Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel changes. If you know of a new appointment or a transition that belongs 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 the head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously held the position of director of brand management at Xbox, a role he occupied until July 2026 after joining the platform in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. Earlier in his career, he served as product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017, then advanced to senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech, a post he kept until April 2020.
His extensive background in both console and cloud‑gaming marketing makes him a strong fit for steering Luna’s brand presence. Erik Mogensen has exited Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast after three years as senior director of business development for digital gaming. Prior to his tenure at Hasbro, Mogensen spent 23 years at 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." Ryan Rubin has joined Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin’s most recent experience was at Netflix, where he served as senior producer on two mobile titles that reached market: Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset.
Before that, he spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends intellectual property. Andrey Odintsov has been appointed head of marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov previously worked as the user acquisition manager for Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent consultant focusing on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for video‑game projects. Dan Lazarides steps into the role of chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments.
He arrives from Sega Europe, where he was senior vice president of marketing. Lazarides replaces Jo Cooke, who moved into the chief‑executive officer position at Frontier 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," said Cooke.
"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." Karen Ionescu has taken the position of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s background includes a stint as sales manager at Numskull Games and earlier roles at Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing director Andrew Johnson commented, "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 as an account executive in December 2025 and has since demonstrated the client‑service acumen that merited her advancement.
Supercell announced the hiring of Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore, where she managed licensing and partnership agreements for the studio’s portfolio of mobile titles. Nathan Solbrandt has been named senior vice president of business development at fintech platform ZBD.
Before this appointment, Solbrandt worked as a senior account executive at Motorica and served as vice president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as internal events producer. Lee’s prior experience includes an associate producer role focused on internal events and programs, where she coordinated employee‑focused activities and culture‑building initiatives.
Ciarah Pritchard takes on the role of account coordinator at Xsolla, after previously serving as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards, where she oversaw client metrics and optimization strategies. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as vice president of communications. Thompson’s history with Bethesda began in 2009 as director of publications; she later became associate VP of communications before departing in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she led product and studio integrated communications. Upon her return, she remarked, "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 appointed social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America.
Prior to joining Nintendo, Richter managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she crafted campaigns that boosted engagement across multiple platforms. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer. Duffield previously held the senior narrative designer title at Series Entertainment, contributing to story development and world‑building for several indie projects. The UK‑based publisher Yogscast Games announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis, Robin Mawhinney, and Charlotte Pang.
Willis becomes the PR and influencer manager after serving as creator and community director at Diva Agency. Mawhinney joins as production coordinator, bringing experience as a junior producer at Atelier 11. Pang steps into 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 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 and secured $3.5 million in funding from Google and other investors. Holm explained, "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 joins Rockstar Games as marketing manager for live services. Sudireddy’s previous experience includes a product manager role 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 résumé includes a six‑year tenure at Jam City, where he served as vice president, studio general manager, and head of product, as well as senior positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the gaming industry’s talent landscape, highlighting how seasoned professionals continue to move between leading studios, tech firms, and emerging platforms, shaping the future of interactive entertainment.