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Game Developers Conference Survey Results Shed New Light On Video Games Industry

The 2021 Game Developers Conference (GDC) survey results are now available. The findings provide insight into the direction, preferences, and possible new trends of the video game industry. This “State of the Industry Survey” is the ninth annual report, with over 3,000 developers contributing this year.

We can extrapolate a fair amount of information from the recent report, including which gaming platform(s) currently most interest developers. PC took the lead by a wide margin, with over 58%. Rounding out the top five was PlayStation 5 with 44%, Nintendo Switch at 38%, Xbox Series X/S taking 30%, and VR Headsets at 27%.

When asked about current projects the developers are working on, the top five were PC at 58%, iOS in second with 32%, and Android closely behind with 31%. The newest gaming consoles sat closely on the bottom five with PlayStation 5 at 27%, and Xbox Series X/S taking 24%.

VR/AR platform preferences were also unveiled, with Oculus Quest garnering 52% for most interested to develop for. PlayStation VR came in at 28%, tied with Valve Index. HTC VIVE was 26% and Oculus Rift closely behind at 25%. Sony will likely be watching these numbers closely as they continue to develop their PSVR 2 technology.

The top five platforms in which AR/VR games were currently being developed for were Oculus Quest sitting comfortably on top at 27%, followed by Oculus Rift and HTC VIVE who tied with 17%, iOS ARKit had 10%, and right behind was Valve Index at 9%. Similarly, when asked which of these platforms they anticipated their next game to release on; Oculus Quest was 31%, Oculus Rift 19%, HTC VIVE 18%, and Valve Index tied with PlayStation VR at 12%.

Respondents were also asked if they are concerned that paid subscription services will devalue individual game prices. A notable 30% said “No” compared to 21% stating “Yes”. Other response options were “Maybe” and “Not Sure” which received 26% and 22% respectively. This would certainly be welcome news to Microsoft’s Xbox team, as they continue to bolster their Game Pass subscription service.

For more information and to view the full results, the GDC survey is available for free to download.