GDC released the results of its 13th annual State of the Game Industry Survey recently, sharing global data and sentiment from developers on topics including the practical and ethical use of generative AI, the increase in layoffs, the platforms they’re currently developing games for and much more.
The responses from over 3,000 game industry professionals reflect findings including:
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11% of developers reported being laid off in the past year. Roles in the Narrative field saw the most impact, with 19% of respondents.
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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.
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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.
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One in every three AAA developers surveyed (33%) noted that they are working on a live-service title.
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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.
The full survey, which includes more insight into the game development community’s thoughts on these topics, can be downloaded for free here.
