Skip to main content

GDC survey shows crypto, NFTs not popular among game makers

The Game Developers Conference has released the results of the 10th annual State of the Industry survey, revealing the opinions of more than 2,700 people who work in and around games. It includes insight into how developers are responding to gaming topics like NFTs, the metaverse, and the industry’s toxicity crisis.

NTF: Non-fungible token Illustration
Marina Funt/Getty Images

The survey, which has been around for a decade now, is releasing its results just before this year’s GDC conference, which will take place later this year in March. The survey polls games professionals on their thoughts on everything from workplace harassment to NFTs to the emerging idea of the metaverse, and the results were enlightening.

According to highlights from a GDC press release, more game studios than ever are taking steps to combat workplace toxicity. 38% of State of the Industry respondents said that their company took the initiative and “start[ed] a conversation” about how harassments and toxicity in the workplace are handled within the industry. Though the other 62% of respondents said that their company took no action, the numbers still signal that developers are thinking more about how to make their workplaces better for everyone involved, particularly in the wake of very public lawsuits at companies like Activision Blizzard.

Despite the constant chatter and flow of news around cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, 72% of game developers said that neither they nor their studios are interested in integrating crypto payments into their games. 70% said the same of NFTs. Only 1% of respondents said that their studio currently uses either crypto or NFTs, showing that widespread adaptation within games is still a long way off.

Developers seem to feel similarly about the metaverse, with 83% of developers saying that they are not involved in the development of content and experiences for user-generated content platforms like Roblox and Minecraft. Content creation for these two titles is some of the more popular current expressions of the metaverse.

While PC is still the most popular platform to develop for — 63% of developers are working on a PC game this past year — PlayStation is beating out Xbox as the most popular console for developers to make games for. Every year since the second year of the survey, more developers have been working on PlayStation games than Xbox titles: last year, 31% of developers were working on a PS5 title, while 29% were working on an Xbox Series X/S title.

On the smaller side, 20% of developers were working on a Switch title, a number that’s risen significantly since the days of the Wii U and 3DS. 30% of developers were working on a game for phones or mobile devices, down from 55% in 2013. New platforms are still met with uncertainty among many developers. 47% are unsure that the Steam Deck will be a viable platform in the long run.

Editors' Recommendations

Emily Morrow
Emily Morrow is a games journalist and narrative designer who has written for a variety of online publications. If she’s…
Counter-Strike 2 is now available on Steam for free after surprise launch
A team groups up in Counter-Strike 2.

With little more than a slight tease beforehand, Valve just launched Counter-Strike 2 on Steam.
Counter-Strike 2 - Launch Trailer
Counter-Strike is Valve's long-running competitive multiplayer shooter series. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has stayed near the top of Steam's player count charts ever since it launched in 2012. After over a decade of dominance, Valve first announced Counter-Strike 2 as a free, sequel-level upgrade to Global Offensive earlier this year. After some slight teases earlier in the month, Valve finally decided to surprise launch the game on September 27.
Counter-Strike 2 builds upon Global Offensive in Valve's newer Source 2 game engine. Outside of the obvious visual upgrades that change brings, Counter-Strike 2 adds to its predecessor with a new CS Rating system, overhauled maps, and tweaks to core mechanics like smoke grenades and the tick rate at which the first-person shooter operates. Valve also promises that the game features "upgraded Community Workshop tools," so we should get some entertaining Counter-Strike 2 mods.

Valve intends for players to smoothly transition from Global Offensive to Counter-Strike 2 as the game has simply updated to make the transition, and all items players obtained in the former work in the latter. Hopefully, this approach works out better for Valve than it did for Blizzard with Overwatch 2 last year. 
Counter-Strike 2 is available now on PC via Steam. It's a free-to-play game, although players can buy a Prime Status Upgrade for $15 that grants buyers the titular moniker. Having Prime Status grants exclusive items, item drops, and weapon cases and makes the game more likely to matchmake you with other Prime Status Counter-Strike 2 players.

Read more
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is stepping down, with successor yet to be named
Playstation CEO and president, Jim Ryan, stands in front of a blue wall with Playstation button symbols illuminated.

Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan is retiring after 30 years. The PlayStation boss will formally leave his role in March 2024 with a successor yet to be named.

Jim Ryan has been working with PlayStation since 1994 when he joined Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Since then, he's become the key figurehead for the PlayStation brand, similar to Phil Spencer's role within Xbox. His most recent success has come from the launch of the PlayStation 5, which has already surpassed a 40 million unit milestone. Today, Sony announced that Ryan plans to retire from the role.

Read more
Dragon’s Dogma 2 delivers exactly what you’re expecting: more Dragon’s Dogma
A dragon roars in Dragon's Dogma 2.

One year ago, I knew next to nothing about Dragon’s Dogma. If I was aware of it when it launched in 2012, I’d long since forgotten about it amid a decade’s worth of games. Who could blame me? Capcom didn’t exactly turn the fantasy-action RPG into one of its go-to IPs despite some impressive sales figures.

Dragon's Dogma 2 - 9 Minute Gameplay Deep Dive | Tokyo Game Show 2023

Read more