Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel moves. If you know of any recent appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new company, as well as their previous role and employer 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 held the role of director of brand management until July 2026. He originally joined Xbox in 2020 as senior manager for brand strategy, and before that he was product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017. He later advanced to senior product marketing manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech, a position he occupied until April 2020.
His deep experience in both console and cloud‑gaming branding makes him a strong fit for guiding Luna’s market 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 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," Mogensen 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 joins Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer. Rubin previously served as a senior producer at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles: 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.
His background in both live‑service and mobile experiences positions him well to support Blizzard’s expanding portfolio. Andrey Odintsov has been appointed head of marketing at Battlestate Games. Before this role, Odintsov managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for a variety of gaming projects.
His expertise in performance marketing and scaling user bases will be instrumental as Battlestate continues to grow its player community. Dan Lazarides steps into the chief marketing officer role at Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously served as senior vice‑president of marketing for Sega Europe. He replaces Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO 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," Frontier CEO Jo 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." Karen Ionescu has taken the post of digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu previously worked as sales manager at Numskull Games and has held positions 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 joined the firm as an account executive in December 2025 and has quickly risen through the ranks. Supercell announced the appointment of Anni Pyy 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.
Solbrandt’s background includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑presidential stint in business development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee becomes internal events producer at Riot Games, having previously served as associate producer for internal events and programs within the company. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as an account coordinator after working 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 led 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 appointed social media marketing manager at Nintendo of America. Prior to this, Richter managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she honed her skills in audience engagement and brand storytelling.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a narrative designer. Duffield previously served as senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment, contributing to story development and world‑building 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 working at Diva Agency as creator and community director.
Mawhinney joins as production coordinator, bringing experience as a junior producer at Atelier 11. Pang is appointed 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 help advance 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. "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 joins Rockstar Games as marketing manager for live services. Sudireddy previously worked as product manager on Call of Duty at Activision and completed an internship in business development at Rockstar.
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 the gaming industry, where talent moves rapidly between studios, publishers, and tech firms. Each new hire brings a blend of experience and fresh perspective that can shape the direction of their new organizations, while departures often signal the end of an era and the start of new opportunities for seasoned executives.
By tracking these changes, industry observers can gain insight into emerging trends, strategic priorities, and the evolving competitive landscape across console, mobile, cloud, and AI‑driven gaming sectors.