Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel shifts. If you know of a change that belongs in this list—whether it’s a new appointment, a promotion, or a departure—please forward the individual's name, new title, new company, as well as their previous role and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Nate Nanzer has announced his departure from Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to assume the role of Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. During his time at Epic, Nanzer held a series of senior positions, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said in a statement. "I've spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the opportunity to help build what comes next at Paramount was simply too compelling to pass up." He added, "I'm deeply grateful to everyone at Epic and to all of the partners I've had the opportunity to work with along the way.
I'll always be proud of what we accomplished together and will be cheering the team on from the sidelines." Julia Gutnik has been appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Prior to this, Gutnik led media, social and analytics at Kia America and spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she headed digital and ad‑tech media initiatives. "After two years navigating the auto industry, I am returning to my entertainment roots, and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik remarked.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer. She previously worked as a producer at Roarty Digital, contributing to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego Fortnite crossover. Aysu Kutbay has taken the position of Product Manager at Grand Games, coming from a similar role at Rollic where she oversaw product pipelines and live‑ops strategies.
David Bailey is back at Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined the company in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now returns to help steer licensing for the expansive Warhammer universe. "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he said. "It's an incredible opportunity and it's great to be back in the fold working alongside great people." Liana Murphy has been named Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage.
Her most recent experience includes serving concurrently as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs steps into the role of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously served as Director of Brand Management at Xbox until July 2026, after joining the Xbox team in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. He also held product marketing leadership positions for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and Amazon Game Tech (until April 2020). Erik Mogensen has exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming. Before that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently as 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 Senior Producer.
Rubin previously held a senior producer role at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset. He also spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov has been appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games.
His background includes a stint as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and work as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming projects. Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO in January. Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised the hire: "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. This strategy is paramount to our position as a genre‑leading creative management simulation studio and ensures that we continue to create incredible games." Karen Ionescu takes on the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK.
She previously worked as Sales Manager at Numskull Games and has held positions 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 has been promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager. Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore. Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
His prior experience includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a Vice President role for Business Development at Xsolla covering the Americas. Olivia Lee is now Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, having previously served as Associate Producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as 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, before leaving in 2019 for a head‑of‑product and studio integrated communications role at Electronic Arts.
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 named Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after serving as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, coming from a senior narrative designer position at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games, the UK‑based publisher, announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and Influencer Manager (formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as Production Coordinator (previously Junior Producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang as Publishing Coordinator (with a background as producer, animator and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching experience at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox's Foundation AI team to help develop the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded the interactive AI platform Jars AI in 2023 and raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors. Holm said, "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, after product management work on Call of Duty at Activision and an internship in business development at Rockstar.
Joe Chard has been appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard previously held senior roles at Jam City—including Vice President, Studio General Manager and Head of Product—for six years, and has also worked in product leadership positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These appointments reflect a vibrant period of talent movement within the interactive entertainment industry, as seasoned professionals seek new challenges and companies aim to strengthen their creative and commercial capabilities.