Over the last several years, there has been a paradigm shift in the gaming industry. Consoles, unchallenged for years as the PC market faded, slowly started to lose ground as smartphones and tablets became competent gaming platforms. Suddenly, everyone was playing games on their mobiles devices, from casual fans to hardcore gamers. Things got even more contentious when Steam hit the scene, bringing triple-A and indie developers alike back to the PC in droves.
As the last generation stretched on and on for nearly a decade, it looked like the era of home consoles might finally be coming to a close, but Sony and Microsoft aren’t going down without a fight. Based on the latest data from The Independent Games Developers Association (TIGA), MCV reports that 52% of developers are planning to developer for the Xbox One and 48% for the PS4.
If these developers follow through with the transition, TIGA expects that 15% of them will have to stop working on PC projects while 7-8% would abandon mobile plans. The app store isn’t going to be suffering a drought any time soon, but the home console seems to have regained some momentum.
“Both Microsoft and Sony have invested heavily in engaging developers, especially indies, to make games for their platforms,” said Dr. Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA. “This investment seems to be paying off.”
