Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we regularly assemble concise round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel shifts across studios, publishers, and platform providers.
If you know of a significant appointment or transition that belongs in these summaries, please forward the name, new title, new company, as well as the 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 several senior positions, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation, where he oversaw strategic alliances and revenue‑generation initiatives for flagship titles.
"The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said. "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 tapped as Head of Media for Amazon Gaming. Gutnik brings a rich background in automotive and entertainment marketing, most recently serving as Head of Media, Social & Analytics at Kia America. Prior to that she spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she led digital and ad‑tech media functions.
"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 explained. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer.
She previously worked at Roarty Digital, contributing to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego Fortnite collaboration, where she honed her skills in art pipeline management and cross‑functional coordination. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the role of Product Manager at Grand Games, moving from a similar position at Rollic where she oversaw the lifecycle of several mobile titles and helped drive user‑acquisition strategies. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for a Director of Business Affairs role at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to help steer the licensing arm of the iconic Warhammer franchises. "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he remarked. "It's an incredible opportunity and it's great to be back in the fold working alongside great people." Liana Murphy has been appointed Account Director for U.S.
Operations at Second Stage. Before this, she simultaneously held the COO and Head of Public Relations positions at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a broad perspective on agency leadership and client management. Tim Coombs steps into the position of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously served as Director of Brand Management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined Microsoft’s gaming division in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy.
Earlier in his career he was Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and later Senior Product Marketing Manager and Team Lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020. Erik Mogensen departs Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming. Prior to his stint at Hasbro, Mogensen spent 23 years at 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," he said, citing Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Transformers among his highlights.
He expressed optimism about his next professional chapter, wherever it may lead. Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin’s recent experience includes senior production work at Netflix, where he helped launch two mobile games—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset. He also spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends IP.
Andrey Odintsov has been named Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. His background includes a user‑acquisition manager role at Multicast Games and current work as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming projects.
Dan Lazarides takes the helm as Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after she moved into the CEO role at Frontier in January.
Cooke praised his appointment, noting, "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 becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s résumé includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, as well as positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson welcomed her, emphasizing her extensive retail and digital channel relationships.
Hannah Barrett earned a promotion 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 steps into the role of Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account executive work at Motorica and a Vice President stint at Xsolla covering the Americas.
Olivia Lee is now Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, having previously worked 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 for EA in 2019. 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 becomes Social Media Marketing Manager for Nintendo of America, after serving as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative design role at Series Entertainment. Yogscast Games announced three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and Influencer Manager (formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as Production Coordinator (previous 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 joined Roblox’s Foundation AI team to advance the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Holm commented, "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 becomes Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games. He previously worked as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and started his career with a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, after serving 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.
These movements reflect the dynamic nature of the gaming ecosystem, where talent continually shifts to meet evolving creative, commercial, and technological challenges.