The last couple of months have been progressive for the International Game Developers Association with its naming of a new executive director and its additions to its board of directors. According to a press release provided, the IGDA has decided to further its goal of supporting and empowering game developers by adding new board members and adding onto the already existing member benefits.

For the IGDA’s board of directors, Hans ten Cate, Bernard Yee, and Christopher Hamilton will be joining as directors. Hans ten Cate is a 15-year veteran in the game industry who has games like The Sims and Dante’s Inferno under his belt. Bernard Yee is the executive producer and TPM at Oculus, and he has past experience at the likes of PopCap, Bungie, Harmonix, Atari, Disney Interactive, and SOE. Christopher Hamilton is currently the producer at Rovio Entertainment, and has had past experience at NGOs in the United States, Russia, and Europe.

As the IGDA makes new strides, they have decided to beefed up their member benefits as a continued mission goal to help game developers achieve fulfilling, sustainable careers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community. Going forward, the organization will be providing professional education partnerships for members, increasing support for new and existing IGDA chapters and special interest groups, expanding on research which will include a new developer survey, and partnerships with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League to support diverse communities of game developers and players.

In addition, the organization will be launching the Expert Resource Library later this year. This tool will be populated with articles and videos from industry veterans tin order to assist game developers at all stages of their careers. Also, as part of the IGDA’s ongoing efforts to recognize organizations for great contributions to the game development community, the IGDA is honoring Global Game Jam, the world’s largest game jam event, with its 2018 Positive Impact Award.

Starting on March 22nd, these IGDA benefits will go into effect, and more will come as 2018 moves along.