The annual game developer survey from GDC is out now for 2022 and it has some interesting insights as usual. That includes thoughts on the upcoming Steam Deck, with it clearly not selling everyone.
Having a little browse through it today and here's a few things to stuck out to me. For starters, of the ~2,700 developers surveyed about 7% said they are currently developing for Linux. Interestingly, 8% said their next project would be developed for Linux. When it comes to what platform developers are most interested in, Linux sat at 7%. As expected all three of those saw "PC" as the top platform, which by that they of course mean specifically Windows.
Stadia, Google's once promising cloud gaming solution doesn't seem to be really getting any love with it seeing 3-5% in those same questions. Streaming just doesn't seem all that popular with developers, with even Xbox Project xCloud (now just called Xbox Cloud Gaming) also seeing pretty low percentage interest from developers.
Browser-based gaming is here to stay though, as according to the survey it seems 9-11% of developers are currently doing it or planning to do it.
What about the Steam Deck though? The question posed was "Do you think Valve Software’s Steam Deck will be a viable game platform in the long term?" and only 36% said yes with 17% saying no and the rest unsure. Some of the developer comments were interesting on the Steam Deck ranging from excitement about "a product gamers have wanted for a long time" to saying they "don’t think it will deliver anything revolutionary that isn’t currently being delivered by the Switch".
The Steam Deck is interesting, as any developer / publisher we've seen actually receive a devkit unit has been practically universally praising the device. Seeing is truly believing then.
How about VR? Well, the majority (40%) are currently developing for Oculus devices. Interest seems reasonable for the Valve Index and HTC Vive, which support Linux, as 20% said they were currently developing for those. The VR market does not sound healthy from the responses though, with an increasing amount of developers who previously worked on VR now not working on any games.
A divisive one is NFTs and the (good) news there is that 70% of developers said they were not interested, with only 21% being "somewhat interested" and 7% being "very interested" and 1% already using them. Some of the responses there made me laugh ranging from it's "the wave of the future" to the blunt "How this hasn’t been identified as a pyramid scheme is beyond me".
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: CyborgZetaThe poll reads like developers are just unsure of how the Steam Deck will play out, rather than being negative towards it.Which is fair enough, really. Still early days to be declaring it a success, much less an enduring one.
Quoting: Liam DaweWell, one implies the other, doesn't it? If you are most interested in Linux that means you're not most interested in Windows or Mac. Else you would be most interested in one of those, and not Linux.Quoting: BeamboomYes, most interested in but not above all others.QuoteWhen it comes to what platform developers are most interested in, Linux sat at 7%.
So not just interested in, but most interested in? As in, rating it above the other platforms? Really?
It's so I wonder if this either is misquoted or the question misunderstood...!
But if not, that's... pretty darn great!
Last edited by Beamboom on 21 January 2022 at 8:35 pm UTC
Quoting: BeamboomYou would think so, but you missed the key bit of that quote:Quoting: Liam DaweWell, one implies the other, doesn't it? If you are most interested in Linux that means you're not most interested in Windows or Mac. Else you would be most interested in one of those, and not Linux.Quoting: BeamboomYes, most interested in but not above all others.QuoteWhen it comes to what platform developers are most interested in, Linux sat at 7%.
So not just interested in, but most interested in? As in, rating it above the other platforms? Really?
It's so I wonder if this either is misquoted or the question misunderstood...!
But if not, that's... pretty darn great!
Quoting: Liam DaweThe full question was "Which platform(s) most interest you as a developer right now? (Choose all that apply)" and Linux got 7% for that.So, like, someone actually could have checked off Windows, Mac and Linux as platforms that "most" interest them. And, shockingly, many would not be held back by the niceties of grammar! I know, the thought depresses me too.
Quoting: Purple Library GuyYou would think so, but you missed the key bit of that quote:
Ah! You are right, I missed that last part. Thanks for not being snarky about it.
Last edited by Beamboom on 21 January 2022 at 9:30 pm UTC
TheRiddick Jan 22, 2022
pleasereadthemanual Jan 22, 2022
I guess I don't really understand the portable gaming idea to begin with. I did play Pokemon a lot as a kid, but those days are long gone. I played a lot of mobile games when I was younger, too, but that was mostly the novelty of it rather than them being any good. I don't think that phase lasted very long.
I guess it doesn't help that a lot of the games I play involve using Textractor, copying text to the clipboard, looking it up in a J-J dictionary, and creating an Anki card. Not really the type of gaming suited for a small, portable device without a keyboard.
I just have no idea what to think, because I am clearly not the target audience for this.
Quoting: JpxsonYou wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't right click on a NFT jpeg an save as
Reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/ALZZx1xmAzg
Quoting: pleasereadthemanualI still don't really get what the audience for the Steam Deck is. I kind of want to buy one, but then I remember I have no use for it. I can play games in bed with my laptop. I have 4 GNU/Linux computers already. If I'm outside, I don't want to play games, otherwise I wouldn't have gone outside.
I guess I don't really understand the portable gaming idea to begin with. I did play Pokemon a lot as a kid, but those days are long gone. I played a lot of mobile games when I was younger, too, but that was mostly the novelty of it rather than them being any good. I don't think that phase lasted very long.
I guess it doesn't help that a lot of the games I play involve using Textractor, copying text to the clipboard, looking it up in a J-J dictionary, and creating an Anki card. Not really the type of gaming suited for a small, portable device without a keyboard.
I just have no idea what to think, because I am clearly not the target audience for this.
Well, there's obviously a target audience for mobile gaming. The target audience for Steam Deck is mainly the intersection of these with the Steam users. They already own (often lots of) games running on Steam Deck, and they can play games bought for mobile on their PC as well.
The appeal of mobile gaming? Well, I'm not into it either, but I can understand that a laptop is too big for bed for many. And back in the days, before Covid, I was using public transports for a 3/4 hour to work and a 3/4 hour back. Time for gaming, maybe?
Not because of the handheld itself - who I quite frankly don't really care about at all - but for what it will mean for Linux gaming.
Last edited by Beamboom on 22 January 2022 at 12:56 pm UTC
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