Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a daunting task. That’s why we regularly assemble these concise round‑ups, giving readers a single source for the latest personnel movements. If your organization has news to share—new appointments, role changes, or departures—please forward the relevant details (name, new role, company, and previous position) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. In this edition we highlight a substantial expansion of Fandom’s executive leadership, several senior promotions at major studios, and a handful of notable moves throughout the industry.
The updates span from executive hires at Fandom and The New York Times to promotions at Blizzard, Epic, and Asmodee, as well as new leadership roles at emerging studios. **Fandom’s New Executive Appointments** Fandom announced three fresh faces joining its top‑level management team, alongside the promotion of a long‑time veteran.
- **Anita Butler** has been named Senior Vice President of Design & User Research. Butler arrives from a distinguished career in consumer‑focused design, most recently serving as EVP of Design and Research at Nextdoor. Her résumé also includes stints as Vice President of Consumer Design at Twitter and Chief Design Officer at Strava, where she led large multidisciplinary teams to shape product experiences for millions of users.
- **Damon Sicore** steps into the role of Chief Technology Officer and head of Fandom Labs. Sicore brings deep open‑source expertise, having held senior engineering positions at both Wikipedia and Mozilla. At Mozilla he oversaw the engineering groups responsible for the Firefox browser, as well as core web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, giving him a strong foundation for steering Fandom’s technical roadmap. - **Peter Scanlon** is appointed Chief Marketing Officer.
Scanlon’s background includes senior marketing leadership at Google, Mozilla, and the gaming‑focused studio Monks, where he directed brand strategy, user acquisition, and community engagement initiatives. In addition, **Daniel Grunwell**, a fifteen‑year veteran of Fandom, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering. In his new capacity he will supervise the company’s engineering and infrastructure divisions, ensuring that the platform remains scalable and reliable as its community continues to grow. Fandom CEO Jay Sullivan summed up the strategy: “Fandom rests on a massive foundation of fans who have spent years building knowledge and communities around the things they love.
Our goal is to expand the ways those fans can connect, discover, and participate. Daniel’s deep institutional knowledge, combined with the fresh perspectives that Damon, Peter and Anita bring, gives us the right mix to build the next generation of Fandom.” **Key Moves at Other Companies** - **Jonathan Knight** has been named Chief Games Officer at The New York Times. Knight previously served as Senior Vice President and head of games, where he oversaw the acquisition and integration of the viral puzzle phenomenon Wordle. - **Chase Shi** returns to Scopely as Vice President, Head of Game Product.
Shi originally left Scopely in 2020 after serving as a senior product manager, then spent time at Jam City as Director of Product Management before moving to Blizzard Entertainment, where he directed product efforts on the Diablo franchise. - **Jonathan Marcelino** joins Scopely as Director of Product after founding and leading the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games. - **Berkay Özer** takes the helm as Head of Studio at Fomo Games. Özer first joined Fomo in 2022 as a product specialist and team lead, later moving to Loom Games as a product manager before returning to lead Fomo’s studio operations.
- **Peter Sydow** becomes Head of Production at Arrowhead Game Studios, bringing senior production experience from Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions. - **Ryan Ngoon** is promoted to Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment after joining as a quest‑design intern in 2023 and advancing to associate game designer the following year. - **Sarah Johnson** steps into an Art Producer role at Epic Games.
Her background includes production positions at Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13, and Telltale Games, giving her a broad perspective on art pipeline management. - **Brian Trunk** is appointed Senior Vice President of Route‑to‑Market for the Americas at Asmodee.
Trunk has been a partner at Asmodee for more than a decade and previously spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast, where he held senior commercial and regional leadership roles. Trunk reflected on his transition: “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. 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 love of games, making this move feel deeply personal.” - **Wille Miljas** is promoted to Director of Product Marketing at Rovio.
Miljas joined Rovio in 2024 as a marketing lead and previously served as Head of Marketing at Good Shepherd Entertainment and Redhill Games, as well as Senior Marketing Manager for planning and strategy at Next Games. - **Jameson Durall** joins Behaviour Interactive as Senior Design Director on *Blight: Survival*.
Durall’s prior experience includes a senior game‑design role at Insomniac Games, where he contributed to *Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2*. - **Matt Dobill** advances to Director of Applied AI at Epic Games, while also acting as Senior Counsel on technology and tools, underscoring Epic’s focus on integrating advanced AI capabilities into its development pipelines.
- **Joe Gabriel** becomes Senior Technical Production Manager for Android XR at Unity. Gabriel previously led customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and served as Senior Developer Relations Manager at Niantic.
- **Erik Meurk** is promoted to Senior Software Engineer at King. Starting as a Unity development intern in 2023, Meurk quickly rose to associate software engineer and now contributes to King’s core gaming infrastructure.
- **Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé** moves up to Lead UX Designer at Epic Games after joining as a senior UX designer in 2023, following a prior UX role at Behaviour Interactive. - **Jack Anderson** joins Rebellion as a VFX Artist, bringing experience from similar positions at nDreams and Interior/Night.
- **David Scarborough** becomes Senior Manager of EMEA Communications at Blizzard Entertainment, after senior account and communications roles at Brands2Life, Inflexion Games, Improbable, and Koch Media/Deep Silver. - **Esther Lopez** returns to King as Principal VFX Artist.
Lopez first joined King in 2014, progressed to associate principal VFX artist, spent two years at Meta developing real‑time VFX for VR/AR, and now brings that expertise back to King’s flagship titles. - **Magda Marcinkowska** is appointed Production Manager, Marketing at CD Projekt Red after serving as Acting Publishing Operations Director at Techland. - **Linh Lai** secures a permanent Accounting Assistant role at Newzoo following a six‑month internship, noting how the experience has broadened her understanding of accounting processes within a larger business context.
- **Tommi Virolainen** joins Kokoon Games as Senior Game Programmer, after previous technical programming work at Metacore and senior development roles at Lightneer. - **Christopher Holtorf** becomes Senior Quest Designer at CD Projekt Red, having previously held a senior narrative designer position at Intrepid Studios.
- **Amir Satvat** joins 1Up Ventures as a General Partner. Satvat previously directed business development at Tencent Games and founded Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), a platform dedicated to helping industry professionals find new opportunities. He emphasized his desire to connect directly with teams and support smaller studios, stating, “My final wish was to work with colleagues who share the same values and integrity I try to hold myself to.” - **Lasse Seppänen** announces his departure from Supercell after seven years, during which he progressed from producer to Head of Game Production Services and General Manager of Supercell London. He revealed plans to return to the UK and launch his own studio in 2027.
- **Giles Derrington** is named Director of Global Affairs UK at Take‑Two Interactive, after serving as Head of Public Affairs UK at TikTok. - **Jess Pearce** is promoted to Senior People Partner at Kepler Interactive, having joined as a People Advisor in 2022 and moved to People Partner in 2024. - **Shreya Godha** advances to Producer at PlaySimple Games, after previously serving as Associate Producer.
- **Kelly Ekins** becomes Director of Communications at Epic Games, following a tenure as Senior Director of Global PR for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program, and earlier work at Warner Brothers Games Montreal. - **Ilari Kuittinen**, co‑founder and Managing Director of Housemarque, steps down after 31 years.
Kuittinen, who helped merge Bloodhouse and Terramarque into Housemarque in 1995, reflected on the studio’s independent journey and its recent integration into PlayStation Studios. He noted that Sami “Haxu” Hakala has taken over as Managing Director, ensuring continuity. - **Tamara Feiman** is appointed CEO of Lion Studios, the publishing arm of Tripledot Studios.
Feiman began at Lion in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead, later becoming Publishing General Manager. She highlighted the collaborative culture that enables the studio to turn bold ideas into games enjoyed by millions. - **Heather Sangria** joins 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** is promoted to Senior Product Manager for *Call of Duty* at Activision Blizzard, having risen from product manager after starting as a financial analyst in 2020.
- **Scot McCarron** moves up to Senior Director of Product Management for *Call of Duty* at Activision Blizzard, after serving as Director of Product Management on the franchise since joining in 2018. These appointments and promotions illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the gaming ecosystem.
Companies continue to invest in seasoned leaders while also attracting fresh perspectives from outside the industry, ensuring that both legacy franchises and emerging titles benefit from a blend of experience and innovation.