One-Third of Developers Say Their Games Were Delayed by COVID-19 According to GDC Survey

According to a survey of almost 2,500 game developers, one in three developers revealed that their games were delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that has halted many industries as companies scrambled to shift to a work-from-home model. In a special Game Developers Conference (GDC) survey, 1 in 3 developers (33%) reported that the games they’re working on were delayed due to the pandemic. 70% of respondents also announced that they’ve begun working from home, while 27% were already working from home before the crisis. One developer was quoted, “We transitioned to [work from home] okay, but it did cause us about a couple of weeks of disruption. As [New Zealand] has got COVID under control we’re already back at the office and functioning 100 percent.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] Every year, ahead of the annual Game Developers Conference, the organizers release a state of the industry survey with answers directly from developers. This year, GDC’s physical event in San Francisco, California was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the events, the organizers decided to release a special survey on how the pandemic impacted the games industry. Normally these surveys are meant to gauge a variety of sectors related to the work game developers do. In previous years, surveys reported on general interest in emerging technology like VR, or how many developers have begun work on next-gen games ahead of the PS5 and Xbox Series X announcements. But with so much of the industry upended by COVID-19, this year’s survey focused primarily on the pandemic. In other areas of the industry, 34% of respondents revealed that their game business declined, while 37% said their business remind the same. 31% of developers even said business increased during the pandemic. Less than 10% of surveyed developers were laid off as a result of the pandemic. GDC will host a special digital-only event from August 4-6. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.