Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a daunting task. To make it easier for industry observers, we regularly gather these movements into concise round‑up articles. If you know of any noteworthy personnel changes at your organization—whether it’s a new appointment, a promotion, or a departure—please forward the relevant details (name, new role, company, and previous position) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Tim Coombs has been named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs brings a deep background in console and cloud gaming branding. He spent the previous six years at Xbox, where he rose from senior manager of brand strategy (starting in 2020) to director of brand management, a role he held until July 2026. Earlier in his career, Coombs joined Amazon’s game‑related divisions in 2017 as product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard, later advancing to senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech, a post he occupied until April 2020.
His experience straddles both the traditional console ecosystem and emerging cloud‑gaming services, positioning him well to steer Luna’s brand narrative. Erik Mogensen has exited Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast after a three‑year stint 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. Reflecting on his career, he said, "It’s not lost on me how special it’s been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands. First Warhammer, and most recently Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers… the list goes on. I’m very much looking forward to my next chapter, whatever and wherever that may be." His departure marks the end of a period in which he helped translate iconic tabletop IPs into digital experiences.
Ryan Rubin has joined Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin’s resume includes a senior producer role at Netflix, where he oversaw two shipped 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. His blend of mobile‑first production experience and deep familiarity with live‑service ecosystems should serve Blizzard well as the company expands its portfolio beyond traditional PC and console titles.
Andrey Odintsov is now head of marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various game publishers. His expertise in data‑driven acquisition strategies is expected to boost Battlestate’s visibility for titles such as Escape from Tarkov. Dan Lazarides has been appointed chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments.
Lazarides arrives from Sega Europe, where he served as senior vice president of marketing. He succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO role at Frontier in January.
Cooke praised the appointment, stating, "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings with him a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IP. His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum, and his appointment to the role of CMO highlights our focus on our communities. Dan will be at the heart of our player‑first strategy, ensuring our publishing team champions player creativity and celebrates the way in which they play our games.
This strategy is paramount to our position as a genre‑leading creative management simulation studio and ensures that we continue to create incredible games." Karen Ionescu steps into the role of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s background includes a sales manager position at Numskull Games and prior roles at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson welcomed her, noting, "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels, making her a fantastic addition to the team." Hannah Barrett has been promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right.
Barrett joined the firm as an account executive in December 2025 and quickly demonstrated the client‑service acumen that earned her this promotion. Supercell has hired Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore, where she oversaw licensing agreements and partnership contracts for mobile titles.
Nathan Solbrandt takes on the role of senior vice president of business development at fintech platform ZBD. Solbrandt’s prior experience includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑presidential business development role for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee becomes internal events producer at Riot Games, moving up from associate producer for internal events and programs.
Her responsibilities will now encompass larger-scale cultural initiatives and employee engagement activities across Riot’s global studios. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as an account coordinator after serving as account performance manager at Playback Rewards, where she helped optimize publisher revenue streams. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as vice president of communications. Thompson’s Bethesda tenure began in 2009 as director of publications; she later became associate VP of communications before leaving in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she led product and studio integrated communications.
Upon her return, she said, "I’m looking forward to partnering with the talented people across Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the teams behind some of the most iconic franchises in entertainment, and helping bring their creativity and vision to players around the world." Maddie Richter has been named social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America. Before joining Nintendo, Richter managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she honed her skills in audience growth and brand storytelling. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer. Duffield previously held the senior narrative designer title at Series Entertainment, contributing to story architecture for several indie titles.
UK publisher Yogscast Games announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis, Robin Mawhinney, and Charlotte Pang. Willis becomes PR and influencer manager after serving as creator and community director at Diva Agency. Mawhinney joins as production coordinator, previously a junior producer at Atelier 11.
Pang takes on the publishing coordinator role; her background includes production, animation, and art work for Team Gramps and Queensguard, as well as teaching game design, animation, and coding at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone. Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have joined Roblox’s Foundation AI team to support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Holm remarked, "At Jars AI we saw hundreds of thousands of creators use AI to shape weird new worlds and stories, and we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of AI entertainment in our new roles." Sathvik Sudireddy becomes marketing manager for live services at Rockstar Games. Sudireddy previously worked as a product manager on Call of Duty at Activision and began his career with an internship in business development at the same studio. Joe Chard has been appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard’s prior experience includes a six‑year stint as vice president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment. His extensive background in live‑service product strategy is expected to help shape Netflix’s emerging gaming division.
These appointments, departures, and promotions reflect the dynamic nature of the gaming industry, where talent moves fluidly between studios, platforms, and even adjacent sectors such as fintech and AI. Each individual brings a unique blend of experience that will influence the strategic direction of their new organizations, whether that involves expanding cloud‑gaming services, strengthening brand narratives, or pioneering AI‑driven creation tools.
The continued cross‑pollination of expertise underscores how interconnected the broader entertainment ecosystem has become, and it promises fresh innovations for players worldwide.