PS5, Switch Game Dev Takes a Back Seat as 80% of Devs Focus on PC

GDC's 2025 State of the Game Industry report reveals a significant shift in development focus: 80% of game developers are prioritizing PC as their primary platform. Let's delve into the key trends highlighted in this insightful report.

The 2025 State of the Game Industry Report

PC Dominates: 80% of Developers Target This Platform

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) released its annual State of the Game Industry report on January 21, 2025, unveiling a striking statistic: a remarkable 80% of game developers are currently creating games for PC. This represents a substantial 14% increase from the 66% reported in 2024. While the precise reasons remain unclear, the report suggests a possible correlation with the growing popularity of Valve's Steam Deck. Although not explicitly included as a platform option in the survey, a significant 44% of respondents who selected "Other" specified the Steam Deck as a platform of interest.

Last year's report already identified PC as the dominant platform, even amidst the rise of UGC platforms like Roblox and Minecraft, and the anticipation surrounding the Switch 2. This trend isn't new; PC's dominance has steadily grown from 56% in 2020 to 66% in 2024. The continuation of this trend promises a further expansion of the already vast PC game library. However, the upcoming release of the Switch 2, boasting enhanced graphics and performance, could potentially introduce some shifts in this landscape.

Live-Service Games: A Third of AAA Developers Involved

The report also sheds light on the prevalence of live-service games within the AAA development sphere. A significant one-third (33%) of AAA developers are currently working on live-service titles. Expanding the scope to all respondents, 16% are actively developing live-service games, with an additional 13% expressing interest. Conversely, 41% indicated no interest in developing this type of game.

Those involved in live-service development cite the financial benefits and community-building opportunities as key motivators. However, developers expressing disinterest highlight concerns such as declining player interest, creative stagnation, predatory microtransactions, and the potential for burnout.

GDC emphasizes "market oversaturation" as a major challenge for live-service games, with many struggling to maintain sustainable player bases. The recent closure of Ubisoft's XDefiant after just six months serves as a stark example of this difficulty.

Underrepresentation in the GDC Report: A Note on Geographic Bias

A PC Gamer article published on January 23, 2025, raises concerns about geographic underrepresentation in GDC's report. Nearly 70% of respondents hailed from Western countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia), with notable absences of representation from significant gaming hubs like China (known for its mobile gaming market) and Japan.

This skewed respondent pool suggests a potential bias in the report's findings, which may not fully reflect the global state of the game industry. The perspectives and experiences of Western developers are heavily weighted, potentially influencing the overall conclusions.