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

The 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC) State of the Game Industry report revealed a significant trend: 80% of game developers are prioritizing PC as their primary development platform. This represents a 14% increase from the 66% reported in 2024. While the exact reasons remain unclear, the report suggests the rising popularity of Valve's Steam Deck may be a contributing factor. Although not a selectable platform option in the survey, 44% of those who chose "Other" specified the Steam Deck as a target platform.

This solidifies the PC's position as the dominant platform, a trend building since 2020 when it held a 56% share. The continued growth, despite the emergence of platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, and the anticipated Switch 2, points to a robust and expanding PC gaming market. However, the upcoming Switch 2, with its promised graphical and performance improvements, could potentially shift this balance in the future.

The report also highlighted the prevalence of live-service games within the AAA development sphere. A third (33%) of AAA developers are currently working on a live-service title. Across all respondents, 16% are actively developing live-service games, with another 13% expressing interest. Conversely, 41% showed no interest, citing concerns such as declining player interest, creative stagnation, and the pressures of microtransactions and potential burnout.

GDC emphasized "market oversaturation" as a significant challenge for live-service games, with many struggling to maintain a sustainable player base. The recent closure of Ubisoft's XDefiant after only six months serves as a prominent example of this difficulty.

A subsequent report by PC Gamer on January 23, 2025, raised concerns about the underrepresentation of developers from non-Western countries in the GDC survey. Nearly 70% of respondents were from Western nations (US, UK, Canada, Australia), with notable absences from major gaming regions like China and Japan. This suggests the report's findings may not fully reflect the global state of the game industry.