Keeping track of the many hires, exits, and role changes across the games sector can be a challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that gather the most notable movements in one place. If you know of a significant appointment or a noteworthy transition that belongs in a future edition, please email the individual's name, new position, 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 held a series of senior responsibilities, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation, where he oversaw strategic alliances and revenue‑generation initiatives across the company's portfolio. "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." In other news, Julia Gutnik has been named Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Prior to this appointment, she led media, social, and analytics for Kia America, and previously spent more than six years at Amazon's own entertainment divisions, including 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. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as an Art Producer. She comes from Roarty Digital, where she contributed to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, gaining valuable experience in large‑scale live‑service production.
Aysu Kutbay has taken on the Product Manager position at Grand Games, after serving in the same capacity at Rollic, where she was responsible for overseeing the lifecycle of several mobile titles and driving user‑acquisition strategies. David Bailey is back at Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally entered 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 expand the ever‑growing Warhammer franchise.
"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 most recently held dual roles as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, where she managed agency‑level client relationships and oversaw strategic communications. Tim Coombs becomes Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
He previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having risen through the ranks from Senior Manager of Brand Strategy (2020) to Director of Brand Management. Earlier in his career, Coombs led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard (2017) and later served as Senior Product Marketing Manager and Team Lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020. Erik Mogensen departs Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after a three‑year stint as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming.
Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating 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. "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. His previous experience includes senior production roles at Netflix, where he helped launch two mobile games—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and a five‑year tenure at Riot Games, contributing to creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov is now Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Before this, he managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and works 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 who moved into the CEO role in January. Lazarides previously held the Senior Vice President of Marketing position at Sega Europe.
"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, after sales leadership positions at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her: "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, having joined as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously served four years in the same capacity at Metacore. Nathan Solbrandt becomes SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after senior account executive work at Motorica and a vice‑presidential business‑development role at Xsolla covering the Americas.
Olivia Lee takes on the Internal Events Producer role at Riot Games, building on prior experience as an associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as an Account Coordinator, coming from Playback Rewards where she was an Account Performance Manager. 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 a 2019 move to Electronic Arts as Head of 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," she said.
Maddie Richter becomes Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after a stint as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, previously a Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment.
Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and Influencer Manager (formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as Production Coordinator (ex‑Junior Producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang as Publishing Coordinator (former Producer, Animator, and Artist at Team Gramps and Queensguard, and educator 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 previously co‑founded the interactive AI platform Jars AI in 2023, securing $3.5 million in funding 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 said. Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after product‑management work on Call of Duty at Activision and an internship in business development at the developer. Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, following senior leadership roles at Jam City (VP, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product) and prior senior positions at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment.