Following the announcement of its new Newcastle office, publisher Thumbstar has moved fast adding two new faces.

Tony Fitzgerald and Phil Brannelly join the firm as sales and marketing managers respectively.

Fitzgerald brings 26 years of experience from companies such as Psygnosis, Rage, Jester Interactive, and Telcogames to the table.

Brannelly has worked with CentreGold, Acclaim and also on the Tom Clancy series while at Ubisoft.

Thumbing a ride

"Thumbstar is already well established as a distributor of third party mobile games content but the creation of our own IP, and taking that to a highly competitive market, is very exciting," said Brannelly.

"Everyone involved with Thumbstar has one goal and that's to be the best. I’m thrilled to be given the chance to be a part of it."

New CEO Gareth Edmondson was full of praise for the move adding "the pace of growth at Thumbstar continues and both Tony and Phil bring many years of experience into the fold.

"That sort of experience is priceless for any company, such as ours, with big ambitions. They are a welcome addition to the team."