IGDA是全球最大的非盈利游戏开发者协会。

IGDA是全球最大的非盈利游戏开发者协会，是美国游戏开发者大会(GDC)的缔造者，也是目前美国GDC的重要合作伙伴之一，目前拥有来自世界各地的会员15000名。

IGDA是位于美国旧金山的一家面向游戏开发者的非营利组织，1995年成立，迄今已有十余年历史，其全称为“International Game Developers Association”（国际游戏开发者协会，有的地方翻译为国际游戏开发商协会）。

如名所示，IGDA的目标是“建设全球游戏开发者的社区”，其任务主要有三：一是为游戏开发者提供统一的声音；二是增进开发者之间的相互理解与尊重；三是为下一代游戏开发者提供指导和帮助。

IGDA在GDC上同步主办的游戏开发者优选奖（GDCA）

游戏开发者优选奖（GDCA）是由国际游戏开发者协会（IGDA）主办的年度游戏评选奖项，与游戏开发者大会（GDC）同步举办，以由参加IGDA的众多游戏开发者会员针对前1年度推出游戏各方面的表现进行票选，颁给奖项予以肯定鼓励。

游戏开发者优选奖是全球游戏业界最大的奖项之一。能够获得奖项的人将获得无上的殊荣，尤其是“终身成就奖”，而能够获奖的游戏也都是叫好又卖座的大作。

游戏开发者优选奖（GDCA）目前设置的奖项有（以2010年实际评奖为依据）：

特别奖

◆ 终身成就奖

◆ 先锋奖

大奖

◆ 年度最佳游戏

部门奖

◆ 最佳剧本

◆ 最佳游戏设计

◆ 最佳技术

◆ 最佳视觉艺术

◆ 最佳出道作

◆ 创新奖

◆ 最佳掌上游戏

◆ 最佳音效

◆ 最佳下载游戏

◆ 最佳社群/线上游戏

The IGDA was established by Ernest Adams in 1995, first operating under the name Computer Game Developers Association.

The impetus for setting it up was actually several-fold. The primary reason was that developers had no one to speak for them in the USA Congressional debates of early 1994. The publishers had the IDSA, the developers had no one. People in the game industry wanted to join something, and there was nothing to join. It became very clear that a true professional society was needed to give developers a voice.

Another reason was simply that a professional society to advance the state of the art, and do all the things that a professional association does, was overdue. The community needed a way to share experience and work together on issues on an ongoing basis.

The CGDA came into being just as the old, previously privately owned, Computer Game Developers Conference was being sold to Miller Freeman (now CMP). Miller Freeman and the CGDA continued to collaborate on the conference, and Miller Freeman provided initial support for the CGDA.

In 1999, the CGDA was having a tough time with mainly volunteer labor to run the organization. The board of directors turned to Miller Freeman to contract them for management services. Around the same time, the CGDA changed its name to the International Game Developers Association to better reflect its growing global scope and platform agnosticism.

The IGDA continued to contract with CMP for day-to-day operation/management services until the end of 2004. As of January 1st, 2005, the IGDA ended the management agreement with CMP and have been directly running the day-to-day operations of the association under the wise governance of the elected board of directors.