Jobs roundup: August 2026 | CodeDev Group appoints Ben Board as CEO of The Performance Guys

August’s jobs roundup is heavy on leadership changes, with a noticeable tilt toward marketing, business development, and production roles rather than pure engineering. The standout appointment is Ben Board becoming CEO of CodeDev Group’s optimization arm, The Performance Guys, after senior stints at Epic Games, Bullfrog, Lionhead, and BossAlien. That move underlines how performance work is being positioned as a strategic service, not just a late-stage cleanup pass.

There’s also a lot of movement around major IP holders and platform teams. James Turner has returned to The Pokémon Company International as creative director of Pokémon Art and Design, while Tracey Thompson is back at Bethesda as VP of communications. On the publishing and platform side, Nate Nanzer has left Epic for Paramount Games, and Tim Coombs has rejoined Amazon to lead brand marketing for Luna after a recent stint at Xbox.

For developers, these changes matter because they shape who owns the relationship between studios, platforms, and players. New marketing and business leads can change launch strategy, community positioning, and platform support, while production and creative hires often signal where a company is investing next. The list also shows how much senior talent continues to circulate between games, entertainment, and adjacent media sectors.

The broader pattern is familiar but important: experienced people are moving into roles that sit close to monetization, brand, and cross-media strategy, while specialist teams like audio, art production, and narrative continue to recruit from across the...