Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the games sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most notable personnel changes.
If your organization has newsworthy appointments or moves, feel free to forward the details – name, new title, new company, plus previous role and employer – to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer is departing 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." 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 headed 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," she explained. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as an Art Producer. Antoniazzi comes from Roarty Digital, where she contributed to the development of Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego Fortnite crossover.
Aysu Kutbay has taken on the Product Manager position 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 entered Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for a director role 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," Bailey said. "It's an incredible opportunity and it's great to be back in the fold working alongside great people." Liana Murphy becomes Account Director for U.S. Operations at Second Stage.
Prior to this, Murphy simultaneously held the COO and Head of Public Relations titles at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs is appointed 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. Earlier in his career he led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard in 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 three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming. Before that, Mogensen spent 23 years at Games Workshop, most recently 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," he 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 held a senior producer role at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset – and spent five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends franchise.
Andrey Odintsov steps in as Head of Marketing for Battlestate Games. Odintsov’s background includes a stint as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and ongoing work as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various game projects. Dan Lazarides has been named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO earlier this year.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sega Europe. Frontier’s CEO Jo 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 becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu previously worked as Sales Manager at Numskull Games and has held roles 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 previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore. Nathan Solbrandt takes on the role of SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
His prior experience 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, following an associate producer role focused on internal events and programs. 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 says, "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 becomes Social Media Marketing Manager for Nintendo of America, moving from a Social Media Manager role at Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, after serving as 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 (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 bolster 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 a Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and began his career with a business‑development internship at Rockstar.
Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard brings extensive experience, having served as Vice President, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product at Jam City for six years, as well as senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These movements reflect the dynamic nature of talent across the interactive entertainment landscape, with seasoned veterans shifting between major publishers, emerging studios, and tech giants, while fresh faces bring new perspectives to established brands. The cross‑pollination of expertise—spanning marketing, product management, licensing, and creative development—continues to shape the industry's evolution as it adapts to emerging platforms, AI‑driven tools, and expanding global audiences.