Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a real challenge. That’s why we publish periodic round‑ups that gather all the noteworthy personnel changes in one place. If you know of a new appointment or a transition that belongs in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer has departed Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to assume the role of Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.
During his time at Epic, Nanzer rose through the ranks, 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 chance to help shape the next chapter at Paramount was simply too compelling to pass up.” He added, “I am deeply grateful to everyone at Epic and to all of the partners I’ve worked with along the way.
I will always be proud of what we achieved 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 spent more than six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she headed digital and ad‑tech media. “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 Art Producer. Antoniazzi comes from Roarty Digital, where she produced work on high‑profile titles such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite. Aysu Kutbay is now Product Manager at Grand Games, after serving in the same capacity at Rollic. David Bailey has re‑joined Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey originally entered Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 to become Director of Business Affairs 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 has been appointed Account Director for U.S. operations at Second Stage. Prior to this, Murphy simultaneously held the COO role and led public relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs takes the helm as Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Coombs previously served as Director of 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 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 isn’t lost on me how special it’s been to work 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 held a senior producer role at Netflix, where he helped launch 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 is appointed Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games.
Odintsov previously worked as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for the gaming sector. Dan Lazarides becomes Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides arrives from Sega Europe, where he was Senior Vice President of Marketing, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO in January. Cooke praised the hire: “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 keep our upward momentum and reinforce our player‑first strategy.” Karen Ionescu is now Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu previously managed sales at Numskull Games and has held roles 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 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 moving to the Finnish mobile giant. Nathan Solbrandt takes on the role of SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
Solbrandt 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, having previously served as Associate Producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard is hired as 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. She left in 2019 for Electronic Arts, where she led product and studio integrated communications. Upon her return, 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 channels 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 educator 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, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors.
Holm noted, “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, after serving as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and completing a business‑development internship at the developer. Joe Chard is named Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games.
Chard previously held senior positions at Jam City—including Vice President, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product—for six years, as well as leadership roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. These appointments reflect a vibrant period of movement and growth across the industry, with seasoned veterans taking on fresh challenges and emerging talent stepping into influential roles. The continual reshuffling of expertise helps drive innovation, ensuring that games, platforms, and related services evolve to meet the expectations of an increasingly diverse and demanding global audience.