Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the gaming sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we put together periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel changes. If you know of a move that belongs in this list, simply email the 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 rose through the ranks, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation, where he oversaw the company’s global partnership strategy and revenue‑generation initiatives. "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 added a note of 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." In a parallel move, Julia Gutnik has been appointed 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 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, emphasizing her excitement about re‑joining the broader Amazon ecosystem.
Studio MDHR announced that Lorna Antoniazzi will join as Art Producer. Antoniazzi comes from Roarty Digital, where she contributed to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, bringing valuable experience in large‑scale live‑service production pipelines.
Grand Games welcomed Aysu Kutbay as Product Manager. Kutbay previously held a similar product‑management role at Rollic, where she helped steer mobile titles from concept through launch and post‑launch optimisation. David Bailey has made a return to 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 position at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to help expand the Warhammer licensing portfolio. "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 named Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage. Murphy most recently served as both COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a blend of operational and communications expertise. Amazon Luna has tapped Tim Coombs as Head of Brand Marketing.
Coombs previously directed 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 worked on Amazon Lumberyard as Product Marketing Manager in 2017 and later led the Amazon Game Tech marketing team until April 2020. Erik Mogensen announced his departure from 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, naming Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Transformers as highlights. He concluded, "I'm very much looking forward to my next chapter, whatever and wherever that may be." Blizzard Entertainment has added Ryan Rubin as Senior Producer. Rubin previously held senior producer roles at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends franchise.
Battlestate Games named Andrey Odintsov Head of Marketing. Odintsov’s background includes a stint as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and recent work as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various game projects. Frontier Developments announced Dan Lazarides as its new Chief Marketing Officer.
Lazarides arrives from Sega Europe, where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing, and replaces Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO role in January. Cooke praised the appointment, stating, "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." Kalypso Media UK has hired Karen Ionescu as Digital Sales Manager. Ionescu previously managed sales at Numskull Games and 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." Swipe Right, a specialist esports and gaming communications agency, promoted Hannah Barrett to Senior Account Executive after she joined as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell appointed Anni Pyy as Contract Manager.
Pyy spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore before moving to the Finnish mobile‑game giant. Fintech platform ZBD announced Nathan Solbrandt as SVP of Business Development.
Solbrandt previously worked as Senior Account Executive at Motorica and served as Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Riot Games added Olivia Lee as Internal Events Producer. Lee’s prior experience includes an associate producer role focused on internal events and programs, giving her a strong background in coordinating large‑scale employee‑focused initiatives.
Xsolla welcomed Ciarah Pritchard as Account Coordinator. Pritchard previously worked as an Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards, where she helped optimise client revenue streams.
Bethesda has welcomed back Tracey Thompson 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." Nintendo of America named Maddie Richter Social Media Marketing Manager. Richter previously managed social media for Alaska Airlines, where she honed her skills in community engagement and brand storytelling.
Yotta Games added Dana Duffield as Narrative Designer. Duffield came from Series Entertainment, where she served as Senior Narrative Designer, crafting storylines for a variety of interactive experiences. The Yogscast Games publishing arm 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 (formerly producer, animator and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and an instructor at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Roblox’s Foundation AI team expanded with Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger, both of whom co‑founded the AI‑interactive platform Jars AI in 2023 after raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Their new roles will support the development of Roblox’s mobile‑first AI creation tool, Build, in New Zealand. 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 joined Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager, Live Services. Sudireddy previously managed product responsibilities on Call of Duty at Activision and began his career with a business‑development internship at Rockstar. Finally, Netflix Games appointed Joe Chard as Lead Product Manager.
Chard brings a wealth of experience, having served 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.