Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes across the video‑game sector can be a real challenge. To make it easier for readers, we regularly collate these movements into concise round‑ups.
If you know of any noteworthy appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new employer, as well as their previous position and company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer has departed Epic Games after a seven‑year stint to assume the role of Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. During his tenure 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." Julia Gutnik has been named Head of Media for Amazon Gaming.
Prior to this, she led media, social, and analytics at Kia America and spent more than six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she oversaw 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 previously worked as a producer at Roarty Digital, contributing to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego‑themed Fortnite crossover. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the position of Product Manager at Grand Games, after serving in the same capacity at Rollic. 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 to become Director of Business Affairs at Sumo Digital, and now returns to help steer licensing initiatives across the expansive Warhammer 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 U.S. Operations at Second Stage.
Before this role, she simultaneously held the COO title and headed public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs steps into the role of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. He previously served as Director of Brand Management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the Xbox team in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. Coombs' 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 spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating in the Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing role. "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 most recent experience includes senior production work at Netflix, where he helped launch two mobile titles – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset.
Rubin also spent five years at Riot Games, focusing on creative development for the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov is now Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently operates 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 position in January.
Lazarides formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised the 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 for Kalypso Media UK. Her background includes sales leadership roles at Numskull Games, 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 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.
He previously worked as a Senior Account Executive at Motorica and served as Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, having previously acted as Associate Producer for internal events and programs.
Ciarah Pritchard is now an 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.
She left in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she led product and studio integrated communications. Upon her return, Thompson 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 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, coming from a Senior Narrative Designer role at Series Entertainment. UK publisher Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis (PR and Influencer Manager, formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney (Production Coordinator, previously Junior Producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang (Publishing Coordinator, who has experience as a producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and has taught game design, animation, and coding at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone).
Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox's Foundation AI team to bolster the mobile‑first AI creation tool "Build in New Zealand." The duo co‑founded the AI interactive platform 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 a Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and began his career with a business development internship at the same 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 product roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment.