44% of developers say their games have been delayed by the pandemic

Nearly half of all games developers say their games have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to survey data from this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC).

The GDC ran its annual State of the Industry survey again this year and the data has shown that a staggering 44% of developers say their game has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is up from 33% of developers that were asked the same question this time last year. This was largely put down to the disruption caused by studios switching to remote working, along with the psychological strain that the pandemic is putting on developers

The survey questioned over 3000 games industry professionals on a range of topics including how their studios had adjusted to remote working, which platforms they preferred working on, and their feelings on the current 30:70 split that most digital storefronts take. You can see the full results of the survey over at the GDC website, but you’ll need to enter some contact details to gain access.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, as there have also been some positive developments in the games industry during the pandemic. Overall, studios have grown during the pandemic, with 47% saying they expanded their staff while 34% stayed the same. 

There is also strong evidence that studios are now adjusting well to the challenges of working from home, with 66% of developers surveyed saying they felt their productivity was the same or better than it was in office. When asked the same question last year, 41% of respondents said their productivity was down since the switch to home working, so that’s a marked improvement.

We’ve seen the effects of the pandemic on the games industry first hand with numerous delays over the last year. Halo Infinite was meant to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X, but had to be pushed back an entire year. We’ve also seen delays for highly anticipated games like Deathloop and Far Cry 6 recently too.

Check out our roundup of upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games. We can't promise that some of these won't be delayed too though, sorry.