Analyzing the 2026 GDC State Of The Industry Report
The GDC Podcast returns for 2026! We’re kicking off the year with an analysis of the GDC Festival of Gaming State of the Industry Report.
Game Developer Podcast
January 30, 2026
It’s 2026, and the Game Developer Podcast is finally waking up from long holiday slumber—just in time for the release of the annual State of the Industry report from our peers at GDC Festival of Gaming.
Each year GDC organizers survey game industry professionals for data on demographics, layoffs, crunch, and other topics. This year, the show made major changes to the survey format and expanded the pool of professionals invited to take the survey, offering new insights in the world of game development.
In this episode, GDC Festival of Gaming content marketing manager Beth Elderkin swings by the show to explain these changes, and how they can help you better understand how different ends of the game development world feel about different topics.
Then, Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr and news columnist Nicole Carpenter join the podcast for a conversation about four key data points on layoffs, unionization, generative AI, and the impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
After you’re done listening, be sure to read the full report here.
About the Game Developer Podcast
The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling the triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between of game development, sharing lessons and strategies fellow developers can use to hone their craft. The Game Developer Podcast is hosted by Bryant Francis, edited by Pierre Landriau, and features music by Mike Meehan.
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Game Developer and GDC Festival of Gaming are sibling organizations under Game Developer.