this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2025
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'PC development has skyrocketed,' GDC survey finds: 80% of developers are now making games for PC, more than double the number working on PS5 or Xbox games (www.pcgamer.com)
submitted 1 day ago by inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world to c/pcgaming@lemmy.ca
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[โ€“] recursive_recursion@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I'd imagine this is the case mostly due to the barriers to entry for console development still being high such as:

  • SDK licensing fees
  • requiring dev kits (whereas PCs and laptops can be acquired for reasonable prices from the junk shop to Ebay, and big box retailers)
  • you need experienced console developers (unless you pay someone to port your game)

I could be wrong though

"The exact reason for this jump is unclear, but it could be connected to the rising popularity of Valve's Steam Deck," the GDC report says. "This year's survey didn't single out Steam (or Valve's handheld gaming computer) as its own platform, because it's a hub for PC and Mac games. But it appears some developers do view it as a unique platform. For instance, when asked to name other platforms that interest them, almost half (44%) wrote in Steam Deck."

I think that's a very reasonable guess, and I'd add to it that the simple fact of accessibility may also play a very large role in the popularity of PC as a development platform. Making games is hard, but doing it on PC is about as easy as it's going to get: Learn your programming language of choice, give Valve 100 bucks, and bang, you're selling your stuff on Steam.

[โ€“] ElectroLisa@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 day ago

An effect of the Steam Deck I was not expecting