Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the gaming sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel moves across the industry. If you know of any recent appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new employer, as well as their previous role and company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Tim Coombs has been named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Prior to this, Coombs spent several years at Microsoft’s Xbox division, where he served as director of brand management until July 2026 after joining the platform in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. His Amazon résumé dates back to 2017 when he took on the role of product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard, later advancing to senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech, a position he held until April 2020. Erik Mogensen is leaving Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast after a three‑year stint as senior director of business development for digital gaming.
Before that, Mogensen 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," he 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 has joined Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin’s most recent experience was at Netflix, where he helped bring two mobile titles to market—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 is now the head of marketing at Battlestate Games.
He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent consultant focusing on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for video‑game projects. Dan Lazarides has been appointed chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides comes from Sega Europe, where he was senior vice president of marketing.
He steps into the CMO role after Jo Cooke moved to become Frontier’s chief executive officer in January. "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings with him a wealth of experience on some of the industry’s largest IP," Cooke said. "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." Cooke added, "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 has taken the role of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK.
Her background includes a sales‑manager position at Numskull Games as well as stints at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson praised the hire: "We’re delighted to welcome Karen to Kalypso Media UK.
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 earned a promotion to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right. Barrett originally joined the firm in December 2025 as an account executive and has progressed rapidly within the organization.
Supercell announced that Anni Pyy will serve as contract manager. Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore, where she oversaw licensing agreements and partnership contracts.
Nathan Solbrandt has been named senior vice president of business development at fintech platform ZBD. His prior experience includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president role for business development covering the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee is now internal events producer at Riot Games, having previously worked as associate producer for internal events and programs within the company. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as an account coordinator after serving as account performance manager at Playback Rewards.
Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as vice president of communications. Thompson originally 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 hired as social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America. Before this, she managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she helped grow the airline’s digital presence and engagement. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer.
Duffield’s most recent role was senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment, where she crafted storylines and character arcs for several indie titles. The UK‑based publisher Yogscast Games revealed 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 previously worked as a junior producer at Atelier 11. Pang takes the publishing coordinator role; her background includes producing, animating, 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 been added to Roblox’s Foundation AI team to support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded the interactive AI platform Jars AI in 2023 and secured $3.5 million in funding from Google and other investors.
"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. He 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 appointed 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, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These appointments, departures, and promotions illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the video‑game and interactive‑entertainment sectors. As companies continue to expand their portfolios, invest in new technologies, and explore emerging markets, the demand for experienced marketers, producers, and business development leaders remains high.
Keeping an eye on these shifts can provide valuable insight into where the industry is heading and which studios are positioning themselves for future growth.