The 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC) State of the Game Industry report highlights a significant shift in game development focus. A compelling 80% of developers are prioritizing PC as their primary platform, a substantial 14% increase from the previous year's 66%.
PC Dominance and Potential Shifts
The report, an annual survey reflecting global developer trends, attributes this surge in PC development, in part, to the rising popularity of Valve's Steam Deck. While not explicitly listed as a development platform in the survey, a significant 44% of those selecting "Other" specified the Steam Deck as a target. This reinforces PC's established dominance, a trend that has steadily climbed from 56% in 2020. However, the anticipated launch of the Switch 2, with its promised graphical and performance improvements, could potentially introduce some alteration to this established trend.
Live Service Games: A Mixed Bag
The report also delves into the prevalence of live-service games. A notable one-third (33%) of AAA developers are currently engaged in live-service projects. Expanding the survey to all respondents, 16% are actively developing live-service titles, with an additional 13% expressing interest. Conversely, 41% show no interest, citing concerns such as declining player engagement, creative limitations, potentially exploitative practices, and the risk of developer burnout. GDC emphasizes the current market oversaturation of live-service games as a major challenge, exemplified by recent high-profile game shutdowns.
Geographic Representation Concerns
A subsequent report by PC Gamer raises concerns about the geographic representation within the GDC survey. Approximately 70% of respondents hail from Western countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia), with notable absences from major gaming regions like China and Japan. This potential bias in the survey's composition may limit the report's ability to fully reflect the global state of the game industry.
