Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the gaming sector can be a daunting task. That’s why we gather the most noteworthy personnel changes into periodic round‑ups, giving industry observers a single source for the latest movements. If you know of a new appointment or a transition that belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, company and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Fandom has announced three senior additions to its executive leadership roster and has also elevated a long‑time employee to a higher rank. Anita Butler steps into the role of Senior Vice President, Design & User Research. Butler brings a wealth of experience from her previous positions as Executive Vice President of Design and Research at Nextdoor, Vice President of Consumer Design at Twitter, and Chief Design Officer at Strava.
Her background in consumer‑focused design and research is expected to deepen Fandom’s understanding of fan behavior and improve the overall user experience across its platforms. Damon Sicore joins Fandom as Chief Technology Officer and head of Fandom Labs. Sicore’s résumé includes senior engineering leadership at both Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he oversaw the teams responsible for core web technologies such as Firefox, HTML, JavaScript and CSS.
His expertise in open‑source development and large‑scale platform engineering should help Fandom accelerate its technical roadmap and expand the capabilities of its community‑building tools. Peter Scanlon has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer. Scanlon’s prior executive experience spans Google, Mozilla and the mobile gaming studio Monks, giving him a strong foundation in brand strategy, user acquisition and cross‑platform marketing.
In his new capacity, he will be tasked with amplifying Fandom’s brand, expanding its reach to new audiences, and forging partnerships that enhance the way fans discover and interact with content. In addition to these hires, Daniel Grunwell has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering.
Grunwell, a fifteen‑year veteran of Fandom, will now oversee the engineering and infrastructure teams that keep the site running smoothly for millions of users worldwide. His deep institutional knowledge and proven track record make him a logical choice to steward the technical side of the business as it scales.
"Fandom sits on an extraordinary foundation – millions of passionate fans who have spent years curating knowledge and forming communities around the things they love," said CEO Jay Sullivan. "Our mission is to build on that base and give fans even more ways to connect, discover and participate. Daniel’s long tenure gives us a solid understanding of our roots, while Damon, Peter and Anita bring fresh perspectives and deep consumer‑platform expertise.
Together, we have the right team to create 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, Head of Games, where he led 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 Senior Product Manager, then spent time as Director of Product Management at Jam City and later as Director of Product Management for Diablo at Blizzard Entertainment.
His return signals Scopely’s intent to strengthen its product pipeline with seasoned leadership. Jonathan Marcelino has been named Director of Product at Scopely. Marcelino founded and led the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games, giving him a strong background in indie‑to‑mid‑scale game development and product strategy. Berkay Özer takes the helm as Head of Studio at Fomo Games.
Özer joined the company in 2022 as a product specialist and later led the product team before a brief stint at Loom Games as product manager in 2025. His experience straddles both creative and operational aspects of studio management. Peter Sydow joins Arrowhead Game Studios as Head of Production, bringing senior producer experience from Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions.
Ryan Ngoon has been promoted to Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment after starting as a quest‑design intern in 2023 and advancing to Associate Game Designer in 2024. Sarah Johnson becomes an Art Producer at Epic Games. Her previous production roles at Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13 and Telltale Games give her a broad perspective on art pipelines and cross‑disciplinary collaboration.
Brian Trunk is appointed Senior Vice President of Route to Market for the Americas at Asmodee. Trunk, a partner at Asmodee for over a decade, spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast in senior commercial and digital‑games roles, including overseeing the Wizards Play Network and managing regional operations across EMEA, LATAM and APAC. "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. "At Asmodee, those values combine with a shared love of games, which makes this move feel personal and informs how I intend to lead." Rovio promotes Wille Miljas to Director of Product Marketing.
Miljas, who joined Rovio in 2024 as 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 appoints Jameson Durall as Senior Design Director on the upcoming title Blight: Survival.
Durall’s prior work includes an advanced senior game designer role on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2 at Insomniac Games. Matt Dobill advances to Director of Applied AI at Epic Games, while also serving as Senior Counsel on Technology and Tools, reflecting Epic’s growing focus on AI‑driven development pipelines. Joe Gabriel joins Unity as Senior Technical Production Manager for AndroidXR.
Gabriel previously led customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and was Senior Developer Relations Manager at Niantic. Erik Meurk is promoted to Senior Software Engineer at King. Starting as a Unity development intern in August 2023, he became an Associate Software Engineer in early 2024 and has since contributed to several high‑profile mobile titles.
Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé moves up to Lead UX Designer at Epic Games after joining as a Senior UX Designer in 2023, following a similar role at Behaviour Interactive. Jack Anderson becomes a VFX Artist at Rebellion, after previous VFX work at nDreams and Interior/Night.
David Scarborough joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Manager of EMEA Communications, bringing prior senior account and communications experience from Brands2Life, Inflexion Games, Improbable and Koch Media/Deep Silver. King appoints Esther Lopez as Principal VFX Artist. Lopez, who started at King in 2014 and progressed to Associate Principal VFX Artist, spent two years at Meta focusing on real‑time VR/AR visual effects before returning to King, describing the move as a rare privilege.
Magda Marcinkowska is named Production Manager, Marketing at CD Projekt Red after serving as Acting Publishing Operations Director at Techland. Linh Lai becomes Accounting Assistant at Newzoo following a six‑month internship, noting how the experience helped her understand the interplay between individual accounting tasks and broader business processes. Tommi Virolainen joins Kokoon Games as Senior Game Programmer, after tech programming at Metacore and senior programming roles at Lightneer.
Christopher Holtorf is appointed Senior Quest Designer at CD Projekt Red, having previously worked as Senior Narrative Designer at Intrepid Studios. Amir Satvat becomes a General Partner at 1Up Ventures. Satvat previously directed business development at Tencent Games and founded the community‑focused resource Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC).
He emphasized his desire to help people return to work in the industry and to support smaller studios. Lasse Seppänen announces his departure from Supercell after seven years, during which he progressed from Producer (2019) to Head of Game Production Services and General Manager for Supercell London.
He plans to launch his own studio in the UK in 2027. Take‑Two Interactive names Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs, UK, after serving as Head of Public Affairs at TikTok UK. Jess Pearce is promoted to Senior People Partner at Kepler Interactive, having joined as a People Advisor in 2022.
Shreya Godha moves up to Producer at PlaySimple Games, after previously holding an Associate Producer role. Kelly Ekins becomes Director of Communications at Epic Games, following a stint as Senior Director of Global PR for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program and earlier work at Warner Brothers Games Montreal.
Housemarque co‑founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen steps 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 has taken over as Managing Director, ensuring continuity. Tamara Feiman is appointed CEO of Lion Studios, a division of Tripledot Studios.
Feiman began at Lion in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead, later becoming Publishing General Manager, and highlights the collaborative culture with partner studios that drives the creation of games played 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 a financial analyst position in 2020 to product manager and now senior product manager.
Scot McCarron advances 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 franchises. These appointments, promotions and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the video‑game ecosystem, where seasoned veterans and fresh voices alike shape the future of interactive entertainment.