It may be troublesome maintaining monitor of the varied comings and goings within the video games business, which is why we compile them in semi-regular round-ups.
You probably have new appointments or transitions in your organization that belong right here, please ship the names of the appointees, new position and firm, and prior position and firm to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Shlomi Aizenberg | Chief business officer, Scopely
Scopely has appointed Shlomi Aizenberg as its chief business officer.
Aizenberg will give attention to Scopely’s M&A method, working alongside Scopely’s chief income officer Tim O’Brien and the agency’s company improvement group led by Rob Ricca.
His position will embrace evaluating new business operations along with potential funding and acquisition alternatives.
Previous to becoming a member of Scopely, Aizenberg was CCO at Playtika. He joined the cellular developer and writer in 2012 as VP of selling. He grew to become SVP of rewards and partnerships in 2014, then GM of Bingo Blitz in 2015.
“Our method to M&A is differentiated, dynamic and artistic – tailoring our technique to the distinctive strengths of every alternative,” mentioned Scopely co-CEOs Walter Driver and Javier Ferreira.
“This technique requires leaders who each deeply perceive business operations, gaming groups, and founders and have vital relationships inside the video games business, which Shlomi has demonstrated time and time once more by way of his lengthy tenure at Playtika.”
They added: “We’re assured that Shlomi will considerably contribute to Scopely’s mission to encourage play each day and sit up for having his perspective as a part of Scopely.”
Mike DeLaet | President, Ares Interactive
Ares Interactive has appointed Mike DeLaet as president.
Previous to this position, DeLaet was international head of digital gaming at Mattel – a place he held for simply over two years. He was additionally SVP of strategic partnership at Scopely for 2 years, becoming a member of in 2020.
DeLaet started his profession at Dash in 2007 as head of video games. He transitioned to Glu Cellular in 2009 as SVP of worldwide publishing for practically 4 years.
In 2013, DeLaet was appointed SVP of worldwide business improvement and licensing at Kabam, overseeing video games together with Marvel Contest of Champions and Transformers: Solid to Combat.
DeLaet based writer Rogue Video games in 2017, and was CEO and chairman till June 2020.
Rob Schonfeld | Chief business officer, Ludeo
Gaming platform Ludeo has appointed Rob Schonfeld as its chief business officer.
“The chance to assist scale [Ludeo’s] expertise and construct one thing totally new represents essentially the most thrilling alternative in my profession,” mentioned Schonfeld.
He was beforehand international income officer at Activision Blizzard. Schonfeld joined the agency in 2012 as vp, head of worldwide digital and cellular gross sales. He then grew to become senior vp of worldwide digital and cellular commerce.
In 2019, Schonfeld was appointed senior vp of income earlier than becoming a member of the board of administrators in 2022 and changing into international income officer.
Stillfront promotes Kieran O’Leary and Jochen Gary
Stillfront has promoted two of its govt workers – Kieran O’Leary and Jochen Gary.
O’Leary has been promoted to EVP progress after becoming a member of the corporate in January 2025 as EVP progress platform. Previous to Stillfront, O’Leary was SVP of stay video games and chief income officer at Gameloft.
He began at Gameloft in 2014 as product managers lead in North America, shifting to international merchandise managers lead, international product advertising lead, then product advertising lead earlier than leaving in April 2019 to affix Outfit7 as senior director for advertising.
O’Leary labored at Rovio for 3 years, starting as director of progress in video games then VP of selling and CCO. He additionally labored at Forecomm in business improvement for the US, IBM, and at Ubisoft as worldwide product supervisor for Watch Canines.
Gary has been promoted from VP of selling to chief advertising officer, and can report back to O’Leary immediately.
His prior position was at Goodgame Studios as vp of selling. Gary joined in 2015 as lead advertising controlling, then was promoted to vp of selling.
Brandon Suzuki | Lead narrative designer, Squid Video games
Brandon Suzuki has been promoted to guide narrative designer at Squid Video games.
Suzuki joined the cellular studio in 2022 as a contract narrative designer. He grew to become a full-time junior narrative designer the identical yr, shifting up the ranks to his present place.
“The final three years at Squid have been stuffed with an incredible quantity of studying and progress, and I can not thank Jackie Jin and Laura Verman sufficient for his or her steerage and mentorship by way of the start of my profession,” Suzuki mentioned.
“There’s all the time one other mountain to climb, and I am excited to see what management has in retailer for me.”
Imogen Calypso Mellor | Social lead, Yrs Actually
Imogen Calypso Mellor has been promoted to social lead at gaming advertising company Yrs Actually.
Mellor joined Yrs Actually in 2023 as marketing campaign supervisor. Previous to this position, she labored in journalism beginning as a workers author for PCGamesN, then shifting to Ladbible. She was a options producer at PC Gamer, and viewers director at The Telegraph.
She additionally works as a presenter, having hosted GDC in 2021 and has labored with manufacturers together with E4, Prime Gear, and video games such as Disco Elysium.
Andrew Hoffacker | VP head of sport manufacturing, Annapurna Interactive
Annapurna Interactive has appointed Andrew Hoffacker as VP head of sport manufacturing.
Hoffacker was beforehand manufacturing director of exterior video games at Netflix. He labored at Riot Video games for practically 5 years, becoming a member of in 2019 as senior producer, changing into director of Riot Forge in 2012.
He additionally labored at Activision for 12 years in producer roles on Name of Obligation, and was a manufacturing coordinator at Infinity Ward for Name of Obligation 4: Trendy Warfare.
Eva Ryott | Head of stay operations, King
King has promoted Eva Roytt as head of stay operations.
Ryott started her profession at King in 2013 as a knowledge scientist. She was then appointed business efficiency supervisor, staff lead for analytics, business efficiency director, and as a senior producer. She left in 2019 to affix Meta as a knowledge science supervisor, a place she held for practically three years.
In 2022, Ryott rejoined King as senior director, content material space lead. She then grew to become VP head of core gameplay for Sweet Crush Saga previous to her newest place.
“On this position, I might be accountable for advancing our tooling and applied sciences to assist higher and quicker selections in our video games – creating cohesive and related experiences for our gamers,” she mentioned.
“With this, I’m additionally transitioning from the Sweet Crush sport staff into our shared tech organisation, serving a number of video games throughout King.”
Jody Zarkos | Folks and expertise lead, Lockwood Publishing
Lockwood Publishing has promoted Jody Zarkos to folks and expertise lead.
Zarkos joined the corporate in 2024 as senior expertise companion. Previous to this, she was head of HR at Omeda Studios – a place she held for 2 years. She additionally labored at Jagex for 4 years, beginning in 2017 as expertise acquisition specialist, then human useful resource specialist and affiliate HR business partnering.
Ben Board | Head of Unreal Engine video games business – Western Europe, Epic Video games
Epic Video games has promoted Ben Board as head of Unreal Engine video games business – Western Europe.
Board joined Epic in 2017 as developer assist supervisor. He moved as much as business improvement supervisor then director, earlier than changing into head of Unreal Engine video games business for Western Europe.
He joined the business in 1997 at Bullfrog Productions as a programmer, earlier than co-founding Dogfish Leisure in 2000 the place he was additionally lead programmer.
Board moved to Lionhead Studios in 2022 as lead programmer (scripting), then went on to Crew Bondi in May 2005 as lead gameplay programmer on LA Noire. He additionally labored at Microsoft as European developer account supervisor between 2008 and 2013.
Jayce Diaz | Principal encounter designer, Gunfire Video games
Jayce Diaz has joined Gunfire Video games as principal encounter designer.
Diaz began his profession in 2005 as a shift chief for Sport Loopy, and in addition co-founded impartial gaming information website Glitchy Tasty.
He joined Microsoft in 2011 as a designer, and labored on the marketing campaign design staff on Halo 4 and Halo 5, and was a Spartan Ops designer on Halo 4.
Diaz moved to Bungie in 2015 as a designer, then labored as a senior gameplay designer at 343 Industries in 2019. In 2021, he joined ZeniMax On-line Studios as senior stage designer, then principal stage designer in 2022.
Ben Gunstone | CEO, Stainless Video games
Stainless Video games has appointed Ben Gunstone as CEO, whereas founder Patrick Buckland has change into govt chairman.
Gunstone joined the developer in 2006 as manufacturing director, a task he held for practically 13 years. He moved to GlobalStep in 2019 as UK basic supervisor after which director of business improvement.
He then grew to become govt producer of the Fishing franchise at Dovetail Video games in 2021 earlier than shifting again to Stainless Video games in 2022 as sport director. He was promoted to operations director earlier than changing into CEO.
Gunstone has been within the business since 1992, working as a hotliner for Nintendo. He then labored in QA and manufacturing at SCI Video games for ten years, and was senior producer for exterior manufacturing at Sega for 3 years.
“Ben has been an enormous a part of our journey during the last 20 years,” mentioned Stainless Video games. “Now he is main the cost as we proceed to create superior video games for our purchasers, construct up our initiatives, and staff up with much more AAA and AA studios as a trusted co-development companion.”
Tim Coupe and Clive Moody be a part of Metal Metropolis Interactive
Metal Metropolis Interactive has introduced the appointment of Tim Coupe as VP of studio and Clive Moody as VP of product improvement.
Coupe’s prior position was at Digital Arts as head of studio operations for EA Sports activities UK. He joined the developer in 2021 as director of product improvement, after which grew to become head of operations.
Coupe began within the business as a programmer, earlier than changing into VP of cellular and handheld at Warthog Video games in 1999, then moved to EA as improvement director in 2003.
He was studio improvement supervisor at Eurocom for over seven years, earlier than changing into govt producer at Jagex in 2012. Coupe joined Codemasters in 2015 as senior improvement director, earlier than leaving in 2018 to work at Palringo and Curve Growth.
Coupe returned to Codemasters in 2020 as govt producer, changing into director of product improvement then head of operations.
“My years at EA Sports activities and Codemasters have helped form my expertise of sports activities franchises,” mentioned Coupe. “Sharing [Steel City Interactive CEO] Ash Habib’s imaginative and prescient for Metal Metropolis Interactive and Undisputed, I consider we’ll create the definitive boxing online game franchise.”
Moody additionally labored at Codemasters for over twenty years. He left in 2024 as SVP of product improvement, and has been concerned within the improvement and supply of a number of franchises.
“What Ash and the staff have created is unbelievable,” Moody added. “The ambition going past what’s been achieved thus far is genuinely thrilling, and too good a chance to not be a part of serving to to form and ship.”
Christine Brownell | Senior design director – Video games, Lego Digital Play
Christine Brownell has joined Lego Digital Play as senior design director after working at Sumo Digital as director of stay ops.
Brownell joined the business in 2003, working at Blizzard Leisure as a QA software program analyst then quest designer. She moved to NetDevil in 2005 as content material designer and lead content material designer, then lead world designer at Perpetual Leisure in 2006.
Brownell labored at EA as senior sport designer at Maxis in 2008, earlier than changing into inventive director of Playfish in 2011. She was additionally inventive director at Scopely for practically three years, becoming a member of in 2019.
Earlier than becoming a member of Sumo Digital in 2024, Brownell was franchise design director at Media Molecule and sport director at PlayStation London Studio.
“As somebody who’s all the time believed within the energy of play, and who grew up constructing, storytelling, and imagining issues with Lego, this position feels deeply significant,” Brownell mentioned.
“I am additionally feeling fortunate and grateful for the possibility to affix a staff led by Aaron Loeb, somebody I’ve had the pleasure of working with earlier than and have enormous respect for.”
Matthew Pellett and Holly Cooper appointed new roles at Secret Mode
Secret Mode has appointed Matthew Pellett as platform engagement director and Holly Cooper as head of communications.
Pellett joined Secret Mode in 2022 as PR and communications supervisor, then PR and communications director in 2024.
He made his begin within the business in 2007 as a workers author at Xbox World 360 journal. He was additionally editor at GamesMaster Journal and the Official PlayStation Journal.
Pellett labored at Useless Good Media for practically 4 years, beginning as media and influencer marketing consultant, then PR account supervisor and senior PR account supervisor.
“After 18 years spent within the media, media relations, and advertising realm, I am mixing issues up,” mentioned Pellett.
“I am delighted to step right into a platform engagement director place at Secret Mode, the place I will be centered on our retailer pages, first-party platform visibility, digital occasion and pageant participation, and far more apart from.”
Cooper joined Secret Mode in 2024 as product advertising supervisor. In January this yr, she was promoted to senior product advertising supervisor earlier than changing into head of communications.
Previous to Secret Mode, she labored at Frontier Developments as product advertising supervisor. She additionally labored at Team17 for nearly 4 years, beginning as junior PR and occasions supervisor in 2017, earlier than climbing the ladder to PR and occasions supervisor then junior model supervisor.
Cooper additionally held positions of subject govt and PR govt at Ubisoft.
“I have been given an incredible alternative to leap again into comms as head of communications at Secret Mode,” mentioned Cooper. “I began my business profession in PR and occasions, and I am excited to leap again in.
“Enormous because of Matthew Pellett for trusting me with this unbelievable staff and to the senior management at Secret Mode for the chance to take this subsequent step in my profession.”
Ben Parfitt | UX author, Sony Interactive Leisure
Ben Parfitt has joined Sony Interactive Leisure as a UX author.
Parfitt has been within the gaming business since 2005, beginning as affiliate editor at MCV/Develop. He was additionally a contract author, contributing to The Guardian, Kotaku, and GamesIndustry.biz.
In 2018, Parfitt joined Jagex as affiliate editorial director – a place he held for simply over 4 years. He then grew to become senior internet editor at Artistic Meeting in 2022, leaving the place in January 2024.
Partfitt returned to freelancing earlier than his newest place at Sony.