The GDC 2026 report on the state of the gaming industry covered more than 2.3 thousand specialists. This is less than last year, when 3,000 specialists were surveyed.
11% of respondents were laid off in the last two years, 17% in the last year. 41% of layoffs are related to the purchase of a studio, 63% to its closure, 13% to a merger.
36% of developers use generative AI in their work, 52% said that companies use it in general. AI is used in 30% of studios, in 58% of publishing, marketing and support. Management uses AI more often (47%), junior staff – 29%. ChatGPT is most often used – 74%. 52% believe that AI has a negative impact on the industry, only 7% see a positive impact.
42% work on Unreal Engine, 30% on Unity, 19% on proprietary engines, 5% on Godot.
PC remains the main platform – 83%), Steam Deck – 28%, Linux – 8%. Interest in Steam Deck was shown by 40%, in Linux – 12%. 8% of developers used virtual and mixed reality, XR, for projects, of which 37% were for SteamVR.
Most developers consider social networks to be the key way to promote – 65%, Twitch/YouTube – 39%, press and bloggers – 25%. 82% support trade unions in gamedev, 5% are against, 13% are not sure.
