Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a challenge, which is why we regularly publish concise round‑ups of the most noteworthy personnel movements. If you know of any new appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, as well as the previous role and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Tim Coombs has been named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs spent the last 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.
Earlier in his career, he helped launch Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 as product marketing manager and later advanced to senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech, a position he held until April 2020. His blend of console‑level branding expertise and deep familiarity with Amazon’s game‑development tools makes him a strong fit to steer Luna’s brand identity as the service expands its library and global reach. 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 that, Mogensen dedicated 23 years to Games Workshop, culminating in the role of head of business development and consumer product licensing. Reflecting on his tenure, 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 signals a shift for Wizards as the company continues to explore new digital experiences for its storied franchises.
Ryan Rubin has joined Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin previously held a senior producer role 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 intellectual property.
His experience spanning streaming‑driven games and live‑service titles is expected to bolster Blizzard’s expanding portfolio of live‑ops and cross‑platform projects. Andrey Odintsov has been promoted to head of marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov came from Multicast Games, where he managed user acquisition, and currently works as an independent consultant focusing on growth and go‑to‑market strategies for gaming startups. His data‑driven approach should help Battlestate amplify the reach of its flagship titles.
Dan Lazarides has taken the helm as chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides arrives from Sega Europe, where he served as senior vice president of marketing, and replaces 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." The statement underscores Frontier’s commitment to community‑centric development and the importance of marketing that reflects player feedback. Karen Ionescu has been named digital sales manager for Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu previously led sales at Numskull Games and has held positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games, giving her a broad perspective on both retail and digital distribution channels.
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 quickly demonstrated the strategic insight needed to manage high‑profile esports clients.
Supercell has brought Anni Pyy on board as contract manager. Pyy spent four years in a similar capacity at Metacore, where she oversaw licensing agreements and partnership contracts for mobile titles. Nathan Solbrandt has been appointed senior vice president of business development at fintech platform ZBD.
Solbrandt’s background includes a senior account executive role at Motorica and a vice‑president position overseeing Americas‑wide business development at Xsolla, experience that should help ZBD expand its financial services for game developers. Olivia Lee is now internal events producer at Riot Games.
Previously she served as associate producer for internal events and programs, coordinating large‑scale employee gatherings and community‑building initiatives within the studio. Ciarah Pritchard has taken the role of account coordinator at Xsolla after working as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards, where she optimized client ROI and managed cross‑functional reporting. Tracey Thompson has returned 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.
Upon her return, Thompson 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 appointed social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America. Before joining Nintendo, Richter managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she honed expertise in audience engagement and brand storytelling. Dana Duffield has joined Yotta Games as a narrative designer.
Duffield previously served as senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment, contributing to story development for several indie titles. Yogscast Games, a UK‑based publisher, 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, while Pang steps in as publishing coordinator.
Pang’s background includes roles as producer, animator, and artist 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 raised $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 has become marketing manager for live services at Rockstar Games.
Sudireddy previously worked as a product manager on Call of Duty at Activision after completing an internship in business development at the same developer. Joe Chard has been named lead product manager at Netflix Games.
Chard brings a wealth of experience, having served as vice president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City for six years, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Their expertise in live‑service product pipelines is expected to accelerate Netflix’s ambitions in the gaming space. These appointments, departures, and promotions collectively illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the video‑game and interactive‑entertainment industries, highlighting how companies are constantly reshaping their leadership teams to adapt to evolving market demands and emerging technologies.