Happy New Year, game developers!

It warms my heart to see how game developers have come together to support each other and their communities during the last year. It has also been a challenging, but productive year for the International Game Developers Association. Our board, headquarters team, and all of the leaders of our Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) have done an incredible job at expanding our outreach, supporting developers in need, and strengthening our programs and services.

COVID-19 had a huge effect on the game industry and the world at large. While game sales skyrocketed, developers found themselves suddenly working remotely and juggling new requirements of both communication and their home life responsibilities. Developers faced depression, stress, and productivity issues, recorded by our COVID-19 Impact Survey. In response, the IGDA launched our COVID-19 Resources page and hosted the Game Development Crisis Conference (GDCC). The Game Development Crisis Conference and Webinar Series, sponsored by Xbox and hosted by IGDA and Take This, was a huge success, garnering over 15,000 viewers. It included talks and panels dedicated to skills and tools for working from home, studio leadership in times of change, and mental health considerations and resources for game developers.

We also launched our Global Mentorship Program and our Game Industry Standards, and hosted more events in support of game developers, such as the IGDA Indies Showcase, Holiday Cheer Hackathon, PATHFINDIN.GS, and the eJam. Our online events in total have seen over 300,000 attendees over the last year, bringing knowledge and support to game developers around the world.

This last year also saw the creation of new Chapters, SIGs and partner relationships. We welcomed the following communities to the fold:

• New and Rebooting Chapters:
  • Ukraine – Kyiv
  • Italy – Turin
  • Michigan – Detroit
  • Sweden – Arctic Game Lab
  • US – North Carolina – Western
  • Poland – Southern Polska Poludniowa (Southern Poland)
  • US – Missouri – Kansas City
  • Belarus
  • Peru
  • Brazil – Fortaleza
  • Finland – Lahti
• New and Rebooting Special Interest Groups:
  • Student SIG
  • 50+ SIG
  • Indie SIG
  • Localization SIG
  • Interactive Audio SIG
  • Climate SIG
  • Games for Health SIG
  • Business & Legal SIG
  • Mental Health SIG
  • Production SIG
• New Studios:
  • Poki Games
  • Tilt Five
  • Impeller
  • Double Loop Games
  • Hyperkinetic Studios
  • Lightfox
  • Siren Cove Studios
  • Burgos Games
  • FarVision Studios LLC
  • Genvid Technologies
  • Trailmix Games
  • Frost Giant Games
  • Amebous Labs
  • Ghost Street Games LLC
  • Mooneye Studios
  • Onward Play
  • Be Your Best Self
  • Eleventh Hour Games
  • Obsidian Entertainment
  • Virtual Frontiers
  • BRAVO COMPANY
  • Hidden Achievement
  • Core Loop
• New Partnerships:
  • Take Off Creative
  • AppOnboard (BuildBox)
  • Manticore
  • Finnegan LLP
  • GameJolt
  • Google
  • GameHers
  • Dell
  • Samsung
  • Digital Media Research Centre (Queensland University of Technology)
  • GG Insurance Services
  • AT&T
  • Amazon AWS
  • Teradici

Thank you for being a part of the IGDA community and stay tuned for what we have in store for 2021!

Happy New Year,

Renee Gittins
Executive Director, IGDA