Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the gaming sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups to capture the most notable moves. If your organization has announced new appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please email the name, new title, company, and prior position to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Tim Coombs has been named head of brand marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs spent the previous several years at Microsoft’s Xbox division, where he served as director of brand management until July 2026 after joining the console maker in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy. His Amazon résumé dates back to 2017 when he took on the product marketing manager role for Amazon Lumberyard, later advancing to senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech, a position he held until April 2020.
After a three‑year stint as senior director of business development for digital gaming at Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, Erik Mogensen has exited the company. Mogensen’s career began at Games Workshop, where he spent 23 years and ultimately led 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 – from the original Warhammer to the latest Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers, and beyond.
I’m eager to see what the next chapter holds, wherever it may take me." Blizzard Entertainment welcomes Ryan Rubin as a senior producer. Rubin’s most recent experience includes senior producer duties at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset.
Prior to that, he spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov has taken the helm of marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various game projects. Frontier Developments announced the appointment of Dan Lazarides as chief marketing officer.
Lazarides comes from a senior vice‑president of marketing role at Sega Europe, succeeding Jo Cooke after her elevation to Frontier’s CEO earlier this year. "We are thrilled to have Dan on board," said Cooke. "His deep experience with some of the industry's biggest IPs will help sustain Frontier’s upward trajectory.
As CMO, Dan will drive our player‑first strategy, ensuring our publishing teams champion community creativity and celebrate the diverse ways players engage with our games." Kalypso Media UK has added Karen Ionescu as digital sales manager. Ionescu previously led sales at Numskull Games and has held roles at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing director Andrew Johnson commented, "Karen’s extensive commercial expertise and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital channels make her a fantastic addition to our team." At esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, Hannah Barrett has been promoted to senior account executive after joining as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell named Anni Pyy as contract manager; Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore.
Fintech platform ZBD welcomed Nathan Solbrandt as senior vice president of business development. Solbrandt’s background includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑president role for the Americas at Xsolla. Riot Games appointed Olivia Lee as internal events producer.
Lee’s prior experience includes an associate producer role for internal events and programs within the company. Xsolla added Ciarah Pritchard as an account coordinator after she served as account performance manager at Playback Rewards. After a decade at Bethesda, Tracey Thompson has returned 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 a head‑of‑product‑and‑studio‑integrated‑communications position at Electronic Arts. "I’m excited to collaborate with the talented teams at Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the creators behind some of the most iconic franchises and helping bring their vision to players worldwide," Thompson said.
Nintendo of America announced Maddie Richter as social media marketing manager. Richter previously managed social media for Alaska Airlines. Narrative designer Dana Duffield has joined Yotta Games, coming from a senior narrative designer role at Series Entertainment.
UK publisher Yogscast Games revealed three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and influencer manager, Robin Mawhinney as production coordinator, and Charlotte Pang as publishing coordinator. Willis previously served as creator and community director at Diva Agency. Mawhinney worked as a junior producer at Atelier 11, while Pang has experience as a producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and has also taught game design, animation, and coding at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone.
Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have joined the Foundation AI team at Roblox 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.
Holm noted, "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. He previously worked as a product manager on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at the developer. Finally, Joe Chard has been appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games.
Chard’s background includes a six‑year tenure as vice president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City, as well as senior positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.