[Aha, it appears that our GSW colleagues who put together Game Developers Conference have been busy setting up a new event, GDC Canada, set for next May in Vancouver. Which is neat, because both Canada and the Pacific Northwest are pretty hot for development of late. Here's the official announce.]

Game Developers Conference organizer Think Services Game Group (also owners of Gamasutra and GSW) has announced that is partnering with Reboot Communications to create GDC Canada, with the first event to be held in May 2009.

In response to Canada's increasingly important role in the international game development landscape, the GDC has committed to bringing a world-class conference focused on fostering critical information exchange, creating connections and stimulating creativity.

Building on the success of the Vancouver International Game Summit, which this year featured keynotes from Microsoft's Shane Kim and Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin, GDC Canada will feature global perspectives on cross-discipline and cross-platform content, with an eye to serving the increasingly significant Canadian games business sector.

The first Vancouver Game Summit, dedicated to bringing the Canadian sector international perspectives on developing games for the new generation of consoles, took place in 2007.

For the last two years, the Summit has served an audience of programmers, artists, game designers, producers, and studio leads. GDC Canada will retain the focus of serving developers, and promises to bring GDC-quality conference content through top-tier speakers offering fresh viewpoints.

GDC Canada will take place during Vancouver Digital Week, organized by local government entity New Media BC, billed as "...an immersive week of innovative programming and partnership opportunities for the digital media industry that features top minds from around the globe."

"GDC's strength is in its ability to translate its core values to provide both global and local relevance," says Kathy Schoback, Think Services' Executive Vice President of Global Events. "We are incredibly excited to partner with Reboot and New Media BC on GDC Canada, which will serve the regional development community with conference content designed to engender learning, networking and inspiration."

The show adds to the global portfolio of GDC events that currently includes the main GDC in San Francisco (March 2009) and Austin GDC (September 2009). More information on GDC Canada will be available in the near future at the official GDC Canada website.