adminThese games industry jobs and leadership updates for June 2026 cover appointments and departures across game development, publishing, analytics, audio, and industry organizations. Highlights include Zoher Toutanji joining Crytek as Chief Publishing Officer, a new CEO at Newzoo, and several board and studio leadership changes. For anyone following company structures or career moves, role titles and previous positions can help show where teams are adding expertise.
Games industry jobs June 2026: publishing and studio appointments
Zoher Toutanji becomes Chief Publishing Officer at Crytek
Image credit: Crytek
Crytek has appointed Zoher Toutanji to the newly created role of Chief Publishing Officer. He is expected to lead the company’s global publishing organization and support its development as a self-publishing studio. Toutanji founded Chamo Games after holding senior positions at IO Interactive and Riot.
Crytek Co-CEO Hannes Seifert said the appointment would help strengthen publishing as part of the company’s leadership and wider organization. For developers assessing publishing plans, this appointment signals a dedicated focus on Crytek’s publishing capabilities.
Curtis Cherrington joins Saffronic
Animation studio Saffronic has named Curtis Cherrington Director of Business Development, Games. The Los Angeles-based studio has worked on animated series including Disney Jr.’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and DreamWorks’ Gabby’s Dollhouse. Its games work includes 2K NBA25/26, EA Sports FC 26, Madden NFL26, and the recently released UFC6.
Cherrington, whose previous roles include positions at Virtuos and EA, will work on expanding the studio’s presence in games and connecting developers and publishers with its animation, art production, character development, and content creation services. Teams considering external art or animation support can review the studio’s service areas when evaluating production needs.
Appointments at Liquid Violet and Newzoo
Alex Curran | Image credit: Liquid Violet
Keywords-owned audio and performance studio Liquid Violet has appointed Alex Curran as Casting Director. She joins from BBC Studios, where she was Casting Manager for radio drama and podcasts, and has also held roles at Audible and SIDE.
Joris Goossens will become CEO of data analytics firm Newzoo on July 1, succeeding Michelle Van der Wilk-Rouhof, who held the position for nearly six years. Goossens has served as Newzoo’s CFO for three years, following ten years in senior sales positions at Comscore.
Board, advisory and executive changes
Bernard Kim joins Appcharge’s advisory board
Appcharge has appointed Bernard Kim, formerly president of Zynga and CEO of Match Group, to its advisory board. CEO and co-founder Maor Sason highlighted Kim’s experience leading mobile publishing businesses and global consumer platforms as relevant to the company’s work with publishers.
IGDA adds three directors
Left to right: Natasha Skult, Christopher Hamilton, and Mark Stanley | Image credit: IGDA
The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has appointed Natasha Skult, Christopher Hamilton, and Mark Stanley to its board of directors.
- Natasha Skult, former IGDA chair emeritus, has more than 15 years of games industry experience and is CEO and creative director of Finnish studio MiTale.
- Christopher Hamilton has worked at Rovio, Genvid Technologies, GameHouse, and Nevosoft in roles spanning production, developer and publisher relations, and business development. He has also held a leadership role at IGDA Finland.
- Mark Stanley has held executive positions at Xbox, PlayStation, Sega, and GameStop and has worked as an industry advisor for 25 years. He also holds board leadership and advisory roles with Games for Change, Playing for the Planet, and the Oceanic Society.
IGDA executive director Jakin Vela said the new directors bring institutional knowledge and leadership experience, and will contribute to the organization’s global strategy, member support, and programs.
Night School Studio and the German Games Industry Association
Romain Dijoux has become studio head at Netflix-owned Night School Studio, having previously served as the studio’s production manager. Before that, he spent more than 17 years at Blizzard Entertainment in lead production roles for Overwatch, Overwatch 2, and Battle.net.
Left to right: Clemens Mayer-Wegelin, Sandro Heuberger, Lars Janssen, Maxi Graeff, Benedikt Grindel | Image credit: German Games Industry Association
The German Games Industry Association (Game) elected a new executive board. Deck13 Interactive CEO Lars Janssen was reelected chair, while Maxi Graeff, Xbox marketing lead for the DACH region, became deputy chair. Nintendo of Europe executive Clemens Mayer-Wegelin was reelected. Benedikt Grindel, managing director at Ubisoft Blue Byte, and Sandro Heuberger, CEO of Toukana Interactive, were newly elected.
Graeff said the association’s role in representing the industry is particularly important during challenging times, and noted continued work on gamescom and diversity as areas she wants to support.
More games industry job moves
- Sam Hilary has joined Team17 as brand director. Hilary previously worked as senior brand marketing manager at Megabit Publishing and held senior marketing roles at Thunderful, Electronic Arts, and Activision.
- Charlotte Spurgeon has joined Imprint Studios as a game designer after working as a game designer at D3T.
- Daley Eve Johnson has become creative strategy lead at 33 Games. Johnson previously served as senior community manager at Super Studios.
- Celeste Valentine has joined Imprint Studios as lead designer, following a role as senior game designer at D3T.
- Eva Piatrushina has been appointed game designer at Mojang Studios. Her previous positions include live designer at Sharkmob and design owner at Wargaming.
Leadership changes at Side
Image credit: Side
Gaming services provider Side has promoted Olivier Deslandes to COO. He was previously senior vice president for global strategy and growth and joined the company in 2006 as head of localisation. Martin McBride has become CCO after serving as global director for corporate affairs and chief of staff at PTW.
Other changes include Chris Donnelly becoming senior audio director and Matt Furmidge taking the role of director of localisation and localisation QA. Side has also appointed Sijo Jose as chief services officer, Kaley Hurst as chief marketing officer, and Caroline McDonald as player support lead. For teams comparing service providers, these appointments indicate the functions represented in Side’s current leadership structure.
Lucy James leaves GameSpot
Lucy James has left her role as lead video producer and host at GameSpot to launch an independent weekly newsletter, lookingfor.game, on Player.gg. The newsletter focuses on upcoming PC games and includes demo codes.
Conclusion
The games industry jobs June 2026 roundup includes new publishing, studio, board, and executive roles, alongside several promotions and departures. Following these changes can help developers, publishers, and job seekers understand how companies are building teams and assigning responsibility across the industry.
