Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and role changes across the gaming sector can be a 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 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 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.
Prior to this, she led media, social, and analytics at 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 Art Producer. She previously worked as a producer at Roarty Digital, contributing to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite.
Aysu Kutbay has taken the position of Product Manager 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 to become Director of Business Affairs at Sumo Digital, and now returns to help steer licensing for the expansive Warhammer portfolio.
"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 US Operations at Second Stage.
She previously held the dual roles of COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, where she managed agency‑level client relationships and 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 earlier roles as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy and Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard and Amazon Game Tech. Erik Mogensen exits 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 Senior Producer. His previous experience includes senior production roles at Netflix, where he helped ship mobile adaptations of Squid Game and Selling Sunset, as well as five years at Riot Games working on creative development for the League of Legends franchise.
Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. He previously managed user acquisition at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming projects. Dan Lazarides has been named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, succeeding Jo Cooke after her promotion to CEO. Lazarides arrived from Sega Europe, where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing.
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 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 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 steps into the role of Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. Her background includes sales leadership positions at Numskull Games, 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, overseeing contractual negotiations for multiple mobile titles. Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD, after roles as Senior Account Executive at Motorica and Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla.
Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, building on her prior experience as Associate Producer for internal events and programs within the company. Ciarah Pritchard takes the position of Account Coordinator at Xsolla, 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 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 role as Social Media Manager at Alaska Airlines where she led consumer engagement campaigns. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment, where she crafted storylines for several indie titles.
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 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 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, after a stint as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision and an earlier business development internship at Rockstar. Joe Chard has been appointed Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard previously held senior leadership positions at Jam City—including Vice President, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product—alongside roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
Entertainment. These appointments reflect the dynamic nature of talent movement within the interactive entertainment industry, highlighting both the cross‑pollination of expertise between major studios and the continued growth of specialized roles in areas such as AI, live‑service marketing, and licensing.