Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions across the games sector can feel like a full‑time job. That’s why we gather the most noteworthy personnel changes into periodic round‑ups, giving readers a single place to scan the latest moves. If you know of a new appointment or a transition that belongs in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new company, as well as their 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, where he oversaw key revenue‑generating initiatives and forged strategic alliances. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer explained. "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 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." In a parallel shift, Julia Gutnik has been appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Gutnik brings a robust background in media strategy, having previously led media, social, and analytics at Kia America. Prior to that, she spent over six years within Amazon's broader ecosystem, holding senior positions at Prime Video and Amazon Studios where she directed 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 said, underscoring her enthusiasm for re‑engaging with interactive entertainment.
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 the Lego Fortnite collaboration, gaining valuable experience in large‑scale art pipelines and cross‑functional team coordination. Grand Games welcomed Aysu Kutbay as Product Manager.
Kutbay previously held the same title at Rollic, where she managed mobile‑first titles and helped shape product roadmaps that balanced player engagement with monetisation goals. David Bailey has made a notable return to Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, departed in 2021 to become Director of Business Affairs 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 remarked.
"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 previously juggled the roles of COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, gaining extensive experience in agency‑side client management and operational leadership. Tim Coombs steps into the role of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Before joining Luna, Coombs spent several years at Xbox, most recently as Director of Brand Management, after starting as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy in 2020. His earlier Amazon experience includes serving 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 announced his departure from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming. Mogensen's career spans 23 years at Games Workshop, where his final position was Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing.
Reflecting on his journey, he said, "It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands – First Warhammer, 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 has joined Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer.
Rubin's recent experience includes senior production work at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and a five‑year stint at Riot Games focusing on creative development for the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov takes the helm as Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Prior to this, he was User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming projects. Dan Lazarides has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO in January.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe. Cooke praised the appointment: "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 steps into 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. 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 earned a promotion to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an Account Executive in December 2025.
Supercell announced the hiring of Anni Pyy as Contract Manager. Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore, overseeing licensing agreements and partnership contracts.
Nathan Solbrandt has been named Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. His prior roles include Senior Account Executive at Motorica and Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, building on her experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs within the company.
Ciarah Pritchard is now Account Coordinator at Xsolla, after 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 before leaving in 2019 for a role as Head of Product and Studio Integrated Communications at Electronic Arts.
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 has taken the position of Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after previously managing social channels for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, following a senior narrative design role at Series Entertainment.
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 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.
He previously worked as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar. 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 roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the interactive entertainment industry, highlighting how experience in one segment—whether console, mobile, streaming, or AI—continues to cross‑pollinate and drive innovation across the broader ecosystem.