Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes in the video‑game sector can be a real challenge, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most notable movements. If you know of any recent appointments or transitions that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer has departed Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to assume the position 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 spent more than six years at 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 Art Producer.
She comes from Roarty Digital, where she produced content for Fortnite Battle Royale and the Lego Fortnite crossover. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the role 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 for the expansive Warhammer universes.
"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 simultaneously held the COO and Head of Public Relations positions at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs becomes Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna. Coombs previously worked at Xbox as Director of Brand Management until July 2026, having joined the division in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy.
Earlier in his career he was Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later 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, he 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," 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 Senior Producer. Rubin previously served as Senior Producer at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles—Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset.
He also spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov has been named Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously worked as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for video‑game projects.
Dan Lazarides steps into the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously held the Senior Vice President of Marketing title at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke, who moved on to become Frontier's CEO in January.
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 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 spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore before making the move.
Nathan Solbrandt takes on the role of Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. He previously served as Senior Account Executive at Motorica and was Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee is now Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, following a stint as Associate Producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard becomes Account Coordinator at Xsolla after working 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 in 2019 for Electronic Arts where she led product and studio integrated communications.
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 is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after previously managing social media for Alaska Airlines. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, coming from a Senior Narrative Designer role at Series Entertainment. UK publisher 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 (formerly Producer, Animator, and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and instructor 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 the interactive AI platform Jars AI in 2023 and raised $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 served as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision after completing a business‑development internship at the studio.
Joe Chard is named 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.