GDC Industry Survey Reveals 35% of Game Developers Focus on XR Development

Amidst ongoing challenges in the gaming world, the development landscape for extended reality (XR) appears to be holding its ground. The annual State of the Game Industry Survey, conducted by the esteemed Game Developer Conference (GDC), reveals that 35% of participating developers are actively working on XR projects.

GDC, held in the vibrant city of San Francisco, has long been a pivotal gathering for game creators worldwide. It’s an essential event for studios not only to flaunt their latest innovations but also to engage with the community, exchange groundbreaking ideas, and glean insights from the titans of gaming and platform development.

The survey, though released in March, is distributed online towards the end of the previous year, ensuring its statistics are quite current. This year marks a first for the GDC survey in including a specific section querying developers about their involvement with XR, unveiling some intriguing statistics.

Among the platforms sparking the most interest, the Meta Quest leads with 63%, followed by SteamVR at 45%. The Apple Vision Pro captures the curiosity of 26%, PlayStation VR/2 attracts 25%, and Apple’s ARKit sees attention from 12%. You can check out the full image for more details.

However, interest levels don’t always translate into development reality. The real focus for developers currently lies with Quest (59%), SteamVR (31%), and PSVR 2 (16%). Even though 26% showed interest in Apple’s Vision Pro, a mere 8% are actually diving into projects for this mixed reality device, as noted by the survey.

The GDC is cautious about drawing direct comparisons with past years since this is the first time XR-specific questions were included in the survey. Despite relying on less formal feedback in previous editions, it seems clear that the XR developer community has continued steadfast, holding onto their preferred platforms.

This steadiness is particularly heartening given the recent downturn within the industry. Numerous studios, whether traditionally focused or XR-centric, have faced closures and layoffs since the year 2023.

The consistent dedication to XR development is indeed promising news. With the XR audience being significantly smaller than that of traditional gaming platforms, it’s encouraging to see studios maintaining their commitment to XR, resisting the lure of seemingly more secure ventures.

The upcoming GDC event, scheduled for March 17th to 22nd at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, promises to be an exciting platform to further explore such industry insights. We’re eager to hear more from the event as the date approaches.