Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the games sector can be a daunting task. To make it easier for readers, we gather these personnel shifts into periodic round‑ups. If you know of any recent changes at your organization—new appointments, role changes, or departures—please forward the individual's name, new title, new company, as well as their previous position and employer 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 several senior positions, 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." In other news, Julia Gutnik has been named Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Gutnik previously led media, social, and analytics for Kia America, and before that she spent over six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she was responsible for digital and ad‑tech media strategy. "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 produced work on high‑profile titles such as Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego‑Fortnite collaboration. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the position of Product Manager at Grand Games, after previously serving in the same capacity at Rollic, where she helped launch several successful mobile titles. David Bailey is back at 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 role at Sumo Digital, and now returns to help steer licensing for the ever‑expansive Warhammer universe. "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.
Prior to this, she held dual roles as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, overseeing both operational strategy and media outreach. Tim Coombs steps into the role of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously directed brand management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the console maker in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. His earlier 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. Before that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating in the position 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 produced two mobile titles for Netflix—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset—and spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov has been named Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming projects.
Dan Lazarides takes the helm as Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO role at Frontier 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," Cooke said. "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 they play our games." Karen Ionescu becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK after roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her, noting, "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 held the same title at Metacore for four years. Nathan Solbrandt steps into the role of Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
His background includes senior account work at Motorica and a Vice President position for business development at Xsolla covering the Americas. Olivia Lee is now Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, moving up from an associate producer role focused on internal programs and events. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator 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 for EA in 2019. She remarks, "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 been hired as Social Media Marketing Manager for Nintendo of America, transitioning from a social media manager role at Alaska Airlines.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, after a senior narrative design stint 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 prior experience as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching roles at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox's Foundation AI team to help develop the mobile‑first AI creation tool "Build in New Zealand." The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, securing $3.5 million in funding 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 becomes Marketing Manager for Live Services at Rockstar Games. He previously managed product responsibilities for Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at the studio.
Joe Chard is 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 illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the gaming ecosystem, highlighting how experience across diverse sectors—from automotive to fintech—continues to enrich the industry’s creative and commercial capabilities.