40% Of Developers Want To Make Games For The Steam Deck - GDC 2026 Survey

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Each year, GDC hosts a huge report going over the game industry and going over how industry professionals think of the current state of it. Now, 2026's report is officially here, and it has some pretty big revelations when it comes to the Steam Deck.

In the new GDC 2026 State of the Game Industry Report, which asked 2,300 industry professionals some questions, 40% of them stated that the Steam Deck is a platform they are most interested in developing games for, which puts them at number 3 on the list. This matches the PS5/PS5 Pro rating and is 1% above the Nintendo Switch 2. On top of that, 28% of responders have said they used the Steam Deck for their most recent game/project, putting them at number 4 on the list.

This means that 40% of individuals who responded want to make their games for, or support, the Steam Deck, while almost 30% are already doing it. With this being the first year the Steam Deck was added to the list, it's amazing that it has ranked so high. Both of the lists are out of 22 spots, which means the Steam Deck has absolutely dominated. It's even at the number 4 spot for the Top 5 Premium Platforms, coming in at 32%, behind Xbox Series X/S at 47%.

The ROG Xbox Ally is the next handheld PC on the list, but popularity hasn't caught on for it just yet. It sits at 7%, or at number 15 on the most interested platform list, while it takes only 5%, or at number 16 spot, on the platforms that have been used for their most recent game/project. None of the other handhelds ranked higher, with the rest of them being grouped in the "other PC handheld" category and getting 2% for each list.

I find it exciting to see these results nonetheless. PC remains at the top of each list, and any PC game means the possibility of Steam Deck and other handheld PC support, but seeing a specific entry for the Steam Deck makes me optimistic for the future of the handheld as developers recognize it independently from PC. Linux is on the list as well, coming in above the ROG Xbox Ally on both lists, but is still relatively low when compared to the Deck. This most likely means most developers expect to use Proton instead of making a native Linux build, but as long as it's optimized, you won't hear me complain.

The rest of the survey is interesting as well, especially where generative AI comes in. Over 1/3 of responders use generative AI, with most using ChatGPT and Google Gemini for research, writing emails, and code assistance. However, over half of responders think generative AI is having a negative impact on the industry, with those in visual and technical arts, game design, and programming having the most unfavorable views.

And as for layoffs, over 1/4 of responders have been laid off in the last two years, though GDC notes that it could be higher, as some of these responders may have been laid off more than once. However, half of the responders mentioned that their companies have conducted some layoffs over the last 12 months, affecting game designers and business operations the most. On top of that, 48% of those who were laid off have not found another job yet.

I do hope that the industry stabilizes in general, especially with layoffs. There are a lot of amazing developers and industry veterans who are affected by layoffs like this, and it's disappointing. Still, I am excited to see the Steam Deck get so much attention when it's first included in the survey.

You can check out the entire survey from GDC directly by submitting a form for it.

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