"The 2026 Game Developers Conference (GDC), which has been renamed the GDC Festival of Gaming, takes place in early March. Ahead of the San Francisco-based industry event, GDC has released its annual survey of game industry developer sentiment. Over 2,300 industry professionals responded on topics ranging from genAI to layoffs, providing a small snapshot of what's going on across video game companies big and small. It's not a pretty picture."
"Back in 2024, game makers were relatively split on the advantages and downsides of the emerging LLM craze. Now they are increasingly horrified by it. Last year, 13 percent of respondents thought genAI would have a positive impact on the game industry. In 2026 it's just 7 percent. Instead, 52 percent think the technology will have a negative impact, up double digits from just 12 months ago. Artists, storytellers, programmers-they're all down on it."
"According to the new survey, roughly 40 percent of respondents said they were interested in making their next game for PlayStation 5 or Switch 2. Only 20 percent were planning to bring it to Xbox Series X/S. That's still above Android, iOS, and the original Switch, but it's a steep drop-off from last year when the Xbox number was 34 percent. PC is still far and away the most popular platform. Maybe that's why Microsoft is pivoting to it."
More than 2,300 industry professionals responded to an annual GDC survey covering genAI, layoffs, platform plans, and unionization. A growing majority now views generative AI as having a negative impact: only 7 percent expect positive effects in 2026 while 52 percent expect negative consequences. Adoption of genAI for simple tasks like email writing is increasing despite widespread concern among artists, storytellers, and programmers. Platform interest is shifting toward PC and PlayStation/Switch, with Xbox Series X/S attracting only around 20 percent interest for upcoming titles. In the U.S., over 80 percent support unionization and 62 percent express interest in joining a union.
Read at Kotaku
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