Jobs roundup: September 2025 | Blizzard Entertainment appoints Walter Kong SVP of live games/mobile development

It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we compile them in semi-regular round-ups.

If you have new appointments or transitions in your company that belong here, please send the names of appointees, new role and company, and prior role and company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.

Walter Kong | SVP head of development of live games/mobile, Blizzard Entertainment

Walter Kong has been promoted to SVP head of development of live games/mobile at Blizzard Entertainment.

Kong joined Blizzard in 2011 as senior director of strategic initiatives, and was a member of Hearthstone's leadership team. He left in 2018 to join Epic Games as head of product management for analytics and business operations.

He returned to Blizzard in 2020 as executive producer before becoming general manager of Overwatch in 2021.

"I am honoured and grateful that I've been presented opportunities over those years to collaborate with talented colleagues and to make impact at a company I so love and admire," said Kong.

"While I'll still be leading the overall strategy for the Overwatch franchise, I'm also excited to be taking on Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, and Warcraft Rumble.

"I am greatly looking forward to working with these talented teams across a wide range of initiatives, existing and new. Additionally, I'm committed to fostering an environment of continuous learning, collaboration, and growth for all our team members."

Appcharge appoints new CFO and CRO

Appcharge, the direct-to-consumer payment platform for mobile game publishers, has appointed Nadav Hollander and Paul Bowen as CFO and CRO, respectively.

Former Appush CFO Hollander will be "responsible for strengthening the platform's financial infrastructure to better support publishers." He recently helped guide Appcharge through its $58 million Series B funding round led by IVP.

Former Stream Elements CRO Bowen will "ensure that the company is the go-to DTC payments platform for mobile gaming publishers." He also served as VP of account management at Unity, and was Tapjoy's VP of global developer relations.

"Nadav and Paul are both proven executives in the mobile games space, and each has demonstrated his strength in bringing companies into the future to fulfill their potential," said Appcharge CEO and co-founder Maor Sason.

"We are in a rapid and consequential evolution in the mobile space toward DTC, and Nadav and Paul will be key leaders for Appcharge to offer the top solution in this new era beyond app stores – and even beyond web stores, providing more choices for mobile game publishers and players alike."

Alexander Rehm | Product director of live ops, Epic Games

Alexander Rehm has joined Epic Games as product director of live ops at Epic Games.

Prior to this role, Rehm worked as live ops director at People Can Fly from January 2024 to August 2025, and director of live operations at Creative Assembly from June 2020 to December 2023.

"I am beyond excited to announce that I have joined Epic Games," said Rehm. "I love working in games-as-a-service and games-as-a-platform, and I love the work Epic have been doing across the board on that front.

"I am joining Epic as product director, live ops, for Epic Online Services, where I will be working on defining product strategy, roadmap development, live operations, and strategic planning relevant to the live ops space."

Marina Dögg Jónsdóttir | Head of people experiences, Starbreeze Entertainment

Starbreeze Entertainment has appointed Marina Dögg Jónsdóttir as head of people experiences.

Before joining Starbreeze, Jónsdóttir was head of talent at Cult of the North from March 2024 to August 2025. She was also senior technical recruiter at Epic Games from April 2021 to December 2023.

Jónsdóttir also worked at Wargaming as senior global recruiter in 2017, and was then promoted to lead recruiter in 2018.

She started her career in games at Icelandic developer CCP in 2012 as an HR intern, before becoming talent acquisition specialist then senior talent specialist.

"When one door closes, another one opens; I am super excited to share that I'm starting a new position as head of people experiences at Starbreeze Entertainment," said Jónsdóttir.

"This is such a great time to join the company, as we are going through big and meaningful changes and I am very excited to get to know the team and be part of this journey."

Mark Pawluk | Call of Duty (EMEA) influencer and creator manager, Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard has promoted Mark Pawluk to influencer and creator manager for Call of Duty (EMEA). Pawluk joined the firm in 2023 as senior communications specialist for Call of Duty (EMEA).

Prior to joining Activision Blizzard, Pawluk worked at Bastion. He started as account executive in 2019, making his way up the ranks to senior account executive then junior account manager.

Pawluk also worked at Warner Bros. Entertainment as international integrated communications apprentice for over a year. He worked on marketing campaigns for Mortal Kombat 11, Hitman 2 and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

Mike Mongeau | Head of product, k-ID

Mike Mongeau has been appointed head of product at global compliance platform k-ID.

Mongeau was previously principal product lead at Xbox. He worked for Microsoft for almost two decades, starting in 2006 as support engineer and PM for Windows, Windows Phone, KIN, and Sharepoint.

He became senior manager for Windows in 2017, then senior product manager for Microsoft 365.

"At Xbox, I watched studio after studio make the same impossible choice – innovate freely or ship globally, rarely both," said Mongeau.

"The culprit? A maze of age-based and feature specific regional laws, and compliance requirements that turn every new market into months of legal complexity. k-ID is doing something really important – making it possible for developers to create amazing digital experiences for young people without having to choose between innovation and safety.

"Their platform approach to global compliance means kids get age-appropriate access that actually grows with them, while creators focus on what they do best."

Jamie Hore | Deputy news editor, PCGamesN

PCGamesN has promoted Jamie Hore to deputy news editor.

Hore joined the publication in 2024 as news writer, before becoming senior news writer in April 2025. He previously worked for The Loadout for five years, starting as a staff writer in 2019, becoming senior staff writer in 2020 then deputy editor in 2021.

"Massively appreciate the show of faith from [news editor] Lauren Bergin and can't wait to help push the news section forward," said Hore.

"Moving back to day shifts to work more closely with our awesome news team has been the goal for a while, so it's great to finally get there."

Charlotte Nangle | PR and communications manager, Kepler Interactive

Charlotte Nangle has joined Kepler Interactive as PR and communications manager.

Prior to this move, Nangle was brand manager at Cult Games (previous Neon Hive) – a position she held for two years.

Nangle first joined Neonhive in 2012 as brand manager, before moving to Dlala Studios as brand/marketing and PR manager.

Nangle began her career in the games industry as a sales manager for Develop and account manager for MCV. She was also business development manager for Curve Digital, as well as partnerships and events manager – B2B events at Gaer Network.

Sabrina Carmona | Clash of Clans general manager, Supercell

Former Farm Heroes Saga general manager Sabrina Carmona has joined Supercell as general manager for Clash of Clans.

Carmona joined King in 2016 as midcore producer, before becoming new games producer for casual titles in 2018 then senior producer for casual live games.

In 2020, she became executive producer and head of Farm Heroes Saga, Candy Crush Friends, and Candy Crush Jelly Saga.

Prior to working at King, Carmona was process and portfolio manager at Goodgame Studios, joining as a producer in 2015.

Carmona started her career in 2010 as a game producer at Idealista. She founded and led independent developer MangoLab Studio in 2011, then joined Square Enix Latin America as publishing producer in 2013.

Mike Schoelch | Head of agency partnerships, Roblox

Roblox has appointed Mike Schoelch as head of agency partnerships.

Prior to joining the firm, Schoelch was head of agency and brand partnerships at Unity Grow Programmatic Solutions for almost three years.

He was also VP of global agency and brand sales at IronSource prior to the firm merging with Unity in 2022.

Before working in the games industry, Schoelch worked in advertising solutions at eBay and PayPal, as well as sales at brand advertising firm LoopMe.

"I’m grateful to the colleagues and partners who made the past six and a half years at Unity (and IronSource) such an incredible journey," said Schoelch.

"I’m excited to begin my next chapter at Roblox as Head of Agency Partnerships [...] In this role, I'll lead agency development efforts, strengthening Roblox’s relationships across the agency and programmatic video ecosystem."

Chris Rowe | Business development director, Innovecs Games

Chris Rowe has joined Innovec Games as business development director.

Rowe was studio director at Atomhawk Canada for seven years, having joined the industry in 2008 as an associate producer at Pivotal Games.

He moved to Midway Games in 2008 as associate producer, then a producer at Ninja Theory for two years. Rowe then joined Capcom in 2011 as senior producer on Dead Rising alongside new IP incubation and development.

He left the developer in 2014 to join Gumi Inc. as studio head and executive producer before returning to Capcom in 2016 as executive producer.

John Blakely | Senior development director, Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts has hired John Blakely as senior development director.

Blakely is known for being the CEO and co-founder of Mutant Arm Studios and Barnyard Games.

He has over two decades of experience in the industry, starting in 2002 at Sony Online Entertainment as senior producer for EverQuest 2 then vice president of development in 2005.

He also worked at Sphero for three years, joining in 2014 as vice president of product development before becoming chief product officer in 2015.

Shannon (Knepp) Leingang | Senior communications manager, Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog has appointed Shannon (Knepp) Leingang as senior communications manager.

Prior to joining the developer, Leingang worked at Golin for over five years. She joined in 2018 as manager, becoming senior manager in 2020 then director of influencer relations in 2022.

Leingang also worked at Fortyseven Communications for more than three years, starting in 2014 as account executive, climbing the ladder to senior account executive then account manager.

"This is truly a dream opportunity and I am so thrilled to begin my journey with [Naughty Dog's] amazing comms team," she said.