Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If you have a staffing change you think belongs in this list—whether it’s a new appointment, a promotion, or a departure—please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Natalie Francis has been announced as the new Studio Manager for Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment, with her start date set for 1 October 2026. Francis arrives with a deep résumé: she most recently served as Chief Development Officer at Avalanche Studios, a role in which she oversaw the creation of large‑scale open‑world titles. Earlier in her career she held senior operational posts at DICE, where she was Head of Studio Operations and Development, and at Electronic Arts, where she functioned as Studio Operations Director. "Massive Entertainment has a remarkable legacy built by exceptionally talented people and a culture that values craft and quality," Francis said in her introductory remarks.
"I’m thrilled to build on that foundation and help shape the environment that will allow the studio and its people to flourish in the next chapter of our journey." Christoph Hartmann, General Manager of Creative House 2, echoed those sentiments, noting that Francis’s extensive background in uniting multidisciplinary teams around a clear creative and commercial vision makes her uniquely qualified to steer Massive forward. He added that her proven ability to deliver ambitious player experiences while aligning long‑term strategy with operational excellence provides a sturdy platform for the studio’s future growth. In other Riot Games news, Allie Murdock has been promoted to Senior Manager of Game Production.
Murdock previously managed production on the flagship shooter Valorant and before joining Riot she was Production Director at Red Lens Games, where she led several cross‑functional teams. Her promotion reflects Riot’s ongoing investment in talent that can scale its rapidly expanding portfolio of live‑service titles. Gearbox Entertainment welcomes Kristen Quinn as its new Lead Sound Designer. Quinn brings a wealth of audio expertise, having acted as Audio Director, contractor, and consultant for Bonfire Studios, as well as serving as Audio Director at Polyarc.
Her appointment signals Gearbox’s commitment to deepening the auditory experience of its upcoming projects. Benjamin Liu joins Insomniac Games as Lead VFX Artist. Liu previously held the position of Principal VFX Artist (acting VFX Director) at Lightspeed LA, where he was responsible for high‑impact visual effects on several AAA‑level titles.
At Insomniac, Liu will be tasked with elevating the visual fidelity of upcoming franchise entries. Fandom has announced a trio of senior hires to its executive leadership team, alongside the promotion of a long‑time veteran. Anita Butler steps into the role of Senior Vice President of Design & User Research.
Butler’s background includes 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 previous leadership roles at Wikipedia and Mozilla include overseeing the engineering teams that built core web technologies such as Firefox, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Peter Scanlon is 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 the engineering and infrastructure organization.
"Fandom rests on an incredible foundation—millions of fans who have spent years building knowledge and communities around the things they love," said CEO Jay Sullivan. "Our mission is to expand those connections, help fans discover new experiences, and empower participation. With Daniel’s deep institutional knowledge and the fresh perspectives of Damon, Pete, and Anita, we have the right leadership to build the next generation of Fandom." The New York Times has named Jonathan Knight as its Chief Games Officer.
Knight previously served as Senior Vice President and head of games, where he led the acquisition and integration of the viral puzzle game Wordle. His appointment underscores the Times’ ambition to deepen its gaming coverage and interactive experiences.
Scopely welcomes back Chase Shi as Vice President and Head of Game Product. Shi originally left Scopely in 2020 after serving as Senior Product Manager; he then held the Director of Product Management role at Jam City and later directed product management for Diablo at Blizzard Entertainment. His return is expected to accelerate Scopely’s product pipeline. Also at Scopely, Jonathan Marcelino has been named Director of Product.
Marcelino is the founder and former CEO of the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games, bringing entrepreneurial insight to the publisher’s portfolio. Berkay Özer takes the helm as Head of Studio at Fomo Games. Özer joined Fomo in 2022 as a product specialist and later led the product team before moving to Loom Games as a product manager in 2025.
His return marks a renewed focus on innovative studio leadership. Peter Sydow has been recruited by Arrowhead Game Studios as Head of Production.
Sydow’s background includes senior producer positions at Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions, giving him a solid track record in managing complex development pipelines. Blizzard Entertainment promotes Ryan Ngoon to Game Designer. Ngoon entered Blizzard in 2023 as a quest‑design intern, progressed to Associate Game Designer in 2024, and now takes on broader design responsibilities across its live‑service titles.
Epic Games adds Sarah Johnson as an Art Producer. Johnson’s resume spans production roles at Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13, and Telltale Games, equipping her to support Epic’s expanding portfolio of high‑profile projects.
Asmodee announces Brian Trunk as Senior Vice President of Route‑to‑Market for the Americas. Trunk has been a partner at Asmodee for over a decade and 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 emphasizes that his leadership philosophy is built on strong relationships, trust, and a shared passion for games. Rovio promotes Wille Miljas to Director of Product Marketing. Miljas joined Rovio in 2024 as Marketing Lead, after serving as Central Marketing Director, Head of Marketing at Good Shepherd Entertainment, and 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 previously worked at Insomniac Games as an Advanced Senior Game Designer on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2, bringing narrative and systems expertise to the new project. Epic Games promotes Matt Dobill to Director of Applied AI, while also serving as Senior Counsel on Technology and Tools. His work will shape the integration of machine‑learning solutions across Epic’s development pipelines.
Unity welcomes Joe Gabriel as Senior Technical Production Manager for Android XR. Gabriel’s prior experience includes leading Customer and Developer Success at Niantic Spatial and serving as Senior Developer Relations Manager at Niantic. King promotes Erik Meurk to Senior Software Engineer. Meurk started at King as a Unity Development Intern in August 2023, became an Associate Software Engineer in February 2024, and has continued to grow his expertise in game‑engine development.
Epic Games promotes Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé to Lead UX Designer. Grandchamp‑Dubé joined Epic in 2023 as a Senior UX Designer after a stint at Behaviour Interactive in the same capacity, where she helped shape user‑centric experiences for live‑service titles. Rebellion adds Jack Anderson as a VFX Artist. Anderson previously held the same role at nDreams and Interior/Night, contributing to cinematic effects and real‑time visual fidelity.
Blizzard Entertainment hires David Scarborough as Senior Manager of EMEA Communications. Scarborough brings senior account and communications experience from Brands2Life, Inflexion Games, Improbable, and Koch Media/Deep Silver.
King appoints Esther Lopez as Principal VFX Artist. Lopez originally joined King in 2014 as a Senior Artist, advanced to Associate Principal VFX Artist in 2020, spent two years at Meta developing real‑time VFX for VR/AR, and now returns to King to apply her immersive‑experience knowledge to new projects. CD Projekt Red names Magda Marcinkowska as Production Manager in Marketing. Marcinkowska previously served as Acting Publishing Operations Director at Techland, where she oversaw cross‑functional publishing workflows.
Newzoo hires Linh Lai as Accounting Assistant following a six‑month internship. Lai remarks that the internship gave her insight into how individual accounting processes integrate with broader business operations, and she looks forward to taking on greater responsibility. Kokoon Games brings on Tommi Virolainen as Senior Game Programmer. Virolainen’s prior roles include Tech Programmer at Metacore and senior programming positions at Lightneer, where he contributed to performance‑critical codebases.
CD Projekt Red appoints Christopher Holtorf as Senior Quest Designer. Holtorf previously worked as Senior Narrative Designer at Intrepid Studios, crafting story‑driven questlines for narrative‑heavy titles.
1Up Ventures welcomes Amir Satvat as General Partner. Satvat previously served as Business Development Director at Tencent Games and founded the community‑focused initiative Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), which helps aspiring developers find industry jobs.
He emphasizes his desire to connect directly with teams and support smaller studios. Supercell announces the departure of Lasse Seppänen after seven years.
Seppänen joined in 2019 as a Producer, later becoming Head of Game Production Services and General Manager for Supercell London. He says he plans to return to the UK and launch his own studio in 2027, focusing on creating new IPs.
Take‑Two Interactive appoints Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs UK. Derrington previously led Public Affairs for TikTok in the United Kingdom, bringing expertise in regulatory and stakeholder engagement. Kepler Interactive promotes Jess Pearce to Senior People Partner. Pearce joined Kepler in 2022 as a People Advisor and advanced to People Partner in 2024, focusing on talent development and organizational culture.
PlaySimple Games promotes Shreya Godha to Producer. Godha previously served as Associate Producer at the studio, contributing to the launch of several casual mobile titles.
Epic Games names 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 held a studio‑lead role in game marketing and communications at Warner Brothers Games Montreal.
Housemarque co‑founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen steps down after 31 years. Kuittinen co‑founded Housemarque in 1995 following the merger of Bloodhouse and Terramarque. He reflects on three decades of growth, the studio’s independence, and its recent integration into PlayStation Studios. Sami “Haxu” Hakala has taken over as Managing Director, ensuring continuity of Housemarque’s creative vision.
Tripledot Studios’ Lion Studios appoints Tamara Feiman as CEO. Feiman began her career at Lion Studios in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead, later becoming Publishing General Manager. She highlights the collaborative nature of Lion’s partnership model and the company’s focus on risk‑taking and rapid learning. Sega of America adds Heather Sangria as Community Manager.
Sangria previously worked as a contract Social Strategist and Community Lead at One More Game and handled digital strategy and community management at Undead Labs. Activision Blizzard promotes Emily Rose Chen to Senior Product Manager for Call of Duty. Chen started as a Financial Analyst in 2020, moved into product management, and now oversees key features for the franchise.
Activision Blizzard also promotes Scot McCarron to Senior Director of Product Management for Call of Duty. McCarron joined in 2018 as Product Marketing Manager for emerging franchises and has since led product strategy for the flagship series. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the video‑game industry, underscoring how companies continually adapt their leadership and creative teams to meet evolving market demands and player expectations.