The executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Gordon Bellamy, has announced he is stepping down after two years in the role.

Bellamy is leaving the association to take up a role at Chinese web giant Tencent, where he will serve as director of business development and industry relations at a firm that, in recent months, has made a notable mark in the games industry by acquiring a stake in Epic Games.

Bowing out

"It is a great privilege to serve our global development community," Bellamy said.

"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."

The IGDA has openly stated it's already on the hunt for a replacement, though Zee-Gee Games CEO Dustin Clingman – who was elected as chair of the board back in June – taking over the role temporarily.

Tencent on top

Bellamy himself will now rejoin the board and finish the third year of his board term.

Tencent's hand in the mobile market, however, continues to grow.

As well as its stake in Unreal Engine creator Epic Games, the Chinese firm also launched its own Android-focused app store in September 2011, which boasts more than 13 million users a day according to numbers released in February.