PlayStation 5 might be the preferred platform to develop games on for developers. As reported by IGN, according to a GDCP report, the PlayStation 5 “is the most popular console to develop for,” even though PC remains the most popular platform overall.
“2021 State of the Game Industry report is based on a survey of over 3,000 games industry professionals”, says the IGN article. Out of all of them, 44% claim that, from a developer’s perspective, they were most interested in PlayStation 5. 38% went to Switch, while next-gen consoles stand at around 30%. Some might be surprised to find that the VR platform stole 27%. Not sure if that’s high or low, all things considered.
Some of the many titles coming soon to PlayStation 5
As to why these numbers are the way they are and why PlayStation 5 takes the reigns (not counting PC), it probably has a lot to do with the outcome of the last generation balance of power between two major console manufacturers, Sony and Microsoft. For the most part, PlayStation 4 outsold Xbox One almost every step of the way. The roster of exclusives for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One might have something to with this as well. But consider the hardware preference as well. It wasn’t until when PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One S came out that Microsoft started outshining the performance of PlayStation. At that point, however, it was already too late, as the majority of players were playing over on their PlayStations. Today numbers stand as such, PlayStation 4 sold some 106 million units, while Xbox sold a bit over 50 million in comparison.
Even during the past generation, PlayStation was praised for its “developer-friendly” environment, so having in mind the accessibility of its developer kit and the popularity of the brand, it’s no wonder most developers are interested in projects that will be happening over on PlayStation 5.
In other news, Gemma Chan’s Sersi was revealed to be the lead in Marvel’s Eternals, and PlayStation Plus games for May announced!
