Data & Research

State of the industry: Developers still flocking to mobile, says GDC survey

51% plan to make their next game for smartphones

State of the industry: Developers still flocking to mobile, says GDC survey

Mobile development is more popular than ever, Sony's PS4 is the platform of choice for studios focused on console, and both self-publishing and self-funding are on the rise.

Those are the key findings from the second annual State of the Industry Survey ahead of GDC in San Fransisco, with organisers behind the industry-leading event attempting to serve up a snaphot of games development in 2014.

The survey polled over 2,600 developers from across North America who attended last year's GDC, with PS4 the most popular platform for developers looking to make a mark in the living room.

Console wars, mobile matters

The survey suggests 20 percent of developers intend to release their next game on PS4 - which has increasingly close links to Sony's handheld, PS Vita - with 17 percent planning to release on Xbox One, and 4 percent on Wii U.

Chart showing which platforms developers intend to release their next game on. 

The percentage of developers planning to release their next game on mobile devices is significantly higher, however, with 51 percent of developers looking to release their next title on smartphones/tablets.

The survey also found that self-publishing is becoming increasingly popular, with those polled expressing an overwhelming preference towards self-publishing their projects.

Power to the people

64 percent of developers stated that they weren't working with a publisher on their current project, compared with 19 percent who said that they were.

The other 17 percent of respondents said that they worked at a publisher. 

More interestingly, while crowdfunding success stories tend to hit the headlines, results from GDC's survey suggest self-funding is still the way to go.

Chart showing where developers draw their funds from

52 percent said that at least part of their funding comes from their company's existing funds, while 46 percent of those asked said that they invest portions of their own personal funds into their projects.

Compare that with the 11 percent who said that they had used crowdfunding as a monetary resource for their projects, and its clear that the method isn't to everyone's tastes.

GDC 2014 itself will kick off in San Francisco's Moscone Center on 17 March, running for five days flat. You can book your place here.

What do you call someone who has an unhealthy obsession with video games and Sean Bean? That'd be a 'Chris Kerr'. Chris is one of those deluded souls who actually believes that one day Sean Bean will survive a movie. Poor guy.