Shannon Loftis is the new chair of the IGDA Foundation board

She'll replace Ed Fries, who'll remain on the board.

Shannon Loftis is the new chair of the IGDA Foundation board of directors, replacing previous chair Ed Fries.

Loftis has more than 30 years of experience in the games industry, with a substantial amount of that at Microsoft. In her career, Loftis has worked on titles including Project Gotham Racing, Fable, Viva Pinata, Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, ReCore, Flight Simulator, and more.

She also served as general manager of Xbox Entertainment Studios, a division spun up during Microsoft’s obsession with TV during the launch of the Xbox One.

“Xbox Entertainment Studios was an experiment,” Loftis told Stevivor back at PAX AUS 2017. “Our hope was that we could create a linear television asset that would be able to take advantage of our technology. And frankly, it was actually Kinect that inspired me to go be part of that — because I had this fun brainstorming session with some of the most amazing creative people asking, ‘what happens if your television watches you?’”

She — like us — was also a big fan of Microsoft’s Kinect, a peripheral offered on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

“Kinect was an incredible stage — at least for me personally as a developer, as a game developer — because it was something so totally different,” she told Stevivor. “The interesting thing about Kinect is it didn’t start necessarily from a gaming place. It started from a place of like, ‘hey, most people are not born knowing how to navigate 3D space using a controller with two analogue sticks, 16 buttons, two bumpers and triggers.’ You know?”

Before her retirement from Microsoft, Loftis founded the World’s Edge studio, responsible for Age of Empires.

“I’m thrilled and honored to lead this board, and to work closely with the foundation and with the IGDA,” Loftis said of her new appointment. “The IGDA Foundation is one of the most inclusive, intersectional, globally-relevant and effective organizations in game development and I believe our mission is more crucial today than ever before.”

“I have worked alongside Shannon since our days at Microsoft; she’s an excellent leader whose background and experience in the industry make her a perfect fit to take on the role of Chair,” added Fries, who will remain on the IGDA Foundation board. “I am confident that the IGDA Foundation will stay true to its values under her guidance.”