Dev’s Remain Skeptical of Web3 in GDC’s 2022 Survey

The Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) will be returning in a couple of months offering both a virtual and in-person event for videogame creators around the world. As the event does every year it conducts an annual State of the Game Industry Survey to find out what dev’s think of the industry, where it’s going and what they like/don’t like about current trends. As ever, there are some interesting takeaways from the results.

GDC Survey NFT 2022
Image credit: GDC State of the Game Industry Survey

As you may have noticed VRFocus is now gmw3 as we expand our coverage towards Web3 and everything that entails. Blockchain games, crypto and NFTs are part of that but what do videogame developers actually think of these topics? NFTs are probably the most divisive and that shows with 70% of the 2,700 respondents not interested. While most aren’t at the moment, a small contingent still is with 27% and 28% interested in crypto and NFTs respectively.

When it comes to user-generated content (UGC) platforms most developers were, of course, not involved coming in at 83% of respondents. Out of the remaining 17% these were split between Roblox (5%), Minecraft (4%), Fortnite (3%), Dreams (3%), and
Core (2%). Platforms like The Sandbox and VRChat, did appear in the “Other” category.

But what about virtual reality (VR) and the XR industry as a whole you ask? 42% of respondents said they were or had been involved in VR/AR videogame development which is actually up by 38% over last year’s survey. Unfortunately, out of the 42%, 56% said they weren’t working on anything for a VR platform.

GDC Survey VR 2022
Image credit: GDC State of the Game Industry Survey

Out of those that are, it’s no surprise that the Oculus (Meta) Quest platform came out on top with 27% of VR developers working on titles for the standalone platform. As for their interest going forward, it’s still Quest with 41% whilst in second place with 25% is the upcoming PlayStation VR2.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has been drip-feeding information regarding the new headset, most recently during CES with the official name and specifications. We still don’t know what it looks like yet but there’s plenty of excitement regarding the new hardware, especially with games like Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Whether you’re interested in XR or Web3, these industries are rapidly changing and growing so keep reading gmw3 for continual updates.

GDC’s Annual Game Industry Report Reveals HTC Vive is Still Most Popular

The annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019 is set to take place in March and as in previous years, the event has released its traditional State of the Game Industry Survey, having surveyed nearly 4,000 developers. The report has once again brought up some interesting stats regarding virtual reality (VR), highlighting HTC Vive as the most popular among developers still.

GDC State of the Industry 2019 image1

Out of the respondents to the survey, 52 percent said they had never been involved with developing VR or augmented reality (AR) videogames. So the rest of the results came from the other 48 percent, with 33 percent of them currently developing for HTC Vive. Overall, however, 51 percent of VR developers were working on content for Oculus headsets, split 30 percent for Oculus Rift and 21 percent for upcoming standalone device Oculus Quest, which is due to launch this Spring.

When it comes to PlayStation VR on the other hand, only 13 percent said they were working on titles for Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) headset. Which is slightly surprising considering PlayStation VR seems to have the biggest consumer base.

When the game industry professionals were asked about which headsets most interested them the stats stayed relatively similar for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest, with PlayStation VR, Magic Leap and Microsoft’s HoloLens all seeing spikes.

As for the future of immersive content development, it looks as though most of the pros think AR will be the more dominant tech in the next five years. A massive 34 percent went for AR whilst only 19 percent of respondents chose VR. 20 percent of those surveyed thought both VR and AR would be equally popular in five years.

GDC 2019 takes place in San Francisco, California from 18th – 22nd March. Also held at the same time is the Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC) dedicated to the immersive tech industry. Alongside VR demonstrations there will be plenty of sessions taking place, for example, Amata K.K.’s Lead Animator Atsuko Fukuyama – currently working on Last Labyrinth –  will be holding a talk titled “Animating Memorable Characters that Communicate Without Words.”

For further GDC 2019 updates ahead of the event, keep reading VRFocus.

GDC Unveils State of The Game Industry Survey 2017, HTC Vive Dominates Devs Preferred Headset

2017 has only just started and there’s been plenty of news virtual reality (VR) news from CES, as well as several surveys looking at the state of the industry. These have included VR First, YuMe and Sketchfab. Noe the Game developer Conference (GDC) has released its State of The Game Industry Survey 2017, revealing a developers viewpoint on the videogame industry including VR.

This is the fifth annual State of the Industry Survey collating data from more than 4,500 game developers. In terms of VR and augmented reality (AR) platforms the survey indicates the HTC Vive has become the most popular head-mounted display (HMD) to develop for.

While the VR industry has experienced significant growth over the last few years it’s still a niche area of the videogame market, and 61 percent of surveyed developers are not currently developing VR titles. Out of the ones that are 24 percent are currently making games on HTC Vive headset, 23 percent are supporting Oculus Rift, with 13 percent supporting Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStation VR. GDC 2017 State of the Game Industry Survey - VR Platforms

As for the future, when devs were asked which VR/AR platform they expected their next game – after their current project – would be released on, 40 percent said they were planning to support HTC Vive for their next title, 37 percent for Oculus Rift, and 26 percent said PlayStation VR.

One of the big debates in the VR industry currently revolves around exclusivity, and whether VR headsets should have titles that are exclusive. Out of the developers who are working in VR, 39 percent said that their next project would not be exclusive, with 11 percent of respondents revealing they were working on a platform exclusive. Out of those developers 33 percent said their next project would be exclusive to HTC Vive, 24 percent for Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR came in last again with 15 percent.

But its the general interest level in each of the major VR/AR headsets that shows the biggest difference, significantly putting HTC Vive in the top spot. 45 percent said HTC Vive held the most interest, 30 percent indicated Oculus Rift, while just 29 percent marked PlayStation VR.

GDC 2017 State of the Game Industry Survey - VR Platform Next Game

GDC 2017 State of the Game Industry Survey - VR Platform Most Interesting

GDC 2017 takes place from Monday, 27th February to Friday, 3rd March, 2017 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. For the latest news from the event, keep reading VRFocus.