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 assemble these periodic round‑ups for the community. If you know of any noteworthy personnel changes—new appointments, role shifts, or exits—please forward the relevant details (name, new title, new company, previous role and employer) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
In this edition, Fandom announced three senior‑level additions to its executive leadership roster and also elevated a long‑standing employee to a higher rank. Anita Butler has been named Senior Vice President of Design & User Research. Butler brings a wealth of experience, having previously served as Executive Vice President of Design and Research at Nextdoor, as Vice President of Consumer Design at Twitter, and as Chief Design Officer at Strava.
Her track record in shaping user‑centric products across social and fitness platforms positions her to drive Fandom’s design strategy forward. Damon Sicore joins Fandom as Chief Technology Officer and head of Fandom Labs.
Sicore’s résumé includes senior engineering leadership roles at both Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he oversaw the teams responsible for the Firefox browser and core web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. His deep technical expertise and experience building open‑source ecosystems will be instrumental as Fandom expands its platform capabilities. Peter Scanlon has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer. Scanlon’s career includes executive stints at Google, Mozilla, and Monks, giving him a broad perspective on digital marketing, brand building, and community engagement.
He will now steer Fandom’s global marketing initiatives and help amplify the company’s reach among fan communities. In addition to these hires, Daniel Grunwell—who has been with Fandom for fifteen years—has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering. In his new role Grunwell will oversee the engineering and infrastructure teams, ensuring that the technical backbone of the platform can scale to meet the needs of millions of passionate fans.
"Fandom rests on an extraordinary foundation—millions of enthusiasts who have spent years curating knowledge and nurturing communities around the subjects they love," said CEO Jay Sullivan. "Our mission is to build on that legacy and give fans even more ways to connect, discover, and participate.
Daniel’s deep tenure gives him an intimate understanding of our roots, while Damon, Peter and Anita bring fresh perspectives and extensive consumer‑platform expertise. Together, we have the right team to craft the next generation of Fandom." Other notable moves in the industry include Jonathan Knight’s appointment as Chief Games Officer at The New York Times.
Knight previously served as Senior Vice President and head of games for the Times, where he led the acquisition and integration of the viral puzzle Wordle. Chase Shi has returned to Scopely, this time as Vice President and Head of Game Product. Shi originally left Scopely in 2020 after serving as a senior product manager; he then held product leadership positions at Jam City and Blizzard Entertainment, where he helped shape the Diablo franchise.
Jonathan Marcelino joins Scopely as Director of Product after founding and running hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games. His entrepreneurial background adds a valuable indie‑studio perspective to Scopely’s portfolio. Berkay Özer is now Head of Studio at Fomo Games. Özer first joined Fomo in 2022 as a product specialist and later led the product team before a brief stint at Loom Games as a product manager in 2025.
Peter Sydow has taken the role of Head of Production at Arrowhead Game Studios. Sydow previously worked as a senior producer at Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions, bringing extensive experience in large‑scale production pipelines. Ryan Ngoon earned a promotion to Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment after joining the company in 2023 as a quest‑design intern and moving up to associate game designer in 2024.
Sarah Johnson has been hired as an Art Producer at Epic Games. Johnson’s prior production experience spans Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13, and Telltale Games, giving her a broad view of art pipeline management.
Brian Trunk was named Senior Vice President of Route to Market for the Americas at Asmodee. Trunk, a longtime Asmodee partner, previously spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast in senior commercial and digital‑games roles, including overseeing the Wizards Play Network. "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 my passion for games, making this move deeply personal." Rovio promoted Wille Miljas to Director of Product Marketing. Miljas, who joined Rovio in 2024 as a marketing lead, previously headed marketing at Good Shepherd Entertainment and Redhill Games, and served as senior marketing manager for planning and strategy at Next Games. Behaviour Interactive appointed Jameson Durall as Senior Design Director on the upcoming title Blight: Survival.
Durall previously worked at Insomniac Games, contributing as an advanced senior game designer on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2. Matt Dobill was elevated to Director of Applied AI at Epic Games, where he also acts as senior counsel on technology and tools, reflecting Epic’s growing emphasis on artificial‑intelligence integration. Unity welcomed Joe Gabriel as Senior Technical Production Manager for AndroidXR. Gabriel’s background includes leading customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and serving as senior developer relations manager at Niantic.
Erik Meurk has been promoted to Senior Software Engineer at King. Meurk started as a Unity development intern in August 2023, progressed to associate software engineer in early 2024, and now contributes to King’s core game‑engine initiatives.
Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé advanced to Lead UX Designer at Epic Games after joining the company in 2023 as a senior UX designer; she previously held the same role at Behaviour Interactive. Jack Anderson joined Rebellion as a VFX Artist, bringing experience from similar positions at nDreams and Interior/Night. David Scarborough became Senior Manager of EMEA Communications at Blizzard Entertainment.
Scarborough’s prior roles include senior account director at Brands2Life and head of communications at Inflexion Games, with additional senior positions at Improbable and Koch Media/Deep Silver. King announced Esther Lopez as Principal VFX Artist. Lopez originally joined King in 2014, rose to associate principal VFX artist by 2020, then spent two years at Meta focusing on real‑time VFX for VR/AR before returning to King, describing the move as a rare privilege.
Magda Marcinkowska was appointed Production Manager, Marketing at CD Projekt Red after serving as Acting Publishing Operations Director at Techland. Linh Lai secured a permanent role as Accounting Assistant at Newzoo following a six‑month internship, noting how the experience gave her insight into both detailed accounting processes and their broader business impact. Tommi Virolainen joined Kokoon Games as a Senior Game Programmer.
Virolainen previously worked as a tech programmer at Metacore and held senior programming positions at Lightneer. Christopher Holtorf was named Senior Quest Designer at CD Projekt Red, after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Intrepid Studios. Amir Satvat entered 1Up Ventures as a General Partner. Satvat formerly directed business development at Tencent Games and founded the community‑focused initiative Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), which helps job‑seekers enter the industry.
"I wanted a role where I could directly influence outcomes and help people get back to work," Satvat explained. "I also wanted to support smaller studios because I love that scale of games, and to work in a community‑first environment. 1Up embodies those values, and I’m excited to contribute." Lasse Seppänen announced his departure from Supercell after seven years, during which he rose from producer in 2019 to head of game production services and General Manager for Supercell London. He plans to return to the UK and launch his own studio in 2027.
Take‑Two Interactive appointed Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs, UK, after previously leading public affairs for TikTok in the region. Jess Pearce was promoted to Senior People Partner at Kepler Interactive, having joined the firm as a people advisor in 2022 and moving to people partner in 2024.
Shreya Godha earned a promotion to Producer at PlaySimple Games, after previously serving as associate producer. Epic Games hired Kelly Ekins as Director of Communications.
Ekins came from Unity, where she was Senior Director of Global PR for the Games and Made with Unity program, and before that she led marketing for media and entertainment at Unity following a stint at Warner Brothers Games Montreal. Ilari Kuittinen, co‑founder and Managing Director of Housemarque, stepped down after 31 years.
Kuittinen co‑founded the studio in 1995 after merging Bloodhouse and Terramarque. He praised the company’s independence and noted that Sami "Haxu" Hakala assumed the managing‑director role on July 1, ensuring continuity. Tamara Feiman was appointed CEO of Lion Studios, the publishing arm of Tripledot Studios. Feiman began her career at Lion in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead, later becoming Publishing General Manager.
She highlighted the collaborative culture with partner studios that has driven millions of game downloads. Heather Sangria joined Sega of America as Community Manager, after contract work as a social strategist at One More Game and a digital‑strategy role at Undead Labs.
Emily Rose Chen was promoted to Senior Product Manager for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard, having started as a financial analyst in 2020 and later moving into product management. Scot McCarron advanced to Senior Director of Product Management for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard, after serving as Director of Product Management on the franchise and joining the company in 2018 as a product marketing manager for emerging titles. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the gaming industry, underscoring how companies continually seek fresh perspectives while also rewarding long‑term dedication.