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 highlights a significant shift in game development focus. A striking 80% of developers are prioritizing PC game creation, a 14% surge from the previous year's 66%. This trend, potentially fueled by the Steam Deck's rising popularity (though not explicitly listed as a development platform, 44% of "other" responses cited it), solidifies the PC's dominance in the gaming landscape.

This dominance builds upon a consistent upward trend, growing from 56% in 2020. While the emergence of user-generated content (UGC) platforms like Roblox and Minecraft, and the anticipated launch of the Switch 2, present potential challenges, the PC's market share remains substantial. Continued growth in this trend suggests a future with an even more expansive PC game library.

The report also delves into the prevalence of live-service games within the AAA development sphere. A significant one-third (33%) of AAA developers are currently engaged in live-service projects. Across all respondents, 16% are actively developing live-service titles, with an additional 13% expressing interest. However, a considerable 41% show no interest, citing concerns such as dwindling player engagement, creative limitations, exploitative practices, and developer burnout. GDC emphasizes the significant issue of market saturation within the live-service sector, exemplified by the recent closure of Ubisoft's XDefiant just months after its release.

A subsequent PC Gamer report raises concerns about the underrepresentation of non-Western developers in the GDC survey. Nearly 70% of respondents hailed from Western nations (US, UK, Canada, Australia), with notable absences from major gaming regions like China and Japan. This skewed representation potentially biases the report's findings, limiting its ability to fully reflect the global game development landscape.