80% of Game Developers Prioritize PC Over PS5, Switch

Discover the latest trends reshaping the gaming landscape with insights from GDC's 2025 State of the Game Industry report, which reveals that an overwhelming 80% of game developers are now channeling their efforts into creating games for the PC platform.

The 2025 State of the Game Industry Report

80 Percent of Game Devs Are Making Games for PC

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) released its annual State of the Game Industry report on January 21, 2025, uncovering that a staggering 80% of game developers are focusing on PC game development. This report, which surveys developers globally, offers a comprehensive look at the current trends, challenges, and opportunities within the gaming sector.

The report highlights a 14% surge in PC game development, rising from 66% in the previous year. GDC suggests that this increase might be influenced by the growing popularity of Valve's Steam Deck, noting that 44% of respondents who selected "Other" as a platform of interest mentioned the Steam Deck.

Despite the emergence of user-generated content platforms like Roblox and Minecraft, as well as the upcoming Switch 2, PC continues to dominate as the preferred development platform. This trend has been steadily growing from 56% in 2020 to 66% in 2024. Should this trend persist, the PC gaming library is set to expand further, although the impending release of the graphically enhanced Switch 2 may slightly alter the landscape.

One-Third of Triple A Devs Works On Live Service Games

The GDC report also sheds light on the focus of AAA developers, with one-third (33%) currently engaged in developing live-service games. Expanding the scope to all surveyed developers, 16% are actively working on live-service titles, while 13% express interest in venturing into this area. Conversely, a significant 41% of developers are not interested in pursuing live-service games, citing concerns such as declining player interest, creative stagnation, and the challenges associated with microtransactions and player burnout.

Developers who favor live-service models highlight the financial and community-building advantages. Yet, GDC points out that market oversaturation poses a significant challenge, making it difficult for developers to sustain a viable player base. A notable example is Ubisoft, which faced setbacks with the early termination of XDefiant, only six months post-launch.

Some Devs Underrepresented in GDC’s State of the Game Industry

On January 23, 2025, PC Gamer highlighted the underrepresentation of developers from non-Western countries in GDC's latest report. Nearly 70% of the respondents hail from Western countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Notably absent from the survey are developers from China, a major player in mobile gaming, and Japan.

The skewed geographical distribution of respondents suggests that the findings may predominantly reflect Western perspectives, potentially limiting the report's global representativeness. This could impact the understanding of worldwide trends within the game industry.