Gamescom is set to start next week and the survey sent to developers as part of the devcom developer conference has revealed some interesting information on the gaming industry.
32 percent of developers believe “exclusivity will become less common altogether,” while the majority believe limited (28%) and timed (34%) exclusives will become the norm. Only six percent believe “exclusivity will remain a core strategy.”
96 percent of developer believe Early Access remains a viable strategy. 59 percent said it works within specific genres and communities” and 37 percent said it worked “broadly.”
Digital and physical premium games remain the most favored business with 27 percent of those surveyed. 20 percent said paid subscriptions and 18 percent said Free-to-Play with in-game purchases.
When it comes to AI, 33 percent of those surveyed prefer minimal AI involvement, while 32 percent said it is most valuable in code and production and 11 percent said in art and animation.
The biggest concerns in the video game industry include “economic and political uncertainty (56 votes), market saturation (53 votes), and rising development costs (44 votes).”
54 percent stated large-scale digital showcases are worth it, however, 21 percent felt the “costs outweigh benefits,” and eight percent said “they’re too crowded for real impact.”
Digital format comes out as the preferred buying habit with 59 percent. 22 percent said physical editions mainly appeals to collectors, while 19 percent chose physical as the default.
Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) see a shift toward cloud and digital-first services, while 45 percent think console and PC will remain dominant.
The survey was answered by 100 devcom speakers.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/465457/developers-believe-exclusivity-is-fading-early-access-remains-viable-more/