Didn’t GDC already publish State of the Game Industry this year?
That was my exact reaction when the new survey link showed up in my inbox this week. Yes, they already put out the 2026 report back in January. No, this isn’t a rerun. Going forward, the annual report is moving to a November release instead of January, which technically means we’re getting two “2026” reports this year. GDC’s own framing is that their stories won’t be the same, and given how much has shifted industry-wide since January, I believe it.
If you’re not familiar with the survey itself, here’s the quick version: every year since 2012, GDC (now operating under the wider “GDC Festival of Gaming” banner) has surveyed thousands of game industry professionals about the stuff that actually keeps us up at night – layoffs, generative AI, etc. It started as a way to take the temperature of an industry that otherwise tends to only get talked about through blockbuster launches and quarterly earnings calls. The people making the games rarely get asked what they think.
The move to November is really interesting. GDC is explicitly saying the January cadence no longer reflects the industry fast enough, and that landing the report closer to year’s end will better capture where things actually stand heading into the next year, rather than reporting on a fall/winter snapshot that’s already a few months stale by the time people read it. Beyond the timing, the survey keeps the format the January edition introduced: it’s tailored to your role as you go. Everything is anonymous, and you can navigate back if you want to revisit something.
If you work anywhere in the games industry – whatever your corner of it is, go take a few minutes and fill this out. It’s anonymous and will truly help our industry better prepare itself in the years ahead. Don’t wait for someone else’s summary of the November report (even ours). Go be part of the data it’s built on.
