Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes in the games sector can be a real challenge. To make it easier for everyone, we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most notable movements across studios, publishers, and related tech firms.
If you know of a colleague who has taken on a new position or is moving to a different company, feel free to forward the details (name, new title, new employer, previous role and employer) to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer has decided to leave Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to take on 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.
"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, Gutnik led media, social, and analytics for Kia America and spent more than six years at Amazon's own Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she oversaw 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 remarked. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as an Art Producer. She previously worked at Roarty Digital, contributing to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, where she honed her production skills and visual direction. Aysu Kutbay steps into 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 is back at Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey first joined the company in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 to become Director of Business Affairs at Sumo Digital, and now returns to help steer the expansive Warhammer licensing portfolio. "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 US Operations at Second Stage.
Before this, she simultaneously held the COO position and headed public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a strong background in both operational leadership and communications. Tim Coombs takes the helm as Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously served as Director of Brand Management at Xbox until July 2026, after joining Microsoft in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy.
Earlier in his career, he was Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 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 that, he 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," 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 a Senior Producer. Rubin previously held a senior producer role at Netflix, where he helped ship 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. Before this appointment, he worked as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various game projects. Dan Lazarides has been named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after she was promoted to CEO in January. "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings with him a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IP," said Cooke. "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 steps into the Digital Sales Manager role at Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu's background includes sales management at Numskull Games, as well as positions 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 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, overseeing licensing agreements and partnership contracts.
Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. He previously worked as Senior Account Executive at Motorica and served as Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla.
Olivia Lee is now Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs within the company. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards, where she focused on optimizing client revenue streams. 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.
She left in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she led product and studio integrated communications. "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," Thompson said.
Maddie Richter has been hired as Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after previously managing social channels for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, bringing experience from a senior narrative designer role at Series Entertainment. Yogscast Games, a UK publisher, announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and Influencer Manager (formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as Production Coordinator (previously 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 stints 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. "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," Holm explained. Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after serving as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and completing an internship in business development at Rockstar. Joe Chard becomes Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following 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.