Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the gaming sector can be a challenge, which is why we regularly publish concise round‑ups of the most noteworthy personnel moves. If you know of any new appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please email the relevant details (name, new role, new company, prior role, and prior company) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Tim Coombs has been named the head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs spent the bulk of the past six years at Microsoft’s Xbox division, where he rose to director of brand management before leaving in July 2026.
He originally joined Xbox in 2020 as a senior manager for brand strategy, after a stint at Amazon where he oversaw product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard starting in 2017 and later led the Amazon Game Tech team as senior product marketing manager and team lead until April 2020. Erik Mogensen is exiting Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast after a three‑year tenure as senior director of business development for digital gaming.
Prior to his time at Hasbro, Mogensen devoted 23 years to Games Workshop, culminating in the role of head of business development and consumer‑product licensing. "It hasn't escaped my notice how special it has been to work on, and for, my favorite brands," Mogensen said. "From the original Warhammer to recent titles like Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Transformers, the list keeps growing.
I’m eager to see what the next chapter holds, wherever it may take me." Ryan Rubin has joined Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin previously held a senior producer position at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset. Before that, he spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise.
Andrey Odintsov has taken the helm of marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov’s most recent role was user‑acquisition manager at Multicast Games, and he currently operates as an independent consultant focused on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for game companies. Dan Lazarides has been promoted to chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. He arrives from Sega Europe, where he served as senior vice president of marketing, and succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO seat at Frontier in January.
"We’re thrilled to have Dan on board; his extensive experience with some of the industry’s biggest IPs will be a major asset," said Cooke. "His leadership will keep Frontier’s upward trajectory alive, and his appointment underscores our commitment to community‑first thinking. Dan will be central to our player‑first strategy, ensuring our publishing teams amplify player creativity and celebrate the diverse ways gamers engage with our titles." Karen Ionescu has been appointed digital sales manager for Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu’s background includes a sales manager role at Numskull Games and prior positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson welcomed her, noting, "Karen brings a wealth of commercial expertise and deep relationships across both retail and digital channels, making her a fantastic addition to our team." Hannah Barrett has been promoted to senior account executive at the esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right.
Barrett originally joined the firm as an account executive in December 2025 and has quickly demonstrated the skill set required for the senior role. Supercell announced the hiring of Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously spent four years handling contract management at Metacore.
Nathan Solbrandt has been named senior vice president of business development at fintech platform ZBD. Before this, he was a senior account executive at Motorica and served as vice president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee has taken the position of internal events producer at Riot Games, following a prior role as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard is now an account coordinator at Xsolla, after working as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
Tracey Thompson has returned to Bethesda as vice president of communications. Thompson first joined Bethesda in 2009 as director of publications, later becoming associate VP of communications. She left in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she led product and studio integrated communications. "I’m excited to collaborate with the talented teams at Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the creators behind some of the most iconic franchises and helping bring their vision to players worldwide," Thompson said.
Maddie Richter has become the social media marketing manager for Nintendo of America, after serving as social media manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield has joined Yotta Games as a narrative designer.
Duffield previously held a senior narrative designer position at Series Entertainment. The UK‑based publisher Yogscast Games revealed three new hires: Charlotte Willis, Robin Mawhinney, and Charlotte Pang.
Willis assumes the role of PR and influencer manager, previously working at Diva Agency as a creator and community director. Mawhinney joins as a production coordinator, having been a junior producer at Atelier 11.
Pang steps in as publishing coordinator; her background includes roles as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching game design, animation, and coding at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone. Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox’s Foundation AI team to support the platform’s mobile‑first AI creation tool, Build, in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded the AI interactive platform Jars AI in 2023, securing $3.5 million in funding from Google and other investors. "At Jars AI we observed hundreds of thousands of creators leveraging AI to craft novel worlds and stories, and we’re excited to continue pushing the frontiers of AI entertainment in our new roles," Holm explained.
Sathvik Sudireddy is now marketing manager for live services at Rockstar Games. Prior to this, Sudireddy worked as a product manager on Call of Duty at Activision, following an internship in business development at the same developer.
Joe Chard has been named lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard’s previous experience includes a six‑year stint as vice president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior leadership positions in gaming at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These appointments collectively illustrate the fluid nature of talent movement within the interactive entertainment industry, where seasoned professionals continually shift between studios, publishers, and service providers, carrying with them valuable expertise that fuels innovation across platforms and genres.