Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can feel like a full‑time job in itself. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel changes in one convenient place. If your organization has recent appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role/company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Natalie Francis has been named studio manager for Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment, with her start date set for 1 October 2026.
Francis arrives with a résumé that reads like a tour of the industry’s most respected development houses. She most recently held the chief development officer position at Avalanche Studios, where she oversaw multiple high‑profile projects. Before that she directed studio operations and development at DICE and served as studio operations director for Electronic Arts, giving her deep experience in both creative pipelines and large‑scale operational management.
"Massive Entertainment boasts a remarkable legacy, built by exceptionally talented individuals and a culture that values craftsmanship and quality," Francis said in a statement. "I’m eager to build on that foundation and create the conditions that will allow the studio and its people to flourish in the next chapter of our journey." Christoph Hartmann, General Manager for Creative House 2, added: "Natalie's broad experience in uniting multidisciplinary teams around a clear creative and business vision makes her an ideal leader for Massive as it moves forward.
Her proven ability to deliver ambitious player experiences while aligning long‑term strategy with operational excellence provides a solid 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, prior to joining Riot, served as production director at Red Lens Games. Her elevation reflects Riot’s commitment to nurturing internal talent that has already demonstrated the ability to shepherd complex, live‑service titles from concept through launch and ongoing iteration. Gearbox Entertainment has brought on Kristen Quinn as its new lead sound designer.
Quinn’s background includes stints as audio director, contractor, and consultant at Bonfire Studios, as well as a tenure as audio director at Polyarc. Her expertise in crafting immersive audio experiences will be instrumental as Gearbox continues to expand its portfolio of narrative‑driven and action‑oriented games. Benjamin Liu joins Insomniac Games as lead VFX artist. Liu previously acted as principal VFX artist and interim VFX director at Lightspeed LA, where he was responsible for high‑fidelity visual effects on several AAA titles.
At Insomniac, Liu will help shape the visual language of upcoming projects, ensuring that particle systems, shaders, and cinematic effects meet the studio’s high standards. Fandom announced three senior additions to its executive leadership team, alongside the promotion of a long‑time veteran. Anita Butler has been appointed senior vice president of design & user research. Butler’s résumé includes EVP of design and research at Nextdoor, VP of consumer design at Twitter, and chief design officer at Strava, giving her a robust background in user‑centric product development.
Damon Sicore steps into the role of chief technology officer and head of Fandom Labs. Sicore previously held senior engineering positions at both Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he led the teams responsible for Firefox’s core technologies—HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
His deep understanding of open‑source ecosystems and large‑scale platform engineering will be vital as Fandom looks to innovate its community‑driven services. Peter Scanlon has been named chief marketing officer.
Scanlon brings executive marketing experience from Google, Mozilla, and Monks, and will oversee brand strategy, user acquisition, and partnership development for the fan‑centric platform. Daniel Grunwell has been promoted to senior vice president of engineering, taking charge of Fandom’s engineering and infrastructure organization. In a statement, CEO Jay Sullivan said: "Fandom rests on an incredible foundation—millions of fans who have built knowledge and communities around the things they love.
Our mission is to expand the ways fans can connect, discover, and participate. Daniel’s long tenure gives him a deep understanding of our roots, while Damon, Pete, and Anita bring fresh perspectives and consumer expertise.
Together we have the right team to build the next generation of Fandom." The New York Times has appointed Jonathan Knight as chief games officer. Knight previously served as senior vice president and head of games, where he oversaw the acquisition and integration of the viral puzzle phenomenon Wordle. 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 directed product management at Jam City and later at Blizzard Entertainment, where he was director of product management for Diablo. His return signals Scopely’s intent to leverage his cross‑platform expertise. Jonathan Marcelino has been named director of product at Scopely. Marcelino founded and led the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games, giving him a founder’s perspective on rapid development cycles and monetisation strategies.
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 in 2025. He returns now to guide Fomo’s next phase of growth.
Peter Sydow joins Arrowhead Game Studios as head of production after senior producer roles at Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions. His experience with large‑scale live‑service titles will help Arrowhead scale its upcoming projects. Blizzard Entertainment promotes Ryan Ngoon to game designer. Ngoon entered Blizzard in 2023 as an intern quest designer, progressed to associate game designer in 2024, and now takes on full design responsibilities across its portfolio.
Epic Games adds Sarah Johnson as an art producer. Johnson’s background includes producer positions at Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13, and Telltale Games, giving her a broad view of art pipelines across diverse genres.
Brian Trunk has been appointed 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 vice president of commercial, digital games revenue, and the Wizards Play Network.
He reflected: "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 combine with a shared love of games, making this move deeply personal." 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 names Jameson Durall 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 high‑profile action‑adventure experience to the survival‑horror genre.
Epic Games promotes Matt Dobill to director of applied AI, while also serving as senior counsel on technology and tools. Dobill’s dual role underscores Epic’s focus on integrating cutting‑edge artificial‑intelligence solutions into its development pipeline.
Unity welcomes Joe Gabriel 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, giving him a strong background in AR/VR production workflows. King promotes Erik Meurk to senior software engineer.
Meurk began his career at King as a Unity development intern in August 2023, became an associate software engineer in February 2024, and has since contributed to several high‑performing mobile titles. Epic Games promotes Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé to lead UX designer. Grandchamp‑Dubé joined Epic in 2023 as a senior UX designer after a similar role at Behaviour Interactive, where she helped shape player‑centric interfaces for live‑service games. Rebellion adds Jack Anderson as a VFX artist.
Anderson previously held the same position at nDreams and Interior/Night, bringing a strong portfolio of visual effects for indie and mid‑tier titles. Blizzard Entertainment appoints David Scarborough as senior manager of EMEA communications. Scarborough’s prior experience includes senior account director at Brands2Life, head of communications at Inflexion Games, and senior roles at Improbable and Koch Media/Deep Silver. King names Esther Lopez principal VFX artist.
Lopez first joined King in 2014 as a senior artist, rose to associate principal VFX artist in 2020, spent two years at Meta developing real‑time VFX for VR/AR, and now returns to King, saying, "Coming back to a place I know well, in a new role, is a rare privilege. After almost four years at Meta building immersive experiences, I hope to bring the best of that back with me." CD Projekt Red appoints Magda Marcinkowska as production manager in marketing. Marcinkowska previously acted as publishing operations director at Techland, overseeing cross‑functional pipelines between development and market release. Newzoo hires Linh Lai as accounting assistant after completing a six‑month internship.
Lai commented, "The experiences I’ve gained over the past six months have helped me understand how individual accounting processes fit into the broader business. I’m excited to take on more responsibility, deepen my finance knowledge, and contribute more to the team as I grow with Newzoo." Kokoon Games adds Tommi Virolainen as senior game programmer.
Virolainen previously worked as a tech programmer at Metacore and held senior programming and development roles at Lightneer, bringing expertise in performance optimisation for mobile and console platforms. CD Projekt Red names Christopher Holtorf senior quest designer. Holtorf previously served as senior narrative designer at Intrepid Studios, where he crafted branching storylines and complex quest architectures. 1Up Ventures welcomes Amir Satvat as a general partner.
Satvat previously was business development director at Tencent Games and founded Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), a resource that helps job seekers break into the industry. He explained his motivation: "I wanted a more direct connection between what I could influence and helping people get back to work. I love smaller studios and a community‑first approach, and 1Up aligns perfectly with those values." Supercell announces the departure of Lasse Seppänen after seven years.
Seppänen joined as a producer in 2019, later becoming head of game production services and general manager for Supercell London. He said, "Now it’s time to follow my passion for creating new game IPs again.
I’m staying in the UK, and in 2027 I plan to start my own studio—more on that when the time is right." Take‑Two Interactive appoints Giles Derrington as director of global affairs UK. Derrington previously led public affairs for TikTok in the UK, bringing experience in regulatory navigation and stakeholder engagement. Kepler Interactive promotes Jess Pearce to senior people partner.
Pearce joined Kepler as a people advisor in 2022 and advanced to people partner in 2024, focusing on talent development and organisational 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 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 was marketing lead for media and entertainment at Unity after a stint as studio lead for 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 after merging Bloodhouse and Terramarque. Reflecting on his tenure, he said, "We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time during three decades of industry growth, staying independent for 26 years before joining PlayStation Studios. The leadership transition has been carefully planned; Sami ‘Haxu’ Hakala took over as managing director on 1 July, and I have continued supporting him to ensure operational continuity." Tripledot Studios’ Lion Studios names Tamara Feiman as CEO. Feiman began her career at Lion Studios in 2020 as EMEA business development lead, later becoming publishing general manager.
She noted, "I joined Lion six years ago and have watched it grow through its biggest successes and challenges. Lion’s strength lies in how we collaborate with partner studios, taking risks, learning quickly, and turning great ideas into games played by millions. It’s never about one person; it’s about an incredible team across publishing, growth, product, engineering, and market intelligence." 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 as digital strategy and community manager at Undead Labs, bringing a strong background in fan engagement and community building. Activision Blizzard promotes Emily Rose Chen to senior product manager for Call of Duty. Chen started at the company as a financial analyst in 2020, moved to product manager, and now oversees the flagship franchise’s product roadmap.
Scot McCarron is promoted to senior director of product management for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard. McCarron previously served as director of product management on the franchise after joining the company in 2018 as product marketing manager for emerging franchises.