[GDC Dev Survey] Developers vote for most interesting platforms, platforms they're developing for, industry concerns, layoffs, and more

Truno · Jan 18, 2024

GDC 2024 State Of The Game Industry: game developers on layoffs, generative AI, and more

Over 3,000 game industry professionals weighed in on this year's State of the Game Industry survey with opinions about layoffs, the use of generative AI, return-to-office policies, and more.

www.gamedeveloper.com

This year's survey, conducted from Oct. 11 to Oct. 29, 2023, reflects the perspectives of over 3,000 game industry professionals. We found that developers are concerned about the increasing number of layoffs, the ethical uses of artificial intelligence, and changing game engine policies and pricing. They're also incorporating more accessibility features in games, have seen an increase in return to office policies and widely use Twitter/X for word-of-mouth marketing, though many have grown frustrated with the platform and owner Elon Musk's policies.

One-third of developers (35%) said they've been impacted by layoffs—either by having some layoffs take place within their team or company or by being laid off themselves. Quality assurance developers appear to have been hit the hardest, with 22% of them saying they were laid off this year (compared to 7% of all developers). Business and finance professionals reported the least layoffs (2%).

Over half of respondents (56%) expressed some level of concern that their company could see layoffs in the next 12 months, while one-third said they weren't at all concerned. When asked to share their thoughts on the rise of layoffs in the game industry, many developers cited post-pandemic course correction, studio conglomeration, and economic uncertainty as possible explanations, and some expressed a desire for unionization to better protect workers.

Even though many developers seem to be uncertain about the industry impact of Generative AI, they are quite certain about the ethical impact. A large majority (84%) of developers indicated they were somewhat or very concerned about the ethics of using Generative AI, while only 12% stated they had no concerns.

Platform surveys:

This is an anonymous poll voted by devs. Interesting that only 8% voted for the Switch's successor as a platform that they're developing for, I'm assuming most don't have dev kits yet.

Plinkerton · Jan 18, 2024

Truno said:
GDC 2024 State Of The Game Industry: game developers on layoffs, generative AI, and more

Over 3,000 game industry professionals weighed in on this year's State of the Game Industry survey with opinions about layoffs, the use of generative AI, return-to-office policies, and more.

www.gamedeveloper.com

This is an anonymous poll that was held during GDC. Interesting that only 8% voted for the Switch's successor as a platform that they're developing for, I'm amusing most don't have dev kits yet.

Or they're bound by NDAs not to say they're working on it, even in an anonymous poll.

Homura · Jan 18, 2024

...Switch 2 is more interesting to developers than the Xbox Series. And it's not even announced yet.

That cannot be a good thing.

mrmickfran · Jan 18, 2024

PS4 will be getting games when PS6 is out

stopmrdomino · Jan 18, 2024

Homura said:
...Switch 2 is more interesting to developers than the Xbox Series. And it's not even announced yet.

That cannot be a good thing.

all it means is that developers are excited at the prospect of a more powerful dedicated hybrid device

probably because indies especially sell very well in that ecosystem

Truno · Jan 18, 2024

Plinkerton said:
Or they're bound by NDAs not to say they're working on it, even in an anonymous poll.

I don't think you can confirm that an NDA has been broken with an anonymous poll

big_z · Jan 18, 2024

8% switch 2 is pretty low. I'm expecting a decent chunk of cross gen ports for it when it launches. Also could indicate a later than expected release date.

Homura said:
...Switch 2 is more interesting to developers than the Xbox Series. And it's not even announced yet.

That cannot be a good thing.

Not really. Theres a lot of devs interested in seeing what it'll be. Likewise the ps5 is being boosted by the ps5 pro. Not everything is doom and gloom.

GrrImAFridge · Jan 18, 2024

Truno said:
I don't think you can confirm that an NDA has been broken with an anonymous poll

Plus, logically speaking, if anonymously confirming that you're actively working on a title for the "Nintendo Switch successor" would break some sort of NDA, so too would anonymously confirming that you're merely interested in working on such a game, because either way you're indicating that said system exists.

Spinluck · Jan 18, 2024

Hmm, interesting poll.

Not much else to really say.

Glasfrut · Jan 18, 2024

big_z said:
Likewise the ps5 is being boosted by the ps5 pro.

Wait, what makes you say this?

Saucycarpdog · Jan 18, 2024

Homura said:
...Switch 2 is more interesting to developers than the Xbox Series. And it's not even announced yet.

That cannot be a good thing.

Probably because indies historically sell better on Switch? They sell better than on PS too.

Spinluck · Jan 18, 2024

4 out of 5 devs being worried about unethical AI use seems like a big deal too tbh.

Angie · Jan 18, 2024

Switch 2 🤔

Devs seem to like to work on it

eyeball_kid · Jan 18, 2024

It would be nice if there was historical survey data to compare to. For instance 16% of devs say they're developing for the Mac currently. That sounds higher than I would have expected, but I don't know what it was in the past.

Vex · Jan 18, 2024

Dayum. Look at those PC numbers

TonyBaduy · Jan 18, 2024

Truno said:
GDC 2024 State Of The Game Industry: game developers on layoffs, generative AI, and more

Over 3,000 game industry professionals weighed in on this year's State of the Game Industry survey with opinions about layoffs, the use of generative AI, return-to-office policies, and more.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Platform surveys:

This is an anonymous poll voted by devs. Interesting that only 8% voted for the Switch's successor as a platform that they're developing for, I'm assuming most don't have dev kits yet.

8% is not insignificant and means it's coming within 12-18 months of that survey I'd assume.

ErrorJustin · Jan 18, 2024

Anonymous or no I wouldn't tick a box saying I'm developing for the Switch successor, for what it's worth.

foxuzamaki · Jan 18, 2024

8% is already a pretty hefty amount working on the Switch 2, and that's probably the ones that felt comfortable admitting that they are

Dinjoralo · Jan 18, 2024

PC absolutely dominating, god dayum.
The overwhelming majority of devs are also Correct about what might come from generative AI.

cardboardboxer · Jan 18, 2024

Love seeing VR headsets so high.

TonyBaduy · Jan 18, 2024

So yeah, I think we can pretty much say with confidence the Switch 2 is getting announced this year, take heart in that everyone, the long wait will end this year.

Plum · Jan 18, 2024

big_z said:
8% switch 2 is pretty low. I'm expecting a decent chunk of cross gen ports for it when it launches. Also could indicate a later than expected release date.

It's in line with what current gen was back in 2020, with PS5 and Series X being at around 10%. Considering we don't even officially know that it exists yet, 8% is fine I'd say.

404LinkNotFound · Jan 18, 2024

Plum said:
It's in line with what current gen was back in 2020, with PS5 and Series X being at around 10%. Considering we don't even officially know that it exists yet, 8% is fine I'd say.

Plus i imagine itll be a bit supressed given im sure some devs wouldnt even wanna risk potentially drawing Nintendo's ire about talking about an unreleased system

Plinkerton · Jan 18, 2024

Truno said:
I don't think you can confirm that an NDA has been broken with an anonymous poll

I wouldn't want to test Nintendo's lawyers.

Either way I'm sure there's plenty of developers currently working the system, whether they say so or not.

Finiri6143 · Jan 18, 2024

404LinkNotFound said:
Plus i imagine itll be a bit supressed given im sure some devs wouldnt even wanna risk potentially drawing Nintendo's ire about talking about an unreleased system

Not just unreleased, it's not even announced yet.

Great Martinez Jr. · Jan 18, 2024

I wonder how many developers might have already have dev kits for the Switch successor.

Interesting poll in any case.

Sparkedglory2 · Jan 18, 2024

The list isn't really surprising, but it is nice to see

Truno · Jan 18, 2024

Plum said:
It's in line with what current gen was back in 2020, with PS5 and Series X being at around 10%. Considering we don't even officially know that it exists yet, 8% is fine I'd say.

This is the list from 2017, right before the Nintendo Switch was released (3% after it was already announced):

Mr Swine · Jan 18, 2024

Sigh, hope this doesn't mean that developers are doing a "wait and see" approach like they did with Switch and then scramble to develop/port games over to Switch 2

WackoWambo · Jan 18, 2024

Mr Swine said:
Sigh, hope this doesn't mean that developers are doing a "wait and see" approach like they did with Switch and then scramble to develop/port games over to Switch 2

(In my experience asking many colleagues) AAA devs outside of Nintendo didn't even get a DevKit for the Switch until 3 months before launch. There was no way for devs to support Switch at launch with that timeframe. It wasn't a choice by devs to not be there at launch, it was Nintendo.

Truno · Jan 18, 2024

View: https://twitter.com/Andy_VGC/status/1748091550330921117

8% of developers in a GDC survey say they’re working on Nintendo’s next console | VGC

And 32% said Switch’s successor is the platform that most interests them…

www.videogameschronicle.com

It's worth noting that, since the Nintendo Switch successor is yet to be officially announced, those working on games will be doing so under strict secrecy, so it's possible that more of the 3,000 surveyed are working on 'Switch 2' games but chose not to disclose this, even anonymously.

Mr Swine · Jan 18, 2024

WackoWambo said:
(In my experience asking many colleagues) AAA devs outside of Nintendo didn't even get a DevKit for the Switch until 3 months before launch. There was no way for devs to support Switch at launch with that timeframe. It wasn't a choice by devs to not be there at launch, it was Nintendo.

Doesn't even make sense to just have a few devs get the kits and let the rest wait until Nintendo announces the console. I wonder if this will come back and bite them in the arse

Det · Jan 18, 2024

Truno said:
View: https://twitter.com/Andy_VGC/status/1748091550330921117

8% of developers in a GDC survey say they’re working on Nintendo’s next console | VGC

And 32% said Switch’s successor is the platform that most interests them…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Can GDC do more anonymous surveys about rumors to get around NDA's.

Moltz20 · Jan 18, 2024

Mr Swine said:
Sigh, hope this doesn't mean that developers are doing a "wait and see" approach like they did with Switch and then scramble to develop/port games over to Switch 2

For what's worth, only Nintendo's closest and trusted partners get a heads up about the specs of future/upcoming consoles, which is why it's overall safer for most devs to go for the "wait and see" angle and why its exact specs haven't leaked yet. And even then, they sometimes don't even get all the details, such as that one time Alphadream was developing Mario & Luigi Partners in Time and they didn't know the DS's second screen would double as a touchscreen and the console would come with a mic built-in.

TitanicFall · Jan 18, 2024

Mr Swine said:
Sigh, hope this doesn't mean that developers are doing a "wait and see" approach like they did with Switch and then scramble to develop/port games over to Switch 2

I think a potential issue is that many devs didn't wait for a more powerful machine and put their games on Switch anyway. If they never go back to update them then that will suck.

Kyougar · Jan 18, 2024

Moltz20 said:
For what's worth, only Nintendo's closest and trusted partners get a heads up about the specs of future/upcoming consoles, which is why it's overall safer for most devs to go for the "wait and see" angle and why its exact specs haven't leaked yet. And even then, they sometimes don't even get all the details, such as that one time Alphadream was developing Mario & Luigi Partners in Time and they didn't know the DS's second screen would double as a touchscreen and the console would come with a mic built-in.

The issue "normal" developers have is, that they don't know what the next "gimmick" for Nintendos Console is, if they are not the ones getting all the info from Nintendo.
So, it's easier to just continue making your PC or Multiplat game and look at what comes next instead of developing for the Switch 2 blind.

foxuzamaki · Jan 18, 2024

Kyougar said:
The issue "normal" developers have is, that they don't know what the next "gimmick" for Nintendos Console is, if they are not the ones getting all the info from Nintendo.
So, it's easier to just continue making your PC or Multiplat game and look at what comes next instead of developing for the Switch 2 blind.

Switch 2 right now is actually punching above its weight in devs considering we aren't technically supposed to know it exists yet

Gavalanche · Jan 18, 2024

Mr Swine said:
Sigh, hope this doesn't mean that developers are doing a "wait and see" approach like they did with Switch and then scramble to develop/port games over to Switch 2

Most people wouldn't have dev kits yet, and some that did might not be comfortable saying so even in an anonymous poll. I wouldn't read too much into it.

That pc domination though!!!!

Spark · Jan 18, 2024

I imagine lots of third party devs have Switch 2 versions in their sights, even if they don't have a dev kit.

JigglesBunny · Jan 18, 2024

This is a pretty clear indication that it's true that developers are interested in VR, many of them just can't reasonably justify the development costs. Can't imagine this changes any time soon.

[GDC Dev Survey] Developers vote for most interesting platforms, platforms they're developing for, industry concerns, layoffs, and more

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