80% of Developers Shift Focus to PC, Leaving PS5 and Switch Game Development Behind

Here is the SEO-optimized and content-enhanced version of your article, formatted to align with Google's best practices while preserving the structure and placeholders:

The latest data from GDC’s 2025 State of the Game Industry report reveals an intriguing shift in development trends—80% of game developers are now focusing their efforts on PC. Read on to explore this and other key insights shaping today’s gaming landscape.

The 2025 State of the Game Industry Report

A New Era for PC Development

At the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC), findings from the annual State of the Game Industry report revealed that 80% of developers are currently building games for PC—a notable jump from 66% in 2024. This marks a 14% increase year-over-year and continues a steady upward trend since 2020, when only 56% of developers focused on PC platforms.

While the full reasons behind this shift remain speculative, the report notes that the growing influence of Valve’s Steam Deck may be playing a role. Though not listed as a formal platform option in the survey, nearly half (44%) of respondents who selected "Other" specifically mentioned the Steam Deck as a target platform.

Even with rising attention toward UGC-driven platforms like Roblox and Minecraft, along with anticipation for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, PC remains the industry’s dominant force. If current trends persist, we can expect a surge in PC-exclusive titles and enhanced cross-platform support. However, the launch of the next-gen Switch could potentially recalibrate developer priorities in the near future.

One-Third of AAA Studios Are Building Live Service Games

Beyond platform preferences, the GDC report also highlighted the ongoing popularity—and challenges—of live-service models. Among AAA developers, one-third (33%) are actively working on live-service titles, while 16% of all respondents confirmed they are involved in such projects. An additional 13% expressed interest in exploring this model.

Supporters of live-service development often cite long-term revenue potential and deeper player engagement as key advantages. On the flip side, many developers voiced concerns about creative limitations, player fatigue, exploitative monetization tactics, and team burnout.

GDC’s findings also pointed to a broader concern: market oversaturation. Maintaining a consistent and active player base has become increasingly difficult, especially for large studios. A recent example includes Ubisoft, which announced the shutdown of XDefiant just six months post-launch.

Global Representation Remains Uneven in GDC’s Survey

As reported by PC Gamer on January 23, 2025, the GDC study appears to underrepresent developers from non-Western regions. Approximately 70% of survey participants come from Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Notably absent or underrepresented are developers from China—a global leader in mobile gaming—and Japan, historically known for its influential contributions to console gaming. This imbalance suggests the report may reflect a more Western-centric view of the game industry, potentially overlooking regional differences in development strategies, player behavior, and business models.

[ttpp]