles at Nintendo and Rising Star Games, giving her a deep understanding of both retail and digital distribution 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, overseeing legal and vendor agreements for mobile titles.
Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. Solbrandt’s prior experience includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president role at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee is hired as Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, after serving as associate producer for internal events and programs within the company. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, having previously worked as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009, progressed to associate VP of communications, left for EA in 2019, and now comes back to support the studio’s flagship franchises. Maddie Richter is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as Social Media Manager for Alaska Airlines, where she honed community engagement skills. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative designer role at Series Entertainment where she crafted storylines for indie titles.
Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and Influencer Manager (formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as Production Coordinator (previous junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang as Publishing Coordinator (former 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 and raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors, positioning them as leaders in AI‑driven interactive entertainment. Sathvik Sudireddy becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games. Sudireddy previously managed product responsibilities for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. Joe Chard is named Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard’s background includes a vice‑president, studio general manager, and head of product role at Jam City for six years, as well as senior positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These appointments, promotions and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the games industry, where talent moves swiftly between studios, publishers and tech giants, continually reshaping the creative and commercial landscape.