Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes across the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel shifts.
If you know of any new appointments or transitions that belong in these summaries, please forward the individual’s name, new title, new employer, and previous position 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 a series of senior responsibilities, 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, "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.
Prior to this, she led media, social, and analytics at Kia America, and before that she spent more than six years at 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 explained.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as an Art Producer. She previously worked as a producer at Roarty Digital, contributing to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay is now Product Manager at Grand Games, after serving in the same capacity at Rollic where she helped launch several successful mobile titles.
David Bailey has come back to 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 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 remarked.
"It's an incredible opportunity and it's great to be back in the fold working alongside great people." Liana Murphy takes the role of Account Director, US Operations at Second Stage. She most recently held dual responsibilities as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, where she oversaw agency growth and client strategy. Tim Coombs has been appointed Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Before moving to Luna, Coombs spent several years at Xbox, most recently as Director of Brand Management, after joining the division in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. His earlier Amazon experience includes a stint as Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later as Senior Product Marketing Manager and team lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020. Erik Mogensen has exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming.
Prior to that, he dedicated 23 years to 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 said. "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 position at Netflix, where he helped launch two mobile games based on the hit series Squid Game and Selling Sunset.
He also spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov steps into the Head of Marketing role at Battlestate Games. His background includes a user‑acquisition manager position at Multicast Games and current work as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming projects. Dan Lazarides has been named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke after she moved to the CEO role in January.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised his 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.
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. Her previous roles include Sales Manager at Numskull Games and 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 spent four years in a similar capacity at Metacore before moving to the Finnish powerhouse. Nathan Solbrandt is now 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 region. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs within the company.
Ciarah Pritchard takes on the role of Account Coordinator at Xsolla after previously serving as 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.
She left in 2019 for a stint at Electronic Arts as Head of Product and Studio Integrated Communications before returning. "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 for Nintendo of America, after previously managing social channels for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative designer role at Series Entertainment where she helped shape storylines for multiple indie titles.
The UK publisher Yogscast Games announced 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 experience at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have joined Roblox's Foundation AI team to bolster the mobile‑first AI creation tool "Build" in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, an interactive AI platform that raised $3.5 million from Google and other investors. Holm said, "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 is now Marketing Manager, Live Services at Rockstar Games.
He previously worked as a Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and began his career with a business‑development internship at the same developer. Joe Chard has been appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard's background includes a six‑year tenure as Vice President, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product at Jam City, as well as senior product roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
This extensive list reflects the dynamic nature of talent movement within the gaming ecosystem, highlighting how seasoned professionals continue to shape the industry's future across development, publishing, marketing, and technology domains.