The 2025 Game Industry Survey Reveals Increasing Impact Of Layoffs, Concerns With The Usage Of Generative AI, Funding Challenges and More

The Game Developers Conference’s Annual Survey Received Responses From Over 3,000 Developers Who Shared Sentiment Around The Biggest Topics Impacting Them Over The Past Year, Highlighting Key Challenges and Trends Within The Space

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has released the results of the 13th annual State of the Game Industry Survey, which reflects key trends and changes within the games industry based on responses from more than 3,000 game developers who took part in the survey. The State of the Game Industry Survey sheds light on industry-wide sentiment and insights in the lead-up to GDC 2025, which returns to San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center from March 17 – 21.

The analysis of the State of the Games Industry Survey results revealed that developers continue to feel both direct and indirect impacts from ongoing industry-wide layoffs, they also believe that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is having a negative impact on game development. The survey results also marked that developers are increasingly focusing development on the PC platform, and survey respondents have begun to lose interest in developing live-service titles, the responses indicate that self-funding has been the primary way for developers to back their games, and many more insights directly from the developer community.

The full survey, which includes more insight into the game development community’s thoughts on these topics and a multitude of other facts and details, can be downloaded for free here. Key insights from the survey can be found below.

For more details on the Game Developers Conference, please visit the GDC’s official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Bluesky, Twitter/X, or RSS.

Layoffs Continue To Ripple Through The Industry

According to this year’s survey, 11% of developers reported being laid off in the past year. Roles in the Narrative field saw the most impact, with 19% of respondents. Business and Finance saw the least reported layoffs, impacting only 6% of respondents.

41% have reported feeling the impact of these layoffs, with 29% observing their direct colleagues being let go and 18% witnessing developers on other teams being let go. 4% reported being laid off due to their studios being closed down. When asked about what reason developers were given for these layoffs, 22% were told it was due to restructuring, 18% cited declining revenues and 15% were due to market or industry shifts. Interestingly, 19% were not given a reason for the layoffs they observed.

When asked about how concerned they are about future layoffs, 58% expressed some level of concern for their job security. Also of note, the number of developers who were not concerned about layoffs decreased by 5% this year, with 30% reporting no concerns.

Developers Are Ever Hesitant About Generative AI

30% of respondents reported that they believe that generative AI is having a negative impact on the games industry, which is a 12% increase from last year. Developers pointed to intellectual property theft, energy consumption, a decrease in quality from AI-generated content, potential biases within AI programs and regulation issues as the main factors behind their discontent with the technology.

The majority of developers surveyed (52%) work for companies that have implemented generative AI and one-third (36%) personally use them. Respondents within Business and Finance Roles in companies were most likely to use Artificial intelligence tools (51%), followed by Production and Team Leadership (41%) and Community, Marketing and PR (39%). When the usage of AI was corroborated with the survey respondent’s age, it turns out that older developers are more likely to use generative AI than younger ones. 47% percent of developers over the age of 55 listed that they do use these tools whereas only 28% of developers between 18-34 incorporate them into their work.

PC Continues To Be The Platform Of Choice

Last year, 66% of developers reported that they were working on games for PC and this year that number has climbed up to 80%. While the reason for this is unclear, it could be at least partially attributed to the rising popularity for Valve’s Steam Deck. While the Steam Deck wasn’t specifically listed as an option for developers to list as a platform they’re developing games for, of the respondents who chose the ‘Other’ option, 44% of them listed the Steam Deck as a platform they’re interested in.

Interestingly, web browser games are also climbing in popularity, as 16% of developers noted that they’re working on releases for web browsers (compared to 10% last year and 11% the year before). This marks the most interest game studios have in browser games across the past decade.

In terms of console development, Sony’s PlayStation family continues to lead over Xbox, with 38% developing content for the PlayStation 5 and 34% working on games for the Xbox Series X|S. On the flipside, 13% of developers are creating games with the aim to release them on Xbox Game Pass whereas 9% are doing the same for PlayStation Plus.

Mobile game development has also increased 5% over last year – with 29% of respondents developing games for Android and 28% developing for iOS.

One-Third of AAA Devs Are Working On Live Service Games

One in every three AAA developers surveyed (33%) noted that they are working on a live-service title. Across the entire survey base, 16% are currently working on a live-service game, and while 13% noted they are interested in developing live service games, 41% expressed that they were not interested at all.

Developer opinions of the value of live service games largely vary. On the positive side, developers recognized the financial and community-building benefits of the strategy whereas those who expressed concern with declining player interest, creative stagnation, predatory practices, microtransactions and the risk of burnout.

One of the biggest concerns surrounding live-service gaming was market oversaturation, with many developers noting how hard it is to build a sustainable player base.

Most Games Are Financed Through Self-Funding

More than half (56%) of survey respondents reported that they have put their own money into funding the creation of their game. That’s nearly double the next most option of project-based or publishing deals, which 28% noted was where their funding had come from. Those who reported that they had utilized self-funding appear to be a good option, as 89% of respondents listed it as being at least somewhat successful for them.

Co-development contracts have observed the highest rate of satisfaction, with one-third (37%) calling the method “very successful.” Accelerators were seen as the least viable option, with 43% calling the option “not successful at all.” This was followed by Venture Capital at 32% and crowdfunding at 31%.

Based on just the data, financially, things seem to be going okay in the gaming industry. However, the developers themselves tell a different story. When asked about the challenges in providing or securing funding nowadays, the response from developers was overwhelmingly negative, frustrated or exhausted. The most cited issues were time, market instability, lack of industry experience or connections, discrimination, creative conflicts and too much competition.

Climate Change Impacts A Notable Number of Developers

In 2024, the impacts of climate change continued to be felt across the gaming industry, with 16% of developers saying they or their company have been impacted by natural disasters. 76% said they haven’t been impacted whereas 8% opted for the didn’t know option.

When asked to specify what natural disasters they or their company faced, 73% of respondents referenced floods, hurricanes, storms and other water-related events. Other disasters referenced include extreme heat, wildfires, and earthquakes.

About the Game Developers Conference (GDC)

The Game Developers Conference® (GDC) is the world’s largest professional game industry event with market-defining content for programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers, and others involved in the development of interactive games and immersive experiences. GDC brings together the global game development community year-round through events and digital media, including the GDC Vault, gamedeveloper.com, Game Developer Jobs, Game Developer Talks, Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards.

GDC is organized by Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organizer in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information visit www.informa.com.

Contacts

fortyseven communications

Hiro Ito

gdcpress@fortyseven.com