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 gather all the notable personnel moves in one place. If you know of a change at your studio—whether it’s a new appointment, a transition, or an exit—please forward the relevant details (name, new role, new company, previous role and company) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz so we can include it in the next edition. Tim Coombs has been named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs most recently 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.
Prior to his Xbox tenure, he worked at Amazon on its gaming initiatives: he started as product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017, then advanced to senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech, a position he kept until April 2020. His extensive experience in both console and cloud‑gaming branding makes him a strong fit for steering Luna’s market presence. Erik Mogensen has exited Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast after three years serving as senior director of business development for digital gaming.
Before joining Hasbro, Mogensen spent 23 years at Games Workshop, where his final role was 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 is now a senior producer at Blizzard Entertainment.
Rubin’s recent experience includes a senior producer stint at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset. Earlier, he spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise. His background in both live‑service and narrative‑driven mobile games should serve Blizzard’s expanding portfolio of cross‑platform experiences.
Andrey Odintsov has taken the helm 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 gaming projects. His expertise in performance marketing and data‑driven user acquisition will be valuable as Battlestate continues to expand its player base. Dan Lazarides has been appointed chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments.
Lazarides comes from Sega Europe, where he served as senior vice president of marketing, and he succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO role at Frontier in January. Cooke praised the new hire, stating, "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IPs.
His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum, and his appointment 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 they play our games." Cooke added that this approach is essential for maintaining Frontier’s position as a genre‑leading creative management simulation studio.
Karen Ionescu joins Kalypso Media UK as digital sales manager. Ionescu’s resume includes a sales‑manager role at Numskull Games as well as positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games, giving her a broad perspective on both retail and digital distribution channels. 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 originally joined the firm as an account executive in December 2025 and has quickly risen through the ranks thanks to her strong client‑service skills and deep understanding of the esports ecosystem.
Supercell appointed 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 several high‑profile mobile titles.
Nathan Solbrandt has become senior vice president of business development at fintech platform ZBD. Before this role, Solbrandt worked as a senior account executive at Motorica and served as vice president of business development for the Americas at Xsolla, giving him a solid foundation in both gaming and financial services.
Olivia Lee is now internal events producer at Riot Games. Lee previously held the associate producer title for internal events and programs, where she coordinated large‑scale employee gatherings and community‑building initiatives. Ciarah Pritchard has taken on the role of account coordinator at Xsolla. Prior to joining Xsolla, she worked as an account performance manager at Playback Rewards, focusing on optimizing publisher relationships and revenue streams.
Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as vice president of communications. Thompson’s history with Bethesda dates back to 2009 when she joined as director of publications, later becoming associate VP of communications. She left in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she served as head of 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 hired as social media marketing manager for Nintendo of America. Before Nintendo, Richter managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she developed audience‑growth strategies and coordinated cross‑platform campaigns.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer. Duffield previously held the senior narrative designer title at Series Entertainment, crafting storylines and character arcs for several indie titles. UK publisher Yogscast Games announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis, Robin Mawhinney, and Charlotte Pang. Willis will serve as PR and influencer manager, coming from Diva Agency where she was creator and community director.
Mawhinney joins as production coordinator after working as a junior producer at Atelier 11. Pang becomes publishing coordinator; her 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 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 is now 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 Rockstar. Joe Chard has been appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games.
Chard’s prior experience includes six years 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 mobile and console product strategy positions him to guide Netflix’s growing gaming portfolio.
These appointments, departures, and promotions illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the gaming industry, highlighting how experience across platforms, genres, and even adjacent sectors such as fintech and AI continues to shape the future of interactive entertainment.