In two months, the next GDC will begin, and ahead of the conference, a survey they took has been released. The State of the Game Industry survey is an annual survey that is taken to gauge how developers feel on certain subjects in the industry, and with AI and layoffs rising, as well as Unity's policy changes, there is a lot to ask and see how the awesome people making the games we love feel about all of this.

So, with over 3,000 people asked, the survey has been conducted, and we can get a general feel for how the developers feel about these subjects. After reading through it myself, there were definitely a couple of things I expected, while others were a bit surprising. Here are the highlights we found:

GDCStateoftheGameIndustry2024

GDC State of the Game Industry Survey 2024 Highlights:

Before I get into the highlights, I highly encourage you to check out the entire survey. It is easy for us to sit here and play these games and enjoy, but it's important to understand how the people making these experiences feel about the changing landscape behind the scenes. You can download the entire survey here.

Majority of Developers Have Less Than 10 Years of Experience

The very first section of this survey was one of the first I was initially surprised by, but after thinking about it, it makes sense. Of the respondents, 56% reported having ten years or less of experience. I was shocked by this because, knowing how long game development can be, I expected most to be in the industry for longer. But, after thinking about it, more and more people have been getting into development lately as the entire game industry is growing.

According to GamesIndustry.biz, the industry is growing and could reach game revenues that will pass $300 billion by the end of this decade. That is nuts to think about, and with this kind of growth, I can completely see why so many newcomers are entering the fray.

PC is the Dominant Platform

There were two questions asked later on in the survey, and both showed PC's dominance in the space. Developers were asked which platforms they are currently developing for and which platform interests them the most, and both had PC at the top with over 60% each. Underneath was PS5 on both, which was over 20% lower, and the Nintendo Switch successor hit the #3 spot in the latter question. Interestingly, Linux sits at 7% for both of these questions, but I would consider both PC and Linux development useful for the Steam Deck and handheld PC space.

1/3 of Developers Have Swapped Game Engines or Have Considered It - Godot Piquing Interest

One of the big events in the past year has been Unity's policy change. Earlier, Unity changed its policy to charge developers based on when a user installs their application. This has since been rolled back to some degree, as the backlash was immense, but it seems this was the final straw for a lot of devs. According to the survey, 35% of respondents have either switched or considered switching and 33% were using Unity.

While there could be a correlation, the survey doesn't go into more detail in this way. It does, however, mention that 51% of the respondents considering switching mentioned looking into Godot and moving away from Unity or Unreal Engine. With Godot being at 3% on the currently used game engine question, this is quite intriguing, but I am happy to see Godot getting more attention.

Generative AI Use and Ethical Impact

Generative AI is probably one of the big things I am most interested in. With how helpful it can be, we see both good and bad uses of this tech in industries across the board. Most recently, we found someone who was using AI to write articles completely, and while we acknowledge the use as a tool to enhance, this took things way too far, and it feels like a middle finger to the writers who are putting in the work, but being laid off in favor of AI.

According to the survey, 49% of those who responded are either using AI or know a colleague using AI in the workplace. Most of those using AI tools, primarily used in business/finance, marketing and PR, and Production, were indie studios. If AI was going to be used, developers mentioned they would like to see coding assistance or automating repetitive tasks, though others said there is no use case for AI.

Interestingly, when it comes to AI policies to restrict the use of AI, AAA studios were more likely to have these implemented. This surprised me quite a bit, considering that the big studios generally have the most layoffs, but GDC reports that 1/5 of AAA devs have banned the use of Generative AI tools completely.

Finally, the data shows that over 4/5 of respondents are at least somewhat concerned about the ethics of using AI in the game industry. A majority had a mixed reaction over what kind of impact AI could make but were concerned that AI would replace them or were ignoring red flags that popped up.

AAA Studios More Likely To Force Workers Back to the Office

While a bit unsurprising, it is still interesting to see. Of all the devs who responded, 26% said there is some mandatory RTO (Return to Office) policy instituted, and 40% are from AAA studios. Compared to AA (28%) and indie studios (15%), this is by far the largest when it comes to development studios. Remote work hasn't been a stranger to the industry in general, but the pandemic made it much more common. Now, it seems to be reverting, but developers seem to be dissatisfied with mandatory schedules.

Over 1/3 Have Been Laid Off, and Over Half Are Still Concerned

It felt like almost every week, there was news that some layoffs were going on, impacting hardworking developers. 35% of respondents reported that either they were laid off, other teams/departments had layoffs, or their colleagues were laid off. Of the ones laid off, it seems Quality Assurance (QA) developers were hit most at 22%, while business and finance were hit the least at 2%. This does track with a lot of what we have seen over the past year, though QA is an extremely important part of making sure a game comes out as bug-free as possible.

Then, we have the ones who are still concerned. When asked if they are concerned that their company could have more layoffs within the next 12 months, 56% said they were at least slightly concerned about it happening. Many have mentioned this could be a post-pandemic correction, but it still hurts to see that these people need to make a living, too.

Calls for Unionization are Growing

With the rise of AI and looming possible layoffs, unrest is seeping in, and it seems developers want some reliable safety net. According to the survey, 57% of respondents said they favor unionization, which is up from last year, while 22% said maybe. There are also 12% who have said they are opposed. Narrative designers seemed most likely to support, while business and finance were least likely.

Of the 57% who said they are in favor, the majority come from the younger generation. When asked why, the respondents mentioned layoffs, crunch, and large-scale acquisitions influencing their calls for unionization.

Developers Aren't Fans of Acquisitions

Speaking of acquisitions, it seems there is growing discontent with how they are handled. 43% feel these will harm the industry, while 42% feel it will have a mixed impact. 5% of developers feel these will be good for the industry. Compared to last year's survey, everything has stuck around the same except those who feel it will benefit the industry. The number went down from 17% in 2023 to the 5% it is now. Responses as to why were varied, but the discontent seems to revolve around the layoffs and worries about the long-term effects.

And those were the highlights we were most interested in! Many other questions and more in-depth responses were baked into this document, and I encourage you to take a look. It is interesting to see how the ones making the games we love feel and how they want the gaming industry to develop. Again, you can download the entire survey here.

GDC itself will begin on March 18th and go until the 22nd. This will also be the first year we are going, so expect to hear from us about the event!

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Noah Kupetsky
A lover of gaming since 4, Noah has grown up with a love and passion for the industry. From there, he started to travel a lot and develop a joy for handheld and PC gaming. When the Steam Deck released, it just all clicked.
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