Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions across the games sector can be a daunting task. To make it easier for readers, we gather the most notable personnel changes into periodic round‑ups. If you know of a new appointment or a transition that belongs in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new employer, as well as their previous role and company 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 rose through the ranks, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation, where he oversaw major revenue‑generating initiatives and strategic alliances. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said in his announcement. "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 to 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. Gutnik previously led media, social, and analytics for Kia America, and before that she 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," Gutnik explained, highlighting her enthusiasm for re‑engaging with the gaming community under Amazon's banner.
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, gaining experience in large‑scale art pipelines and cross‑functional collaboration. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the role of Product Manager at Grand Games, after serving in the same capacity at Rollic, where she helped launch several successful mobile titles and refined her expertise in user acquisition and product lifecycle management. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for a director position at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to the 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 appointed Account Director for U.S. Operations at Second Stage. Murphy previously held dual roles as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a strong background in agency leadership and client management.
Tim Coombs steps into the position of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. Before this, Coombs spent several years at Xbox, most recently as Director of Brand Management, and earlier as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. His Amazon résumé also includes a stint as Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and senior product marketing leadership 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. Mogensen previously dedicated 23 years to Games Workshop, culminating as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing. Reflecting on his career, he said, "It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands. 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's recent experience includes senior production work at Netflix, where he helped ship mobile adaptations of Squid Game (Unleashed) and Selling Sunset, as well as five years at Riot Games focusing on creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov has been appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Prior to this, he managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent consultant specialising in growth and go‑to‑market strategies for game publishers.
Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO role in January. Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised his appointment, noting that his deep experience with major IPs will reinforce Frontier's "player‑first" publishing strategy and community‑centric focus. Karen Ionescu takes on the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu's background includes sales leadership at Numskull Games, as well as positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games, providing her with extensive relationships across both retail and digital distribution channels. Managing Director Andrew Johnson welcomed her, stating that her commercial acumen will be a strong asset for Kalypso. 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, where she oversaw licensing agreements and partnership contracts for mobile titles. Nathan Solbrandt is named Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
Before this, he worked as a Senior Account Executive at Motorica and served as Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee becomes Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, having previously acted as Associate Producer for internal events and programmes, coordinating large‑scale employee gatherings and community‑focused activities. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards, where she managed client metrics and optimisation strategies.
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 Electronic Arts 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 is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, transitioning from a role as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines, where she honed expertise in community engagement and brand storytelling. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment, where she crafted storylines for multiple indie titles. 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 past experience as Producer, Animator, and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching roles 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, raising $3.5 million 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 joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after a stint as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and an earlier business‑development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard previously held senior leadership roles at Jam City—including Vice President, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product—spanning six years, and also occupied senior positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These appointments reflect the ongoing dynamism of the gaming industry, where talent moves across studios, publishers, and tech platforms, bringing fresh perspectives and experience to new challenges. The cross‑pollination of expertise—from console giants to streaming services, from traditional publishers to emerging AI teams—continues to shape the future of interactive entertainment.