September 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Xbox Game Studios’ chief of staff, Metacore’s culture-conscious hire, Lightspeed recruits Capcom veterans, and more

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To keep you up to date with the latest movers and shakers in the mobile games industry, we’ve put together a regular roundup of the latest hires, promotions and, in some cases, exits.

If you’ve recently joined a company or bagged a big promotion, or you’re an employer that’s just made a hire, drop us an email at news@pocketgamer.biz.

Metacore and Microsoft’s high-up hires

Bringing experience from across commercial sectors, Mike Nicodemus has been hired as Metacore’s new head of people and culture. His mission is to scale people practices while nurturing company culture across locales, bringing Metacore’s people and talent acquisition functions closer together.

Based in Berlin, Nicodemus brings prior experience from organisations like Starbucks, Nike, Vinted and SumUp. His appointment reflects Metacore’s commitment to its Berlin hub, as the Merge Mansion maker looks to enable relocation opportunities for talent.

“What drew me to Metacore was how intentionally culture is treated as a business enabler, not as buzz words,” said Nicodemus.

“The focus on psychological safety, wellbeing and transparency is rare. I look forward to scaling our people practices globally, while also strengthening the Berlin office as a key talent hub. I’m eager to learn the mobile game industry and work with Metacore’s creative teams to help unleash their potential.”

Games veteran Louise O’Connor has joined Microsoft as Xbox Game Studios’ chief of staff, moving on from Rare after 25 years.

Her journey at Rare began as an animator in 1999, when O’Connor started work in the middle of Conker’s Bad Fur Day. By 2009 she had risen to head of animation, and continued rising higher until her appointment as executive producer in 2017. O’Connor had an eight-year run in this position.

Now at Xbox, she will support “some of the most iconic gaming studios, leaders and teams in the world” and focus on fostering connection and collaboration across Xbox Game Studios.

Krafton and Lightspeed’s key new recruits

Krafton India has hired Huzaifa Arab as studio head as the company is busy expanding its presence and workforce in the country.

Arab brings experience from Kreeda Games India, Hypernova Interactive and most recently MHXP. He has held game designer roles, was Hypernova’s CTO, and was director of product engineering during his year at MHXP.

“Some roles are jobs. Others are missions. Thrilled to share that I’ve joined Krafton India as studio head, as part of its India Game Development team,” he posted on LinkedIn.

Chinese developer Lightspeed Studios has hired multiple Capcom veterans to its new office in Osaka, Japan, including Bingo Morihashi and Daigo Ikeno.

The pair have both served on the Devil May Cry series and bring over 50 years of combined experience to Lightspeed. Ikeno’s illustrations and character designs have also been featured in various Street Fighter titles.

At Lightspeed Japan, Morihashi is narrative lead and Ikeno is art director. They are working under fellow Capcom veteran Hideaki Itsuno, who has led Lightspeed Japan since its Tokyo studio opened last year.

Latest developments at Sensemitter and Epic Games

After stepping back into the world of AI this January, Isabel Ferreira has teamed up with Sensemitter to measure emotional engagement in playtesting.

Ferreira brings experience in mobile UA and has worked at companies like Supersonic, Phunware, Appsumer and Adjust. She also has experience at AI companies Replai and Alison.ai, having served in directorial business development roles at each.

“Gaming has always been my passion and although I’ve taken a break from mobile UA, I’m thrilled to announce I’ve joined forces with Katie Madding at Sensemitter to finally measure what actually matters in playtesting, emotional engagement,” Ferreira posted on LinkedIn.

“It’s my first time working with an inspiring female CEO and honestly, it already feels like two twin mums taking on the world. Thanks for the opportunity, Katie, I know we’re going to do great things together.”

Alexander Rehm has taken on the role of product director, live ops at Epic Games, where he will be involved in roadmap development as he looks to drive engagement and monetisation initiatives.

Defining product strategy will also form a part of this role, with Rehm bringing his latest live ops experience at People Can Gly Studio to the table.

“I am beyond excited to announce that I have joined Epic Games today,” he posted on LinkedIn.

“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.”

New hires at Tamatem Games, Wizards of the Coast and more

Sohaib Thiab has joined Tamatem Games as chief product officer, bringing his perspective on product leadership from outside the games industry at companies like Foodics and Eneco.

Wizards of the Coast has hired games industry veteran Michael de Plater as studio head and game director, where he will leverage his experience from EA, Warner Bros Games, Ubisoft and more.

k-ID has hired Erik Bryant as its new senior account manager after 2.5 years as an investor at Libation Labs.

Courtney Touchstone brings more than 15 years of experience to her new position at Stash, where she now serves as head of marketing.

Promotions and shift-ups across Anzu, Embracer, Moon Active and others

Noah Edelman is a new contractor at Anzu, working as a business development advisor.

Now that Moonrock has acquired growth agency Umbr, its former CEO Scott Nellessen has been officially welcomed as Moonrock VP of growth marketing.

Embracer Group has appointed a new board of directors for the Coffee Stain Group, including Jacob Jonmyren as chair, Anton Westbergh as CEO, Sara Börsvik, Henrik Tjärnström, Kicki Wallje-Lund and Embracer co-founder Lars Wingefors.

Jamie Stowe has been promoted to head of design at Hutch during his second year with the company, after joining as creative director in 2024.

Shay Sobel has been appointed as VP of corporate development at Moon Active, marking his third role in six years at the Israeli company.