I’m old enough to remember when consoles were getting seriously powerful and people were starting to wonder if PC gaming’s days were numbered. Turns out, no. Far from it.
According to a recent professional survey, a shocking 80 percent of game developers are actively working on games for PC, more than double the percentage for the next platform. That’s according to the 2025 State of the Game Industry report at the Game Developers Conference (GDC).
When asked, “Which platforms are being used for your current project?” About 80 percent responded with PC, followed by 38 percent for PlayStation 5, 34 percent for Xbox Series X/S, 29 percent for Android, and 28 percent for iOS. Just 23 percent were working on Mac (though it’s worth pointing out that Mac computers have access to the iPhone/iPad App Store) and 20 percent were working on the Switch.
But there are a few qualifiers to put this data in perspective. Due to the Game Developers Conference being located in San Francisco, it skews attendance towards American developers and those interested in the latest PC hardware tech. (Nvidia and AMD are both just down the road in Santa Clara.) A small indie developer based in Japan and focusing on Switch games is unlikely to spend all that money to attend, especially when most of the information is made available online later.
But even within that context, a definite trend is emerging. The percentage of developers answering “PC” to this same survey question has jumped up rapidly — from 56 percent in 2020 to 58, 63, 65, and 66 percent in the following years, as PC Gamer reports. Even so, the jump this year is notable, likely driven by the spread of the Steam Deck and its competitors. “When asked to name other platforms that interest them, almost half (44%) wrote in Steam Deck,” says the GDC report.
The report also said that an alarming 11 percent of game developers were laid off last year. It’s not entirely unexpected since basically every major developer and publisher announced some kind of large-scale layoffs in 2024 despite the gaming industry continuing to grow at a rapid pace. On top of that, some gamers will probably be dismayed to hear that one-third of developers working for a AAA company said they’re actively developing a live service game.