Interim director says IGDA is "revamping its ethics processes"
Marie Dealessandri
Features Editor
Tuesday 3rd May 2022
International Game Developers Association
In an interview with Axios, International Game Developers Association's interim executive director Jakin Vela acknowledged past issues at the organisation and claimed that "any lack of trust can certainly be rebuilt."
It's Vela's first interview since GamesIndustry.biz released its in-depth investigation looking into how the organisation mishandled complaints of harassment and conduct violations, with Axios reporting that the IGDA is "working to regain the trust of developers" as part of its newsletter on Friday.
Vela joined the IGDA after Renee Gittins stepped down from the executive director role in February.
In the interview, Vela said that the IGDA is gathering feedback concerning its ethics policies and processes and that the organisation has been "revamping the ethics processes with that community's feedback and to ensure that no missteps happen."
Vela added that working with the community to gather feedback is how the organisation is "holding [itself] accountable."
At the time of writing, the sources behind the complaints against the former IGDA Women in Games Special Interest Group chair confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that the IGDA has yet to reach out to them following our investigation. Their formal complaints never reached a conclusion, and the group of victims has yet to receive an apology or explanation from the IGDA.
In the Axios interview, Vela also addressed wider criticism expressed in our investigation, with at least two sources expressing a lack of support to lift up marginalised developers, and devs from developing industries.
One source told us: "It's frustrating because this group is the closest thing to a
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