Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes across the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy movements. If you know of a colleague or a team member who has recently taken on a new position or made a career transition that belongs in this list, please forward the individual's name, new title, new organization, as well as their previous role 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, where he oversaw the company’s global partnership strategy and revenue‑generation initiatives. "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, and analytics for Kia America and spent more than six years within Amazon’s own ecosystem, most notably as Head of Digital and AdTech Media for Prime Video and Amazon Studios. "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. Her deep experience in both consumer‑facing media campaigns and data‑driven audience targeting is expected to strengthen Amazon Gaming’s outreach to both casual and competitive players. Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer.
She previously worked as a producer at Roarty Digital, where she contributed to the development of Fortnite Battle Royale and the LEGO‑themed Fortnite crossover, gaining valuable experience in large‑scale live‑service pipelines and brand collaborations. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the position of Product Manager at Grand Games, after serving in a similar capacity at Rollic where she helped launch several top‑grossing mobile titles and refined her expertise in user acquisition, live‑ops, and monetisation strategies. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey first joined the company in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 to become Director of Business Affairs at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to help steer the licensing arm of the iconic Warhammer franchises. "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he remarked.
"It's an incredible opportunity and it's great to be back in the fold working alongside great people." Liana Murphy is now Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage. Before this, she simultaneously held the COO role and headed public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, giving her a strong background in both operational leadership and external communications. Tim Coombs has been named 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, building a solid foundation in cloud‑based game development tools. 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, most recently as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing, where he oversaw licensing deals for Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers and other flagship brands.
"It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands," Mogensen said. "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 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 is appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously served as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and currently works as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant, advising multiple studios on scaling player bases.
Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke, who moved to the CEO position in January. Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sega Europe. Frontier CEO Jo Cooke praised his arrival: "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 has been hired as 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 was promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell appointed 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 SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. He previously worked as Senior Account Executive at Motorica and served as Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla.
Olivia Lee becomes Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, after previously serving as Associate Producer for internal events and programs within the same studio. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, coming from a role 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 headed 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 now Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after previously managing social media for Alaska Airlines.
Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, having served as Senior Narrative Designer 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 a background as Producer, Animator, and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and teaching experience at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone).
Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have joined 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 becomes Marketing Manager for Live Services at Rockstar Games. He previously worked as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision after completing an internship in business development at Rockstar.
Joe Chard is appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard brings extensive experience, having previously 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 appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the interactive entertainment industry, highlighting how experience in one segment—whether console, mobile, streaming, or AI—continues to cross‑pollinate and drive innovation across the sector.