GDC：2024年游戏行业报告

Thispastyearhasbeenchallengingforthegameindustry.Severalstudioshaveclosedtheirdoorsandthousandsofdevelopershavebeenlaidoff,asincreasedstudioconglomerationimpactstheworklandscapeandprospectivejobmarket.GenerativeAIappearspoisedtoincreaseproductivity,thoughsomefearthe

technologycouldleadtomoreupheaval.

Butwithchallengescomeopportunities.TheriseinfilmandTVadaptationsisbringinganewaudiencetogames.Studiosareexploringtheiroptionswithgameengines.Unionizationcontinuestogainsupport,especiallyamong

youngerdevelopers,withsometeamsformingunionsattheircompanies.

Weaskedover3,000gamedevelopersabouttheirworkandtheindustry.Wefoundthey’reimplementingmoreaccessibilityoptionsintotheirgames,they’regrowingfrustratedwithsocialmedia,andthey’re

dividedonmandatoryreturn-to-officepolicies.

The2024StateoftheGameIndustrysurveyisthetwelfthinanongoingseriesofannualreportsthatofferinsightintotheshapeoftheindustry.Thisyear,GDCworkedwithresearchpartnersatOmdiatodissect

andanalyzethesurveydata,providingmoredetailedinsightthanwe’veeverhadbefore.Thisyear’sreportcontinuesourcollaborationwithGameDeveloper,withthetwoteamsworkingtogethertoprovidemore

contextandclarityforthesurveyresults.

Thankstoallwhoparticipatedfortheirthoughtsandperspectives.

Editor’sNote

Tosayit’sbeenatoughyearforgamedeveloperswouldbeanunderstatement.Developershavefaced

adversityanduncertaintyateveryturn,astechnologyshakeupsandworkplaceinstabilitycontinuetoshiftthewiderindustrylandscape.Inprecarioustimeslikethese,theperspectivesandexperiencescaptured

withinthe2024StateoftheGameIndustryreportbecomemorevaluablethanever.

ThisreportremainsoneofmyfavoriteprojectsfortheGameDeveloperteamtoworkonalongsideGDC—largelybecauseitisuniquelypositionedtoelevatethevoicesofthepeoplewithingamedevelopment,

justasmuchasitcanhighlightchangingtechnologytrendsandindustrydemographics.

Withinthisyear’ssurvey,you’llfinddataandcommentaryonhowdevelopersareweatheringtheissuesdirectlyimpactingtheirlives.Throughoutthesepages,developersweighthepros,cons,andimpactof

keyissueslike:divisivereturn-to-officepolicies,ongoingwavesoflayoffs,theimpactofsweepingstudioacquisitions,shiftsintheunionizationlandscape,ethicalconcernsaboutgenerativeAI,andtheever-

presentissueofcrunch.

Documentingand,moreimportantly,listeningtotheseperspectivesarevitaltonavigatingdifficultissuesinawaythatbestservesgamedevelopers.Doingsoempowerseveryoneinvolved,fromGDCandGame

Developertogamecompaniesanddevelopersthemselves,toadvocateforabetterindustryforall.

—AlissaMcAloon,PublisheratGameDeveloper

Researcher’sNote

GDC’sStateoftheGameIndustry2024isonceagainatreasuretroveofdataandinsight.Thisyear,

researchersatOmdiawereaskedtocollaborateontheproject,usingourexhaustivegamesindustrydatatoprovidefurthercolortothetrendsrevealed.Together,thisprovidedGDCandOmdiatheopportunitytohelpgamedevelopersbetterunderstandtheindustrythey’reanactivepartof.

Themoststrikingobservationderivedfromjoblossesintheindustry–naturallyapressingconcernformany.Amongtheinsightfuldevelopercommentsonthesubjectwasthefollowing:“Studiosgrewtoo

quicklyduringthepandemic.”Thisstatementisborneoutbygamesindustrydata,whichshowsaCovid-drivenhumpofextrarevenuein2020and2021,collectivelytotallingabout$50bnoverexpectedfigures.But2022and2023showedareversiontothespendtrendlineseenpriorto2020,thusthisreductionin

headcountispartlycausedbycompaniesbelatedlyadjustingtothenew,lesspositivemarketreality.

However,withtheforecastreturningtosteadygrowthto2027,thisoughttopresentamorestablepictureforemploymentlevelsinfuture.

Foradeeperdiveongamesindustrytrends,Omdia’sTrendsToWatchseriesisnowavailableforsubscribers.

—DomTait,ResearchDirectoratOmdia

StateoftheGameIndustry20232

Majorityofdevelopershavelessthan10yearsofexperience,more

likelytoworkatsmallerstudios

Thenumberofrespondentswhohavebeeninvolvedwithgamedevelopmentfor10years

orlessremainsinthemajority(56%),keepingconsistentwithpreviousyears.

Howmanyyears(ifany)haveyoubeeninvolvedingamedevelopment?

Underayear3%

1-2years10%

3-5years21%

6-10years22%

11-15years15%

16-20years12%

21-25

years

7%

26-30years4%

Morethan30years

3%

N/A-Notinvolvedindevelopment

4%

Thisyear,wewantedtotakeacloserlookatthedemographicmakeupofwho’sbeenin

theindustrythelongest—thedecision-makerswhohavebeenpartofthegameindustry

fordecades.Basedonthesurvey,wefoundthatmenmakeupalargemajority(87%)of

gamedeveloperswith21yearsormoreexperienceinthegameindustry,andwhitemen

arethebiggestdemographicoverall(92%).

Whenwelookedatindividualgroups(byraceandgender),wefoundasmallpercentage

ofAsianmen(15%),Hispanic,LatinoorSpanish-originmen(8%),Blackmen(6%),and

whiteandAsianwomen(5%each)reportedhaving20yearsormoreexperienceingame

development.TherewerezeroBlackwomenorHispanic,Latino,orSpanish-origin

womeninthesurveywhoreportedthesame.

StateoftheGameIndustry20233

Whatbestdescribesyourjobrole?(Chooseallthatapply)

GameDesign34%

Programming/Engineering33%

Production&TeamManagement31%

Business&Finance20%

VisualArts19%

Narrative/Writing14%

Community/Marketing/PR13%

QualityAssurance9%

Audio9%

Notlisted10%

Thetopjobrolesforrespondentsweregamedesignandprogramming/engineering,

especiallywithyoungerdevelopers.Almosthalfof18–24-year-oldssurveyedreported

workingingamedesign(45%)orprogramming(43%).

One-tenthofrespondentsnotedadditionaljobrolesthatweren’tonthelist.These

includededucatorsandstudents,technicalartists,C-suiteexecutives,andgame

researchers.Severalrespondentssaidtheyoccupyrolesthatspecializeinservices

likeaccessibility,localization,talentacquisition,andGenerativeAI.

StateoftheGameIndustry20234

Whatbestdescribesyourcompany?

IndieStudio32%

AAAStudio18%

AAStudio11%

IndependentContractor/Freelance

7%

Education5%

CreativeServices/Consulting

5%

Co-DevelopmentTeam5%

Other13%

Prefernottoanswer

3%

Asfarascompanytypes,32%ofrespondentsreportedworkingforindiestudios,

followedbyAAAstudiosandAAstudios.Themajorityofrespondents(57%)workin

studioswith50orfeweremployees.Muchlikepreviousyears,thebigger-namestudios

tendtohavelargerstaffs.Three-fourthsofAAAdevelopers(75%)workinstudioswith

over250employees,whilethesamenumberofindiedevelopersworkinstudioswith

20peopleorless.

PCremainsthedominantplatformasdeveloperseyetheNintendo

Switchsuccessor

Everyyear,weaskdeveloperstosharewhatplatformsthey’vebeendevelopinggames

for,andwhichonestheyintendtosupportinthefuture.PCcontinuestobethemain

platformofchoiceforrespondentsforbothcurrent(66%)andupcoming(57%)projects.

StateoftheGameIndustry20235

Whichplatform(s)areyoudevelopingyourcurrentprojectfor?(Chooseallthatapply)

PC66%

PlayStation535%

XboxSeriesX/S34%

Android24%

iOS23%

NintendoSwitch18%

XboxOne(orOneX)18%

PlayStation4(or4Pro)16%

Mac16%

VRheadsets10%

Webbrowser10%

NintendoSwitchsuccessor

8%

Linux7%

Cloudservices(i.e.XboxCloudGaming,PlayStationPlus,AmazonLuna,GeForceNOW,etc.)7%

ARheadsets/hardware4%

Tabletopgames3%

Mediaplatforms(i.e.Netflix,TikTok)2%

UGCplatforms(i.e.Roblox,Minecraft)1%

Playdate<1%

Other4%

N/A-Notinvolvedindevelopment

13%

Whereconsolesareconcerned,PlayStation5stillhasanedgeoverXboxSeriesX|S—with

33%ofrespondentsstatingtheirnextprojectwillbeavailableonPlayStation5hardware,

comparedto30%forXboxSeriesX|S.About7%ofdeveloperssaidthey’reworkingon

gamesspecificallyforcloudserviceslikeXboxCloudGamingandPlayStationPlus.

StateoftheGameIndustry20236

Mobileplatformscontinuetodeclineinpopularity.Whenaskedwhatplatformstheir

nextgameswillsupport,one-fifthofrespondentsnotedhavingAndroidoriOSinmind

(16%lessthan2023).

Whichplatform(s)mostinterestyouasadeveloperrightnow?(Chooseallthatapply)

PC62%

PlayStation541%

NintendoSwitchsuccessor32%

XboxSeriesX/S29%

NintendoSwitch25%

VRheadsets21%

iOS19%

Android19%

ARheadsets/hardware14%

Mac12%

XboxOne(orOneX)11%

Webbrowser10%

Tabletopgames9%

Cloudservices(i.e.XboxCloudGaming,PlayStationPlus,AmazonLuna,GeForceNOW,etc.)9%

PlayStation4(or4Pro)9%

Linux7%

Mediaplatforms(i.e.Netflix,TikTok)5%

UGCplatforms(i.e.Roblox,Minecraft)5%

Playdate4%

Other2%

N/A-Notinvolvedindevelopment

10%

StateoftheGameIndustry20237

PCremainsthepreferredplatformintermsofdeveloperinterest,withPlayStation5

servingastheleadingconsole.Morerespondentsnotedinterestincreatinggamesfor

theinevitableNintendoSwitchsuccessorthanforXboxSeriesX|S.

One-thirdofdevelopershaveswitchedgameenginesinthepastyear

orthoughtaboutdoingso

InSeptember2023,Unityannouncedapolicy(firstreportedbyGameDeveloper)where

itwouldbegincollectinga“RuntimeFee”basedonthenumberofgameinstalls.Thisled

toconsiderablebacklash,andtheruntimepolicyhassincebeenamended.Following

thesedevelopments,wewantedtoknowwhatgameenginesdeveloperswereusingand

whethertheywereconsideringswitchingtoadifferentone.

Whatgameengineareyouprimarilyusingforyourcurrentgame?

Unity33%

Unreal33%

Proprietary/In-house14%

Godot

O3DE

3%

<1%

CryEngine<1%

Multiple/Other7%

N/A11%

Accordingtothesurvey,UnrealEngineandUnityarethemostusedgameengines,with

33%ofdeveloperseachclassifyingthemastheirmaintoolsetofchoice.Thesewere

followedbyproprietary/in-houseenginesandtheopensourcegameengineGodot.

StateoftheGameIndustry20238

Inthelast12months,haveyouoryourcompanyconsideredswitchingyourgameengineofchoice?

Yes,we’vealreadyswitched7%

Yes,we’veconsideredswitching28%

No49%

Don’tknow/N/A16%

However,itlookslikesomedevelopersarethinkingaboutchangingthingsup.One-thirdofrespondentssaidthey’veeitherconsideredswitchinggameengineswithinthepastyear,orthey’vealreadydoneso,whilealmosthalfsaidtheyhaven’tconsideredswitching.

Whenaskedtoexplaintheirreasonsforpossiblyswitchinggameengines,manydeveloperscitedUnity’spoliciesas

theirmainmotivator.AccordingtoananalysisofopenresponsesconductedbyourpartnersatOmdia,51%saidtheywereinterestedinswitchingspecificallytoGodot,eitherfromUnityorUnrealEngine.

“

We’vethoughtabout

switchingtoGodot—ormakingourown—tonothavetoworryaboutshadybusiness

practicesorthewhimsof

shareholders.”

MetaQuestleadsinVR/ARbutAppleVisionProispiquinginterest

Metahasbeeninvestingbillionsinabidtogrowtheirmetaverse,whileothercompanies

likeApple,Valve,andSonycontinuetodevelopvirtualandaugmentedrealityhardware.

Itdoesn’tappearthattheincreasedinvestmenthasgreatlyimpactedthegameindustry,

atleastnotyet.

Accordingtothesurvey,36%ofdeveloperssaythey’vebeeninvolvedwithVR/ARgame

development,downfrompreviousyears(38%in2023,42%in2022).

StateoftheGameIndustry20239

WhichVR/ARplatform(s)doyouanticipateyournextgamewillbereleasedon?(Chooseallthatapply)

MetaQuestStore34%

SteamVR26%

PlayStationVR/VR215%

ApplevisionOS13%

PICOStore7%

AppleARKit7%

HTCViveport6%

EpicGamesStore

6%

GoogleARCore

5%

SideQuest

3%

MicrosoftStore

3%

MagicLeap

2%

Other47%

ThosewithexperienceworkingonVR/ARprojectsseemtofavorMetaQuestforcurrent

(33%)andfuture(34%)games(thisyear’ssurveyfocusedonsoftwareplatformsinstead

ofindividualhardware).MetaQuestalsoledindeveloperinterest,followedbySteamVR

andApplevisionOS—theplatformthatwillpowertheiPhonemaker’snewAppleVision

Promixed-realityheadset.

Almosthalfofrespondentsmarked“Other,”withmostofthemnotingthattheyweren’t

currentlyworkingonanyVR/ARgames.

StateoftheGameIndustry202310

WhichVR/ARplatform(s)mostinterestyouasadeveloperrightnow?(Chooseallthatapply)

MetaQuestStore40%

SteamVR34%

ApplevisionOS30%

PlayStationVR/VR227%

AppleARKit16%

EpicGamesStore11%

HTCViveport11%

GoogleARCore9%

PICOStore7%

MagicLeap6%

MicrosoftStore6%

SideQuest5%

Other24%

GenerativeAItoolsareenteringthegamedevelopmentspace

GenerativeAItechnologyhasgrowninpopularityoverthepastyear,withplatformslike

ChatGPT,GitHubCopilot,andMidjourneyexpandingusageandmakingthetoolsmore

accessible.AsmorecompaniesinvesttimeandresourcesintotheGenerativeAIspace,

weaskeddeveloperswhattoolsthey’reutilizing,aswellaswhatconcernstheymayhave

aboutthem.

StateoftheGameIndustry202311

AreGenerativeAItools(i.e.ChatGPT,DALL-E,GitHubCopilot,AdobeGenerativeFill)beingusedatyourcompanyordepartment?

AreGenerativeAItoolsbeingusedatyourcompanyordepartment?

Answered:Yes,IUseThem(byJobType)

44%

Business&Finance

Don’tknow9%

No,wehavenointerest23%

Other4%

No,butwe’reinterested15%

Yes,Iusethem31%

Idon’t,butsomeofmycolleaguesdo18%

Almosthalf(49%)ofdeveloperssurveyedsaidthatGenerativeAItoolsarecurrently

beingusedintheirworkplace,with31%sayingtheypersonallyuseGenerativeAItools

and18%sayingtheydon’tbutsomeoftheircolleaguesdo.Aboutone-fourthstatedthey

havenointerestinusingthematall.

Community/Marketing/PR41%

Production&TeamManagement33%

Programming/Engineering25%

GameDesign21%

Narrative/Writing13%

VisualArts16%

Audio14%

QualityAssurance

6%

StateoftheGameIndustry202312

DevelopersatindiestudiosweremostlikelytouseGenerativeAItools,with37%

reportingthattheyarepersonallymakinguseofthetechnology(comparedto21%of

developersatAAAandAAstudios).Businessandmarketingprofessionalsweremost

likelytousethem,whilefolksinqualityassuranceandnarrativeweretheleastlikely.

Whatdogamedeveloperswanttousethesetoolsfor?Thebulkofrespondents

wereinterestedincodingassistanceandspeedingupthecontentcreationprocess.

DeveloperswerealsointriguedbytheideaofusingAItoautomaterepetitivetasks.

However,therewereseveraldeveloperswhomadeitclearthattheyseenousecasefor

AItechnology.

InYourWords:WhatapplicationsofGenerativeAIwouldyouliketoseeinthefuture

(ifany)?

“Codedevelopmentisoneofthebestplacesthiswillbehelpful.Acrossengineeringand

content,developerswillfindwaystooptimizetheirprocessesusingAI.Thebestinthe

industrywilldosotoenhancetheirprocesses—nottofullyreplaceanything.”

“I’dliketoseeAItoolsthathelpwiththecurrentworkflowsandempowerindividualartistswiththeirownwork.

WhatIdon’twanttoseeisaconglomerateofartistsbeingenvelopedinanAIthatjustdoes99%oftheworkacreativeissupposedtodo.”

“

Focusonhelpingpeople

dotheirjobs.”

“None.AIexploitstheworkofotherswithoutcreditorpaymentandisanetlosstotrue

creativity.”

“SomethingthatwilldoallmyriggingbecauseIhatethatshit.”

HalfofdevelopersworkatcompanieswithGenerativeAIpolicies

Overhalf(51%)ofdeveloperssaidtheircompanieshaveinstitutedsomesortofpolicy

regardingtheuseofGenerativeAIintheworkplace,withmanyofthemsayingtheir

companieshavemadeuseoptional.Only2%saidGenerativeAItoolsaremandatedin

theirworkplace,while12%saidthey’renotallowedtouseanyofthem.

StateoftheGameIndustry202313

Whatisyourcompany’spolicyregardingtheuseofanyGenerativeAItoolsintheworkplace?

Positiveimpact21%

Mixedimpact57%

Negativeimpact18%

Noimpact1%

Don’tknow3%

Nopolicy32%

They’reoptional30%

We’renotallowedtouseany12%

Selecttoolsareallowed,othersarenot

7%

They’remandated

2%

Don’tknow/N/A16%

AAAstudiosweremorelikelythanindiestudiostohavecompanypoliciesregardingthe

useofGenerativeAItools,especiallywhenitcomestorestrictingthem.One-fifth(21%)of

AAAdeveloperssaidtheircompanieshavebannedtheuseofsuchtools,comparedto9%

ofindiedevelopers.

FouroutoffivedevelopersareworriedabouttheethicaluseofAI

WhenitcomestohowGenerativeAIwillimpactthegameindustryasawhole,

developersappeartobeuncertain.Amajorityofrespondentssaidtheimpactwouldbe

mixed,whileaboutone-fifthdescribedtheimpactaseitherpositiveornegative.

Overall,whatkindofimpactdoyouthinkGenerativeAIwillhaveforthegameindustry?

Developersworkinginbusiness,marketing,andprogrammingweremorelikelytosay

thetechnologywouldhaveapositiveimpact.Thoseinnarrative,visualarts,andquality

assuranceweremorelikelytosaytheimpactwouldbenegative.

StateoftheGameIndustry202314

HowconcernedareyouabouttheethicsofusingGenerativeAIinthegameindustry?

Veryconcerned42%

Somewhatconcerned42%

Notatallconcerned12%

Noopinion4%

AlthoughdevelopersseemtobeuncertainabouttheindustryimpactofGenerativeAI,

theyarequitecertainabouttheethicalimpact.Alargemajority(84%)ofdevelopers

indicatedtheyweresomewhatorveryconcernedabouttheethicsofusingGenerative

AI,while12%statedtheyhadnoconcerns.

Developerssharedarangeofpotentialissuesregardingthetechnology.Somewere

worriedaboutwhetherGenerativeAIusagecouldleadtomorelayoffsatgame

companies.Othersexpressedconcernsabouthowthetoolscouldsuperchargecopyright

infringementofintellectualproperty,andwhetherAItoolmakerswouldtraintheir

modelsusingdataobtainedwithoutthecreator’sconsent.

InYourWords:WhatconcernsdoyouhaveaboutGenerativeAI,andwhatcanbedone

toaddressthem?

“Inarushtodevelopnewtech,weareignoringmanyoftheredflagsandpotentialpitfallsofthisexciting

andpotentiallydangerousnewfrontier.Manyofthe

developersbehindAIseemblindedbythepromise

thatAIsinAsimov,Greenburg,andevenRoddenberry’sworldsoffer,whilstblindlyignoringthewarningsandissuesthosesamecreatorssharedintheirworks.”

“

Itstealsfromartists.There

needstobelegalregulations.”

“Managementwillseriouslythinkthattheycanreplaceartistsorpayartistslessfortheir

work.Theyarealreadydoingquestionablethingswhilethetechisstillbeingdeveloped.I

expectartiststobelaidoffinfulloncethetechbecomesproven.”

“Peopleneedtoadaptandit’shardforsome.Somewillberefusingthechange.”

“Asanindustry,wedoalousyjobofcreditingandacknowledgingactual,humancreators

fortheirworkandcontributionstoprojects.Thiswon’thelp.”

“AIdatasetsarebeingcreatedfromcreativeprofessionalswhodidn’tconsenttotheir

workbeingusedtotrainAI.Thepeoplewhomakeandmaintainthetoolsmakeit

difficultorimpossibletoremoveyourwork,ortoavoidhavingyourworkcollectedinthe

StateoftheGameIndustry202315

firstplace.Andcontemporaryartistswhohaverecentlydiedcannotpersonallyfightthis,

solovedonesareeitherforcedtopickupthefightintheirplace,orletgo—knowingthat,

inevitably,someonewillusetheirdeadfamilymember’svoice,face,orartstyletosay

ordosomethingheinousonline.That’shorrifyingasalivingpersontoknowsomeone

couldtakewhatI’vecreatedandmakesomethingimitateme.”

“Ithinkcompletelyreplacingsomeone’sjobisagenuineconcern.Itshouldbeusedto

enhancecapabilities,notreducetheworkforce.”

“IgetnervousattimeswithbigAAAcompaniestryingtocutsomecornersbyhaving

AIdoit,butatsomepoint,AAAcompanieswillquicklyrealizethatrightnowyouneed

humaninteractionwiththetoolstomakegames,notAI.”

“It’stheft,plainandsimple,andsinceit’s‘fancyandhightech’nooneseemstocare

aboutcopyrightorethics.Publicshaminghasn’tseemedtowork,soweneedactual

regulation.”

Interestinblockchaintechnologycontinuestodecline

Overthepastyear,studioscontinuedtoexperimentwithblockchaintechnologylike

cryptocurrencyandnon-fungibletokens(NFTs),butitseemslikemorecompaniesare

startingtowaneonthepractice.

Whatisyourstudio’slevelofinterestinblockchaintechnology(i.e.cryptocurrency,NFTs,Web3)?

Alreadyusingit2%

Veryinterested6%

Somewhatinterested11%

Notinterested77%

Haveuseditbutstopped

4%

About17%ofdeveloperssaidtheirstudiosweresomewhatorveryinterestedin

blockchaintechnology,downfrom27%in2023.Overthree-fourthsofindustry

professionalssaidtheircompanieswerenotinterestedinleveraginganyformof

blockchaintechnology,while4%saidtheircompanieswerepreviouslyusingitbuthave

sincestopped.

StateoftheGameIndustry202316

Paiddigitaldownloadsarethepreferredbusinessmodel

Weaskedparticipantstosharethebusinessmodelsfortheircurrentprojects,so

wecouldseehowdevelopersandcompaniesaremonetizingtheirgames.Halfof

respondentssaidtheircurrentprojectsaredigitalpremiumgames,followedbyfreeto

download,DLCcontent,andphysicalcopies.

Like2023,theleast-usedbusinessmodelswerepremium-tiersubscriptionsand

blockchain-drivenmonetization.

Whichbusinessmodel(s)areyouusingforthecurrentgameyou’redeveloping?(Chooseallthatapply)

Digitalpremiumgame51%

Freetodownload32%

DLC/Updates24%

Physicalpremiumgame21%

Paidin-gameitems21%

Paidin-gamecurrency

19%

Inclusioninapaidsubscriptionlibrary(i.e.AppleArcade,XboxGamePass)10%

Paiditemcrates/gacha6%

Community-funded(i.e.Patreon,Kickstarter,donations)6%

In-gameproductplacement5%

Premiumtiersubscriptions(i.e.Fallout76)4%

Blockchain-drivenmonetization3%

Other6%

N/A-notinvolvedingamedevelopment

14%

StateoftheGameIndustry202317

Socialmediaisthebiggestmarketingdraw,butdevelopersare

frustratedwithTwitter/X

Wordofmouthandsocialmediawerethemostusedmarketingtoolsforgame

developers,with86%sayingtheyemployeachofthosemethods.Thesewerefollowed

byreal-timecommunicationslikeDiscordorSlack(74%),TwitchorYouTubestreamers

(71%),andliveevents(71%).Theleastpopularmarketingmethodwasin-gamecrossovers

andpromotions(29%),followedbyinfluencers(57%)andpaidadvertising(58%).

Socialmedialookstobetheleadtoolforgamemarketing,ashalfofrespondents(50%)

saidtheyfrequentlyusesocialmediainmarketing(versus46%forwordofmouth).

Butsocialmediahasn’tbeenwithoutitschallenges.Withtheever-changingsocial

landscape,developerswereaskedtosharewhatplatformstheyusetopromotetheir

games.

Twitter/Xremainsthemostwidelyusedplatformoverall,with76%ofdeveloperssayingtheyutilizetheplatformforgamepromotion.ThiswasfollowedbyYouTube/Shorts

(64%),Facebook(63%),andLinkedIn(61%).NewerplatformslikeThreads,BlueSky,Mastodon,andCohosthaveyetto

breakthrough,withaboutone-tenthofdeveloperssayingthey’vetriedthem.

“

ThedeathofTwitteris

reallyhardonindies.”

Thoseworkingincommunications,marketing,andPRreportedusingTikTok57%more

thandevelopersinalljobroles,andtheyusedInstagram39%more.Developersbasedin

AfricancountriesreportedahigheruseofWhatsApp(54%)overtheglobalpopulation

(10%).RespondentsinAsiancountriesweremorelikelytouseregional-specificservices

likeWeChatorLine(23%each),SinaWeibo(19%),andTencentQQ(18%)thandevelopers

intherestoftheworld(1-2%).

EventhoughTwitter/Xremainsthedominantsocialmediaplatformfordevelopers,it

doesn’tmeanthey’rehappyaboutit.Whenrespondentsexplainedhowtheiruseofsocial

mediamarketinghaschangedinth