GDC’s 2025 State of the Game Industry report revealed that 80% of game developers are focusing on making their games for PC. Read on to learn more about some of the current trends in the game industry!
The 2025 State of the Game Industry Report
80 Percent of Game Devs Are Making Games for PC
GDC, or the Game Developers Conference, revealed that 80% of game devs are making games on PC during its 2025 State of the Game Industry report on January 21, 2025. It is an annual survey gathering insights from developers around the world, showing the trends, challenges, and opportunities of the game industry.
According to GDC’s report, 80% of game developers are creating games for PC, a 14% increase from last year’s 66%. "While the reason for this is unclear, it could be at least partially attributed to the rising popularity of Valve’s Steam Deck," as shared in the report. "While the Steam Deck wasn’t specifically listed as an option for developers to list as a platform they’re developing games for, of the respondents who chose the ‘Other’ option, 44% of them wrote in Steam Deck as a platform they’re interested in."
Last year’s report labeled PC as the "dominant platform," despite the rise of "UGC platforms (Roblox and Minecraft" and Switch 2, previously called Nintendo Switch successor. However, PC dominance in the game industry is not a new occurrence. The trend increased from 56% in 2020 to 66% in 2024.
If this trend continues, more games will be released on PC, further expanding its vast library. However, the upcoming release of the Switch 2, with its graphical and performance upgrades, could shift this trend slightly.
One-Third of Triple A Devs Works On Live Service Games
In the same report, one-third (33%) of AAA developers are currently working on a live-service game. Expanding the question to all respondents, the report revealed that 16% are working on a live-service title, while 13% are interested in developing one. Meanwhile, 41% are not interested in creating such a game at all.
For those who are interested and currently working on a live service game, they " recognize the financial and community-building benefits of the strategy." However, the uninterested ones cited issues with this type of game, such as "declining player interest, creative stagnation, predatory practices, microtransactions, and the risk of burnout."
Survey aside, GDC argued that "market oversaturation" is the glaring issue with live-service games, as developers struggle to maintain a "sustainable player base." One of the prominent developers affected by this is Ubisoft, with the announced shutdown of XDefiant just six months after its release.
Some Devs Underrepresented in GDC’s State of the Game Industry
PC Gamer also reported on January 23, 2025, that game devs from other countries are significantly underrepresented in the latest GDC’s State of the Game Industry.
According to the article, almost 70% of the respondents are from Western countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Meanwhile, China, known for its mobile games, "doesn’t rank among the list of countries with the most respondents." Japanese developers are also interestingly absent during this event.
Considering the makeup of the respondents of this event, the report might skew heavily toward the perspectives and experiences of Western devs. This could slightly affect their findings, and might not completely reflect the game industry’s status worldwide.
Sources:
GDC 2025 State of the Game Industry: Devs Weigh in on Layoffs, AI, and More
PC Gamer: 2025 State of the Game Industry Summary
GDC 2024 State Of The Game Industry: Devs Discuss Layoffs, Generative AI, and More
