GDC: The State of the Game Industry - 2026
Layoffs, AI, workplace hours & more. Quite harsh report on (mostly) US state of the industry.
More than 2,300 people participated in the survey.
72% of respondents are aged between 25 and 34. 40% have never attended GDC before. 64% are men, 24% are women.
Among U.S. respondents, 67% identify as White/Caucasian, making it the dominant racial/ethnic/origin group.
The majority of respondents are from the United States. 50% were born there, and 54% currently live there. More than 90% of respondents represent North America and Europe.
Most respondents work in game design, programming, or art roles.
62% of respondents work at game studios.
The authors of the survey aimed to maintain a balanced proportion between newcomers and industry veterans. Studios of different sizes are also well represented in the sample.
The authors separately note that this year’s sample differs significantly from previous years. As a result, there are fewer year-over-year comparisons than in past editions.
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Layoffs in the Game Industry
28% of respondents experienced layoffs over the past two years. Among U.S. respondents, the figure rises to 33%.
Game designers were the most affected profession, accounting for 20% of layoffs. Those working in service companies and business functions were the least affected at 8%.
Among those who were laid off, 48% have not yet found a new job. Of that group, 36% were laid off one to two years ago.
58% of respondents reported that their companies conducted layoffs.
Despite the situation, 47% of respondents remain optimistic and believe there will be no further layoffs at their companies.
AAA studios appear to be under the greatest pressure. Two-thirds of employees at AAA companies reported either being laid off themselves or seeing colleagues laid off.
74% of students studying game related disciplines are worried about their future. 87% of educators believe it will be harder for graduates to find jobs.
The most commonly cited reasons for layoffs are restructuring (43%), budget cuts (38%), market conditions (38%), project cancellations (32%), and strategic shifts (31%).
Respondents themselves most often attribute layoffs to poor management.
❗️I genuinely believe creative professionals should strive to better understand business realities, while business leaders should make a stronger effort to listen to product teams. That would likely reduce situations like this.
Generative AI
36% of respondents actively use AI in their work.
Men report using AI more often than women, at 41% versus 35%. Older professionals use AI more actively (46%) than younger colleagues (34%). The higher the education level, the higher the likelihood of AI adoption.
58% of business roles use AI. Managers also report high adoption at 47%.
ChatGPT is the clear leader among AI tools.
The most common use cases are research and brainstorming (81%), writing emails and planning meetings (47%), coding (47%), and prototyping (35%).
52% of people use AI in their work, and 78% of companies already have at least a basic AI policy in place.
An increasing share of respondents believe AI harms the game industry. 52% this year reported a negative view of AI.
The industry is particularly skeptical about generative AI. Many respondents believe it reduces creativity and contributes to layoffs.
❗️For me, there is still no obvious causal link between AI development and layoffs. The excess capital during the COVID period likely had a much stronger impact.
Engines, Platforms, and the Future
Unreal Engine at 42%, Unity at 30%, and proprietary engines at 19% are the most widely used.
Unity is most popular among F2P projects and smaller teams. Unreal Engine is more common in B2P, AA, and AAA development.
UGC remains marginal for professional developers. Only 3% of F2P developers work with UGC platforms.
When choosing platforms, developers prioritize audience access (78%), business model success on the platform (44%), and discoverability (43%).
PC at 83%, PS5 at 47%, Xbox Series S|X at 40%, Steam Deck at 28%, Android or iOS at 23%, and Xbox One at 23% were the platforms used for respondents’ most recent projects.
40% of developers are interested in making their next project available on Steam Deck. Nearly the same share at 39% are interested in Nintendo Switch 2.
PC remains the primary platform for most developers regardless of monetization model.
8% of developers reported working with VR, AR, or MR. Meta dominates this segment, accounting for 82% of projects developed by the 94 respondents specializing in this area.
One third of developers add accessibility features to their games. The most common options are button remapping (65%), color settings (58%), larger subtitles (52%), and audio settings (50%).
Game Business
74% of respondents work on B2P games. The rest focus on F2P projects.
Among AAA studios, F2P is more common than in indie studios, at 33% versus 22%.
There are no major surprises in monetization trends. Blockchain monetization can effectively be considered over, with only 0.4% adoption.
Among 170 mobile F2P respondents, 37% are attempting to redirect users from App Store and Google Play to their own web shops.
35% of developers are self-funded. 20% rely on publishing deals or project-based financing.
38% believe the tariffs introduced by the U.S. government in 2025 negatively affect their business. 39% disagree.
For marketing, the main user acquisition channels are social media (65%), streamers (39%), paid advertising (31%), events (30%), community platforms (28%), and traditional press and bloggers (25%).
A word from our sponsor
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Work Conditions
59% of employees work at least 40 hours per week. 11% work more than 50 hours per week.
35% of contractors, consultants, and solo developers work fewer than 30 hours per week.
❗️I once ran an experiment to measure how many hours I actually spend on focused work, excluding chats, meals, coffee breaks, and short pauses. I was overestimating my real productive time. Most likely I am not unique, and a meaningful share of those reported 40 hours may not be fully productive time.
Among those claiming to work more than 50 hours per week, the highest shares are in audio (65%), UX (60%), and business operations (57%).
The main reasons for working overtime are insufficient time to complete important tasks within 40 hours (59%) and a personal drive to do more (56%).
82% support the formation of unions in the game industry. Support is strongest among those earning up to $200,000 per year, those who were laid off in the past two years, and respondents under 45.
Only 12% are actually union members.
14% reported changes in their workplaces related to diversity and inclusion.
Among students in game-related programs, 47% noticed changes over the past year.
31% of respondents living outside the U.S. have already canceled trips to the country. Another 33% plan to do so.
60% said U.S. immigration policy has affected their ability or desire to work with American companies.
17% of U.S. respondents said it has become harder to hire or retain employees following recent legislative changes.