The Game Developers Conference (GDC) will be held between March 18 and 22 in San Francisco, but before that rolls around the website has just revealed its State of the Game Industry report containing quite a bit of information compiling results from a survey of almost 4,000 game developers.
There's quite a bit in here but perhaps most interesting from a consumer perspective is that very few (less than 100, or under 2%) of these developers are making games exclusively for a platform that is yet unannounced. 16%, however, said they're developing projects for existing and upcoming platforms, and the largest share (46%) said their games are being developed for existing platforms only. 36%, however, said they weren't sure.
That means that at least some developers out there are working on future hardware, which raises more questions about a new Xbox or a PlayStation 5. After all, we heard not too long ago about Microsoft working on secret projects codenamed Anaconda and Lockhart and the PS5 reveal has been rumoured for an event this year. Square Enix's Luminous studio is even confirmed to be working on a game for Sony's newest console.
Unionisation was another big topic in the report, and when asked if game industry workers should unionise, 47% said yes, with 26% saying maybe, 16% saying no, and 11% saying they didn't know. However, when asked whether they think these workers actually will unionise, the yes percentage fell to 21%, with the largest share of 39% saying maybe. 24% said they didn't think it would happen, and 15% responded saying they don't know.
"It is critical that people who work in games are able to maintain a healthy lifestyle, live normal lives, and be able to enjoy a high quality of life that will work well for their spouses and families," said one response, while another said: "There is too much supply: too many people want into the industry. Those who unionize will be shoved out of the way as companies hire those with fewer demands."
Where do you see our industry going, both in terms of unionisation and consoles?