IGDA executive director leaves for China publishing behemoth Tencent

Gordon Bellamy steps down from IGDA for Tencent.

Gordon Bellamy, International Game Developers Association executive director, announced his resignation from his role of two years to pursue a new opportunity at China publishing behemoth Tencent.

Taking over his position in the interim until a replacement can be found is Dustin Clingman, current chair for the board of directors.

"It is a great privilege to serve our global development community," said Bellamy in a statement. "I want to thank our leaders and their inspiring colleagues who paved the way for me to have the opportunity to serve our community. As I enter my 20th year in our craft, I will still be very much involved with its leadership as we move forward. It is incumbent upon developers to value and help other developers."

Bellamy will take on the position of director of business development and industry relations for Tencent. The Chinese publisher is currently looking to expand into Western markets.

Despite leaving the International Game Developers Association, Bellamy will rejoin to serve the remainder of his 3-year tenure for the board.

The Chinese games giant received a minority stake in Epic Games earlier in June. The Hong Kong based Tencent is considered one of the biggest games publishers in the world, with a focus on online titles, mobile games, and free-to-play browser titles.