Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions across the gaming sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy movements. If you’re aware of a significant appointment or transition at your organization—please forward the individual's name, new title, new company, and their previous position and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer is departing Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to assume the role of Executive Vice President, head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
At Epic, Nanzer held a series of senior responsibilities, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation, where he oversaw major collaborations and revenue‑generation strategies. "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 a note of gratitude toward his former colleagues: "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 at Amazon Gaming. Prior to this appointment, she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America, and before that she spent more than six years at Amazon's own 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 explained, emphasizing her enthusiasm for re‑engaging with the interactive‑entertainment space. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as an Art Producer. Antoniazzi’s most recent post was as a producer at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to high‑profile cross‑over projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego‑themed Fortnite experience.
Aysu Kutbay steps into the role of Product Manager at Grand Games, after previously serving in the same capacity at Rollic, where she helped shape the portfolio of casual and hyper‑casual titles that propelled the studio’s growth. David Bailey is back at Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey originally entered Games Workshop in 2019 as a senior licensing manager, left in 2021 to take on the director of business affairs position at Sumo Digital, and now returns to the Warhammer ecosystem. "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 becomes Account Director, U.S.
Operations at Second Stage. Before this, Murphy simultaneously held the COO title and led public relations at both Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a breadth of operational and communications expertise. Tim Coombs has been appointed Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, after joining the division in 2020 as a senior manager for brand strategy. His earlier experience includes a stint as product marketing manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017, followed by senior product marketing responsibilities for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020. Erik Mogensen departs Hasbro and its Wizards of the Coast division after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming. Prior to that, he devoted 23 years to 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 said, citing Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Transformers among his highlights. He concluded, "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’s most recent role was senior producer at Netflix, where he helped launch 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 becomes Head 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 gaming projects.
Dan Lazarides is announced as the new Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides arrives from Sega Europe, where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO of Frontier in January. 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 the Digital Sales Manager position at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu’s background includes a sales manager role at Numskull Games and prior stints at Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson welcomed her, noting her extensive commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels. Hannah Barrett has been promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining the firm as an account executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager.
Pyy comes from a four‑year tenure as contract manager at Metacore, where she oversaw licensing agreements and partnership negotiations. Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. His previous roles include senior account executive at Motorica and Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee is named Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, having previously served as an associate producer for internal events and programs within the company.
Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as an 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.
After a decade at Bethesda, she left for Electronic Arts in 2019 to head product and studio integrated communications, and now comes back to help shape the narrative for Bethesda and its Xbox partners. Maddie Richter is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America. Prior to this, Richter led social media initiatives at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, after serving as senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment where she crafted storylines for a range of titles.
The UK publisher 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 a junior producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, with a background as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and as an educator at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have joined Roblox’s Foundation AI team to advance the platform’s mobile‑first AI creation tool, Build, in New Zealand.
The duo co‑founded the AI interactive platform Jars AI in 2023 and secured $3.5 million in funding from Google and other investors. Holm remarked, "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 a product manager on Call of Duty at Activision after completing a business‑development internship at the same developer. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard’s extensive background includes a six‑year stint 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 movements reflect the dynamic nature of the gaming and interactive entertainment industries, where talent frequently shifts between studios, publishers, and ancillary services, carrying valuable experience that fuels innovation across the sector.