With the Game Developers Conference just around the corner, 2,500 developers answered questions to paint a picture of major changes in the industry for this year and beyond.
Smartphones, Tablets, PC/Android Consoles Top Developer Interest Charts
The survey also asked developers about their levels of interest in developing for the variety of platforms on the market or coming soon, and received a very different response from what they said about current and future projects.
Tablets and smartphones are still way out ahead in terms of interest, with 58% and 56% respectively interested in the platforms. PC-based TV consoles, such as Valve’s Steam Box, have a very high 45% level of interest for developers. Android home consoles, like the OUYA and GameStick, are also high up the interest curve at 37%.
Interestingly, when asked simply about expressions of interest, next-gen Microsoft and Sony consoles shoot up the relative graph ranking to 29% and 27% respectively. And Nintendo platforms continue to lag in developer interest, with a relatively small 13% and 5% interest respectively for the Wii U and 3DS.
Self-Funding Goes Big, Crowdfunding Interest Blooms
Finally, the GDC survey looked into how developers are funding their projects. The vast majority of games are being funded from the company's existing war chest (37%) or an individual's personal funds (35%).
Only 9% of our survey respondents were primarily venture capital funded. 10% are still primarily publisher-funded, and 4% are actually primarily crowdfunded. With regards to crowdfunding, 8% of surveyed developers have worked on a project that was crowdfunded, while a surprisingly sizable 44% plan to do so in the future.
