A recent survey by Informa and Omdia shows a notable increase in PC game development. This kind of increase will inadvertently help the Steam Deck.
Inform and Omdia surveyed over 3,000 industry professionals before the Game Developers Conference and found that 80% of developers are currently working on PC games. This is up from 66% last year and is the highest percentage since at least 2018. The survey also indicates that interest in PC games is growing, with 74% of developers showing interest this year, compared to 62% last year. The PC platform has always been the most popular choice among developers, ahead of consoles and mobile games.
The rise in PC game development is evidenced by the number of new games releasing on Steam. According to SteamDB, there was a record of 18,974 individual game titles launched on Steam in 2024, which is a 32% increase from 2023. Although the exact reasons for this increase aren’t fully known, several possible factors are at play.
One reason for the growing interest in handheld gaming could be the Valve Steam Deck’s rising popularity. While the exact sales numbers aren’t public, it’s estimated that millions of these devices have been sold, which makes up a notable part of the handheld PC gaming market. Although this figure is small compared to the entire PC gaming or console markets, the Steam Deck might influence what developers choose to create more than its sales numbers suggest.
The recent release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on PC has been tested widely on the Steam Deck, showing that the device is becoming more popular and revealing some ongoing technical issues. Many users have been able to play the game on the Steam Deck, which runs SteamOS on AMD hardware, but there have been reports of problems for those using alternative Linux distros or NVIDIA graphics cards. This highlights the challenges of making games work well across different platforms.
The Steam Deck’s portability is likely why more people are getting into PC gaming. The Steam Deck is an attractive option for players who prefer the convenience of a handheld device over building and spending a good deal of money on a high-end desktop computer. As more PC games are developed, it’s likely to boost Steam Deck sales as more titles become playable, drawing in a larger audience looking for portable gaming.
The continued success of the Steam Deck may encourage more developers to focus on making PC games, creating a positive cycle for the gaming industry. It’s important to consider that there might be some random noise in the data. The survey is based on a self-selected group of attendees from the Game Developers Conference, which may not represent all game developers. However, despite these concerns, the survey results and Steam release numbers suggest that the PC gaming industry is strong and growing.
Source: GDC via Ars Technica
