Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes across the gaming sector can be a daunting task. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel shifts.
If you know of a move that belongs in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, 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 take on 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 appointed Head of Media at Amazon Gaming.
Prior to this, she led Media, Social & Analytics for 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 titles such as Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego Fortnite collaboration.
Aysu Kutbay has taken the product manager position at Grand Games, after 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 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 named Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage. She most recently held dual roles as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, where she managed agency‑client relationships and oversaw strategic communications. Tim Coombs steps into the role of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Before joining Amazon, Coombs spent six years at Xbox, most recently as Director of Brand Management, after climbing the ranks from Senior Manager for Brand Strategy in 2020. Earlier in his career he helped launch Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later led product marketing for Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen departs 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 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.
Rubin previously produced two shipped mobile titles at Netflix – 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 has been appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He formerly led user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various game studios. Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke who moved into the CEO role earlier this year.
Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised the appointment: "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IPs. His leadership will continue our upward momentum and reinforce our player‑first strategy." Karen Ionescu takes the Digital Sales Manager role at Kalypso Media UK. She arrives from Numskull Games where she was Sales Manager, and has also held positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games.
Managing Director Andrew Johnson said, "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, overseeing licensing agreements and partnership contracts.
Nathan Solbrandt steps into the role of SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. His background includes senior account work at Motorica and a Vice President position for Business Development covering the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee becomes Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, after serving as Associate Producer for internal events and programs, where she coordinated employee engagement initiatives across multiple studios.
Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as an Account Coordinator, having previously worked as an Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards, where she optimized client ROI and managed performance dashboards. 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 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, transitioning from a Social Media Manager role at Alaska Airlines where she led consumer engagement campaigns. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment, where she crafted story arcs for several indie titles. 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 in production, animation, and teaching game design 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 a Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision after an internship in business development at Rockstar.
Joe Chard has been named Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard's prior experience includes a six‑year stint 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 reflect a vibrant and fluid talent market within the interactive entertainment industry, underscoring how expertise in areas such as brand strategy, licensing, product management, and community engagement continues to be in high demand across both established publishers and emerging studios.