The survey of Game Developers Conference (GDC from now on) answers the question.

This year’s GDC will be held in Moscone Center in Ssn Francisco, California, between March 16 and 20. As always, there’s a survey conducted before it, with the developers answering the questions. Let’s see the first question: „Which platform(s) most interest you as a developer right now? (Choose all that apply.)” PC got 50%. That’s fine, it’s the easiest platform to develop for, as you don’t need a hardware devkit, making it cheaper, too. The second place was taken by the PlayStation 5 by 38%, just edging the Nintendo Switch with its 37%. The Xbox Project Scarlett (or the Xbox Series X by now) is a long way behind with its 25%. Even the mobile and VR platforms beat it. Let’s see the complete list.

• PC – 50%
• PlayStation 5 – 38%
• Nintendo Switch – 37%
• Mobile – 34%
• VR headsets – 27%
• Xbox Series X – 25%
• Google Stadia – 19%
• PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 4 Pro – 18%
• AR headsets – 16%
• Xbox One / Xbox One X – 16%
• Mac – 11%
• Project xCloud – 11%
• Web browser – 10%
• Tabletop games – 9%
• Not involved in development – 7% (why ask them then?)
• Linux – 5%
• Voice-powered games (Amazon Alexa, Google Home, etc.) – 5%
• PlayStation Now – 4% (what’s the point of this, if the games on this service have games that are all available to play locally in a way or another? just hook up your PS3 and you’re good to go)
• Apple TV – 4%
• Playdate – 2%
• Nintendo 3DS – 2%
• Other platforms – 2%

 

The second question is exciting too. Are the devs focused on next-gen platforms, current-gen platforms, or both? Those who only work on next-gen titles had a small percentage (5%). 22% of the devs are making current-gen titles, and surprisingly, 34% of them do cross-gen titles (available on both current-gen and next-gen platforms). The remaining 39% did not know the answer.

The third question: „What do you think is a justifiable amount of your game’s revenue for Steam? (In its current form, Steam’s standard cut is 30%). 15% got the most answers (25%), followed by 10% (21%), those who don’t know or aren’t sure (20%), 20% (17%), 5% (7%), 30% (6% – they are those who would not change the current system), 25% (3%), and 1% of the respondents said they’d be happy if Steam took more than 30%. We don’t get it.

40% of the participants say that the Epic Games Store will be successful in the long term. 35% of them said maybe, 18% did not know the answer, and 7% said that Tim Sweeney’s store will fail. The Google Stadia has even less confidence: 36% – it might be successful, 33% – no, 20% – don’t know, 11% – yes. Wow. Android vs. iOS? Android: 50%, iOS 48%, and 43% of the respondents said they aren’t working on mobile games (up from 39% a year before).

25% of the devs think that virtual reality will dominate the technology in the next five years, but augmented reality (AR) got more people interested (32%). 19% of them believe in both, while 16% believe in neither.

Let’s write the complete list for the next question, too: „Which VR/AR platform(s) most interest you as a developer right now? (Choose all that apply.)”

• Oculus Quest – 39%
• Valve Index – 22%
• Oculus Rift – 21%
• Other platforms – 20%
• PlayStation VR – 18%
• Windows Mixed Reality AR headsets (e.g. Microsoft HoloLens) – 17%
• HTC Vive – 16%
• Magic Leap One – 16%
• iOS phone/tablet with ARKit – 15%
• Oculus Go – 11%
• Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets (e.g. Samsung HMD Odyssey) – 7%
• HTC Vive Pro Eye – 7%
• HTC Vive Cosmos – 7%
• Samsung Gear VR – 5%
• HTC Vive Focus – 4%
• HTC Vive Focus Plus – 4%
• HP Reverb – 2%

 

The Oculus Quest got rid of the cables, and it can be used as a standalone device. No wonder it got 39%. Valve Index got the attention (Half-Life: Alyx’ success could push it even further), and even though the PlayStation VR is outdated, it still got 18%. The mobile solution with Apple hit 15%.

So amongst the next-gen consoles, the PlayStation 5 has the most interest.

Source: WCCFTech

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