Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task. To make life easier for readers, we compile the most notable personnel movements in a semi‑regular roundup.
If you know of a change that belongs in this list—new appointments, role shifts, or exits—please forward the name, new title, company, and previous position to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Fandom has announced three senior‑level additions to its executive leadership roster, alongside the promotion of a long‑time veteran.
Anita Butler joins as Senior Vice President of Design & User Research. Butler brings a wealth of experience, having previously served as EVP of Design and Research at Nextdoor, VP of Consumer Design at Twitter, and Chief Design Officer at Strava.
Damon Sicore steps in as Chief Technology Officer and head of Fandom Labs; his résumé includes senior engineering roles at Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he oversaw the teams responsible for Firefox, HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Peter Scanlon has been named Chief Marketing Officer, drawing on executive stints at Google, Mozilla and Monks. In addition, Daniel Grunwell, a fifteen‑year Fandom veteran, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering, taking charge of the company’s engineering and infrastructure organization. "Fandom rests on an extraordinary foundation—millions of fans who have spent years curating knowledge and building communities around the things they love," said CEO Jay Sullivan.
"Our mission is to expand that foundation, giving fans even more ways to connect, discover and take part. Daniel’s deep tenure gives us a clear view of our roots, while Damon, Peter and Anita inject fresh consumer and platform expertise. Together we have the right mix of experience and new ideas to build the next generation of Fandom." Other notable moves include Jonathan Knight’s appointment as Chief Games Officer at The New York Times.
Knight previously held the SVP title, heading the games division and overseeing the acquisition and integration of the wildly popular Wordle. Chase Shi returns to Scopely as Vice President and head of game product after a stint at Blizzard Entertainment as Director of Product Management on Diablo and a period at Jam City. Jonathan Marcelino becomes Director of Product at Scopely, having founded and led the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games.
Berkay Özer is named Head of Studio at Fomo Games; he joined the company in 2022 as a product specialist, left in 2025 for Loom Games, and now returns to lead the studio. Peter Sydow takes the role of Head of Production at Arrowhead Game Studios after senior producer positions at Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions.
Ryan Ngoon is promoted to Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment, having started as a quest‑design intern in 2023 and moved to associate designer in 2024. Sarah Johnson joins Epic Games as an Art Producer, bringing prior production experience from Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13 and Telltale Games. Brian Trunk becomes Senior Vice President of Route to Market for the Americas at Asmodee.
Trunk, a partner at Asmodee for over a decade, previously spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast, most recently as VP of Commercial, Digital Games Revenue and the Wizards Play Network, and earlier as VP/GM for 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.
"I’ve always believed the most successful businesses are built on great people, strong relationships, trust and community. At Asmodee those values merge with my love of games, making this move personal and central to how I want to lead." Rovio promotes Wille Miljas to Director of Product Marketing after joining in 2024 as Marketing Lead; he 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 Blight: Survival. Durall previously worked at Insomniac Games as an advanced senior game designer on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2. Matt Dobill is promoted to Director of Applied AI at Epic Games and also serves as Senior Counsel on Technology and Tools.
Unity welcomes Joe Gabriel as Senior Technical Production Manager for AndroidXR. Gabriel formerly led Customer and Developer Success at Niantic Spatial and was Senior Developer Relations Manager at Niantic. King promotes Erik Meurk to Senior Software Engineer after joining as a Unity intern in August 2023, becoming an associate engineer in early 2024.
Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé is promoted to Lead UX Designer at Epic Games; she arrived in 2023 as a senior UX designer after a similar role at Behaviour Interactive. Jack Anderson joins Rebellion as a VFX Artist, having previously worked 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. King appoints Esther Lopez as Principal VFX Artist.
Lopez first joined King in 2014 as a senior artist, rose to associate principal VFX artist in 2020, then spent two years at Meta as a real‑time VFX specialist before returning. "Coming back to a place I know well, in a new role, is a rare privilege," she said. Magda Marcinkowska is named Production Manager in 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 broader financial processes of the business.
Tommi Virolainen joins Kokoon Games as Senior Game Programmer; he previously held tech programming roles at Metacore and senior programming positions at Lightneer. Christopher Holtorf is appointed Senior Quest Designer at CD Projekt Red, after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Intrepid Studios. Amir Satvat becomes General Partner at 1Up Ventures, having previously been Business Development Director at Tencent Games and founder of the community‑focused initiative Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC).
He explained that the role allows him to directly help people re‑enter the industry and support smaller studios. 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 plans to launch a new studio in the UK in 2027.
Take‑Two Interactive appoints Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs UK, 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. Shreya Godha moves up to Producer at PlaySimple Games, after working as an Associate Producer. Epic Games names Kelly Ekins Director of Communications; Ekins previously held senior PR roles at Unity and marketing leadership at Warner Brothers Games Montreal.
Housemarque co‑founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen steps down after 31 years. Kuittinen reflected on the studio’s independent journey and the smooth transition to new Managing Director Sami "Haxu" Hakala. Tamara Feiman becomes CEO of Lion Studios, a division of Tripledot Studios. Feiman started at Lion in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead and has risen through publishing general‑manager roles, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the studio’s partnerships.
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 begun as a financial analyst in 2020. Scot McCarron also advances, becoming Senior Director of Product Management for Call of Duty after joining Activision in 2018 as a product marketing manager.
These appointments, promotions and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the gaming industry, where talent moves frequently and companies continuously reshape their leadership to meet evolving market demands and consumer expectations.