Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If your organization has recent staffing changes that you think belong in this list, please forward the names, new titles, companies, as well as the previous roles and employers to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Natalie Francis has been announced as the new studio manager for Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment, with her appointment taking effect on 1 October 2026. Francis brings a wealth of senior‑level experience to the role.
She most recently held the position of chief development officer at Avalanche Studios, where she oversaw multiple high‑profile projects. Earlier in her career she served as head of studio operations and development at DICE, and before that she was the studio operations director for Electronic Arts.
"Massive Entertainment has an extraordinary history, built by incredibly talented people and a culture that cares deeply about craft and quality," Francis said in her introductory remarks. "I'm excited to build on that foundation and help create the conditions for the studio and its people to thrive in its next chapter." Christoph Hartmann, General Manager for Creative House 2, echoed the sentiment, noting that Francis’s extensive background in uniting multidisciplinary teams around clear creative and business visions makes her an ideal leader for Massive’s next phase. He added that her proven ability to deliver ambitious player experiences while aligning long‑term strategy with operational excellence provides a robust platform for the studio’s future growth.
Allie Murdock has been promoted within Riot Games to senior manager of game production. Murdock previously managed production on the flagship title Valorant and, before joining Riot, she was production director at Red Lens Games.
Her promotion reflects Riot’s confidence in her ability to oversee larger, more complex production pipelines and to mentor emerging talent across the studio. Kristen Quinn steps into the role of lead sound designer at Gearbox Entertainment. Quinn’s résumé includes stints as audio director, contractor, and consultant at Bonfire Studios, as well as a previous tenure as audio director at Polyarc. Her deep expertise in interactive audio design is expected to enhance Gearbox’s upcoming projects, bringing richer, more immersive soundscapes to players.
Benjamin Liu joins Insomniac Games as lead VFX artist. Liu’s most recent role was principal VFX artist (acting VFX director) at Lightspeed LA, where he helped shape visual effects for several high‑profile titles.
At Insomniac, Liu will be responsible for directing the visual effects pipeline, ensuring that the studio’s signature cinematic flair continues to evolve. Fandom announced three senior additions to its executive team alongside the promotion of a long‑time veteran.
Anita Butler has been named senior vice president of design & user research. Butler previously served as EVP of design and research at Nextdoor, VP of consumer design at Twitter, and chief design officer at Strava, giving her a broad perspective on user‑centric product development. Damon Sicore joins as chief technology officer and head of Fandom Labs; his background includes leadership positions at Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he oversaw engineering teams that built core web technologies such as Firefox, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Peter Scanlon has been appointed chief marketing officer, bringing executive experience from Google, Mozilla, and Monks.
Additionally, Daniel Grunwell has been promoted to senior vice president of engineering, where he will oversee Fandom’s engineering and infrastructure groups. Fandom CEO Jay Sullivan praised the new lineup, stating that the combination of deep institutional knowledge and fresh external viewpoints positions the company to expand how fans connect, discover, and engage with their passions. Jonathan Knight has taken the helm as chief games officer at The New York Times.
Knight previously served as senior vice president and head of games, where he led the acquisition and integration of the viral puzzle Wordle into the Times’ digital ecosystem. His appointment signals the newspaper’s commitment to growing its interactive entertainment portfolio. Chase Shi returns to Scopely as vice president and head of game product.
Shi originally left Scopely in 2020 after serving as senior product manager, then moved to Jam City as director of product management and later to Blizzard Entertainment, where he directed product management for Diablo. His re‑entry into Scopely suggests a renewed focus on leveraging his experience across casual and core gaming segments. Jonathan Marcelino has been appointed director of product at Scopely. Marcelino previously founded and led the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games, giving him a strong entrepreneurial background that aligns with Scopely’s fast‑moving product culture.
Berkay Özer becomes head of studio at Fomo Games. Özer joined Fomo in 2022 as a product specialist and later led the product team before briefly moving to Loom Games as product manager in 2025. His return to Fomo marks a strategic move to strengthen the studio’s product vision. Peter Sydow joins Arrowhead Game Studios as head of production after senior producer roles at Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions.
Sydow’s experience with large‑scale live‑service titles will be valuable as Arrowhead expands its portfolio. Ryan Ngoon has been promoted to game designer at Blizzard Entertainment. Starting as a quest design intern in 2023, Ngoon progressed to associate game designer in 2024, demonstrating rapid growth within Blizzard’s development pipeline.
Sarah Johnson is now an art producer at Epic Games. Her prior experience spans producer roles at Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13, and Telltale Games, equipping her to manage cross‑disciplinary art teams on Epic’s next‑gen titles. Brian Trunk has been named senior vice president of Route to Market for the Americas at Asmodee.
Trunk, a partner at Asmodee for over ten years, previously spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast, most recently as vice president of commercial, digital games revenue, and the Wizards Play Network. He emphasized that his leadership philosophy centers on strong relationships, trust, and community—a mindset he intends to bring to Asmodee’s market strategy.
Wille Miljas has been promoted to director of product marketing at Rovio. Miljas joined Rovio in 2024 as marketing lead and previously held head of marketing positions at Good Shepherd Entertainment and Redhill Games, as well as senior marketing manager for planning and strategy at Next Games. Jameson Durall is now senior design director on Blight: Survival for Behaviour Interactive. Durall previously worked at Insomniac Games as an advanced senior game designer on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2, bringing high‑caliber design experience to Behaviour’s new survival title.
Matt Dobill has been elevated to director of applied AI at Epic Games, while also serving as senior counsel on technology and tools. His dual role underscores Epic’s focus on integrating cutting‑edge AI into its development pipelines. Joe Gabriel joins Unity as senior technical production manager for AndroidXR. Gabriel’s background includes leading customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and senior developer relations management at Niantic, positioning him to enhance Unity’s XR offerings.
Erik Meurk has been promoted to senior software engineer at King. Starting as a Unity development intern in August 2023, Meurk quickly rose to associate software engineer in early 2024, reflecting King’s commitment to nurturing internal talent. Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé is now lead UX designer at Epic Games.
Grandchamp‑Dubé entered Epic in 2023 as a senior UX designer after a similar stint at Behaviour Interactive, where she honed her user‑experience expertise. Jack Anderson joins Rebellion as a VFX artist, having previously held the same position at nDreams and Interior/Night, where he contributed to a range of cinematic effects. David Scarborough becomes senior manager of EMEA communications at Blizzard Entertainment.
Scarborough’s prior roles include senior account director at Brands2Life, head of communications at Inflexion Games, and senior positions at Improbable and Koch Media/Deep Silver. Esther Lopez has been appointed principal VFX artist at King. Lopez first joined King in 2014 as a senior artist, progressed to associate principal VFX artist in 2020, and spent two years at Meta as a real‑time VFX specialist for VR‑AR before returning to King, where she describes the move as a rare privilege.
Magda Marcinkowska is now production manager in marketing at CD Projekt Red, after serving as acting publishing operations director at Techland. Linh Lai has been hired as an accounting assistant at Newzoo following a six‑month internship.
Lai highlighted how the internship helped her understand both granular accounting tasks and their broader business impact, and she looks forward to taking on greater responsibility. Tommi Virolainen joins Kokoon Games as senior game programmer. Virolainen’s background includes a tech programmer role at Metacore and senior programming positions at Lightneer. Christopher Holtorf becomes senior quest designer at CD Projekt Red, after previously serving as senior narrative designer at Intrepid Studios.
Amir Satvat joins 1Up Ventures as a general partner. Satvat previously was business development director at Tencent Games and founded Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), a resource aimed at helping job seekers break into the industry. He expressed a desire to connect his influence directly with supporting creators and smaller studios. Lasse Seppänen announced his departure from Supercell after seven years, during which he progressed 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 a new studio in 2027, focusing on original IP creation. Giles Derrington has been named director of global affairs UK at Take‑Two Interactive, after serving as head of public affairs UK at TikTok. Jess Pearce was promoted to senior people partner at Kepler Interactive, having joined as a people advisor in 2022 and advancing to people partner in 2024.
Shreya Godha has been promoted to producer at PlaySimple Games, after previously serving as associate producer. Kelly Ekins joins Epic Games as director of communications. Ekins previously held the senior director of global PR role for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program, and before that she led marketing for media and entertainment at Unity following a stint as studio lead for game marketing and communications 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 with Harri Tikkanen. He reflected on three decades of growth, noting the studio’s independent streak before joining PlayStation Studios, and confirmed that Sami "Haxu" Hakala has taken over as managing director.
Tamara Feiman has been appointed CEO of Lion Studios, part of Tripledot Studios. Feiman began her career at Lion in 2020 as EMEA business development lead, later becoming publishing general manager.
She emphasized the collaborative nature of Lion’s partnership model and her excitement to lead the company alongside a strong internal team and external studio partners. Heather Sangria joins Sega of America as community manager, after contract work as a social strategist and community lead at One More Game and a digital strategy role at Undead Labs.
Emily Rose Chen has been promoted to senior product manager for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard, having started as a financial analyst in 2020 and later moved into product management. Scot McCarron has been elevated 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 the company in 2018 as a product marketing manager for emerging franchises.