Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If you know of a staffing change that belongs in this list—whether it’s a new appointment, a transition, or a farewell—please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Tim Coombs has been named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna.
Prior to this, Coombs spent six years at Xbox, where he rose to director of brand management after joining in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. His Amazon résumé begins in 2017 as product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard, followed by a stint as senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020.
Coombs now brings that blend of console‑centric branding and cloud‑gaming expertise to Luna, Amazon’s streaming game service. Erik Mogensen has exited Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast after a three‑year tenure as senior director of business development for digital gaming.
Before that, he devoted 23 years to Games Workshop, culminating in the role of head of business development and consumer‑product licensing. "It’s not lost on me how special it’s been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands," Mogensen reflected.
"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." Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin’s recent experience includes senior producer duties at Netflix, where he helped launch two mobile titles—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset.
Earlier in his career he spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov has been appointed head of marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov previously led user acquisition at Multicast Games and now operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for a range of gaming projects. Dan Lazarides steps into the chief marketing officer role at Frontier Developments.
Lazarides comes from Sega Europe, where he served as senior vice president of marketing. He replaces Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO position at Frontier in January. "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry’s largest IPs," Frontier CEO Jo Cooke said. "His leadership will sustain our upward momentum and reinforce our player‑first strategy, ensuring our publishing team champions creativity and celebrates how players engage with our games." Karen Ionescu has been hired as digital sales manager for Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu’s background includes a sales‑manager role at Numskull Games as well as positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson commented, "We’re thrilled to have Karen on board; her deep commercial knowledge and long‑standing relationships across retail and digital channels make her a fantastic addition to the team." Hannah Barrett earned a promotion to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right. Barrett originally joined the firm as an account executive in December 2025 and has quickly demonstrated the client‑service acumen that warranted her advancement.
Supercell announced the appointment of Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously spent four years handling contracts at Metacore, bringing a solid foundation in licensing and partnership negotiations to the Finnish mobile‑game powerhouse. Nathan Solbrandt has been named senior vice president of business development at fintech platform ZBD.
Solbrandt’s prior roles include senior account executive at Motorica and vice‑president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla, giving him a broad perspective on payment solutions and publisher services. Olivia Lee takes on the role of internal events producer at Riot Games. Lee previously worked as an associate producer for internal events and programs, coordinating employee‑focused experiences that reinforce company culture. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as an account coordinator after serving as account performance manager at Playback Rewards, where she optimized client outcomes and revenue tracking.
Tracey Thompson returns 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 headed product and studio integrated communications.
"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," Thompson said. Maddie Richter has been appointed social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America. Before joining Nintendo, Richter managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she honed skills in audience engagement and brand storytelling.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer. Duffield previously held the senior narrative designer position at Series Entertainment, contributing to story‑craft and world‑building 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, having worked as a junior producer at Atelier 11. Pang steps in as publishing coordinator; her background includes production, animation, and art roles at 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 Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors to build an interactive AI platform that empowers creators to generate novel worlds and narratives. "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," Holm explained.
Sathvik Sudireddy becomes marketing manager for live services at Rockstar Games. Sudireddy previously worked as product manager on Call of Duty at Activision after completing an internship in business development at the same studio.
Joe Chard has been named lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard’s résumé includes a six‑year tenure as vice president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, along with senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These movements reflect the dynamic nature of the gaming ecosystem, where talent continually shifts between studios, publishers, and emerging tech firms, driving innovation and shaping the experiences that players enjoy worldwide.