32% of developers said the platform they are most interested in today is the Switch’s successor
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) released the results of its 12th annual “State of the Game Industry Survey” on Thursday, which revealed that 35% of game developers surveyed had affected by layoffs in the last 12 months (meaning they, their colleagues, or other teams or departments were also laid off). Layoffs were most frequent in quality assurance (22%) and least prominent in business and finance (2%). The survey was conducted in October 2023. 56% said they are concerned their company may have to lay off employees in the next 12 months.
The survey found that the most popular game development tools are Unreal Engine and Unity: 33% of those developers said they use them as their primary toolset.
Relatedly, the survey also revealed that 35% of developers have changed engines or are considering changing engines.
In September, Unity announced that it would implement a “Runtime Fee” based on game installs. This caused widespread backlash among developers, leading to the goal of going against the decision. Many developers in the survey who said they were considering switching game engines cited Unity’s policies as the main reason.
The survey also revealed opinions and details about the use of AI. 84% of developers said they are “somewhat or very concerned” about the ethics of using Generative AI. Those working in narrative, visual arts, and quality assurance were more likely to say creative AI would negatively impact the industry. In contrast, 49% of developers said they or their colleagues currently use styling AI tools.
51% of developers say their company has established a policy regarding the use of AI styling.
12% of developers said their company does not allow the use of Generative AI, and 2% said it is required in their workplace.
When asked which platforms developers are creating games on, PC is the top platform with 66% followed by PlayStation 5 at 35% and Xbox Series S at 34%. 8% of developers said they are working on a successor to the Nintendo Switch (18% said they are developing for the current Switch), but 32% said a successor is the platform they are most interested in Currently.
48% of developers say their company has implemented accessibility issues in their current game, with the most common measures being closed captioning, colorblind modes, and mapping control again.
The survey asked more than 3,000 game developers about their work and about the industry. Of the developers who responded to the survey, 35% were between the ages of 25-34 and 33% were between the ages of 35-44. 65% were white and 69% were male. Most respondents were from North America.
This year’s Game Developers Conference will be held in San Francisco on March 18-22.
Source: GDC’s 2024 State of the Game Industry Survey and Report
