Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions across the games sector can be a challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy moves. If you know of a transition that belongs in this list—whether it’s a new appointment, a promotion, or a return—please forward the individual’s name, new title, new company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer has departed 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 global revenue‑generating initiatives and strategic alliances. "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 also expressed gratitude toward his former colleagues, stating, "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 named Head of Media for Amazon Gaming.
Gutnik previously led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent more than six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she headed digital and ad‑tech media operations. "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," she remarked. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer.
Antoniazzi comes from Roarty Digital, where she contributed to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the Product Manager role at Grand Games after serving in the same capacity at Rollic, where she helped launch several successful mobile titles. David Bailey is back at Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 to become Director of Business Affairs at Sumo Digital, and now returns to oversee 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," Bailey said.
"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 US Operations at Second Stage. Prior to this, Murphy simultaneously held the COO position and headed public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs becomes Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously served as Director of Brand Management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the console maker in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. Earlier in his career he led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and later headed the Amazon Game Tech product marketing team until April 2020.
Erik Mogensen exits 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, culminating 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 games—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov is appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov’s background includes a stint as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and ongoing work as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for the gaming sector. Dan Lazarides steps into the Chief Marketing Officer position at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO in January.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for 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 becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu previously managed sales at Numskull Games and has held roles 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 receives 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 is named Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
His prior experience includes senior account work at Motorica and a Vice President role for business development at Xsolla covering the Americas. Olivia Lee takes on the role of 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 an 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 EA, where she led product and studio integrated communications. 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, moving from a Social Media Manager role at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR and Influencer Manager, formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator, previously Junior Producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, with a background as Producer, Animator, and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and 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 support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023 and raised $3.5 million 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 joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after a product manager stint on Call of Duty at Activision and an earlier business‑development internship at the developer. Joe Chard is 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 senior game‑related positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.