A new GDC 2020 survey shows devs are interested in making next-gen games, but not very many of them actually are currently working on projects for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. PC remains the platform of choice for most projects.
According to the new GDC 2020 State of the Industry report, roughly 11% of respondents (or 440 developers) are making games for Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5, and only 9% of surveyors are developing for Xbox Series X (or about 360 developers). That means all of these creators currently have PS5 and Xbox SX devkits and are becoming more familiar with the next-gen Navi GPU and Zen 2 CPU-powered hardware setups.
The last bit of data is particularly interesting considering Microsoft won't release any Xbox Series X exclusives for at least two years. This means the next-gen Xbox projects won't release for quite some time--or possibly hints at a forked SKU with dual releases on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X systems.
The survey also shows that roughly 34% of respondents, or 1,360 devs, are making games for both next- and current-gen systems. This reinforces the forked dual SKU release model.
Current-gen systems are predictably the platform of choice when it comes to consoles. Most respondents are making games for PS4 and Xbox One. Roughly 25% of devs surveyed, or 1,000 devs, are making games for the PS4 family of systems, whereas about 23% or 920 devs are making titles for the Xbox One family.
Read Also: Xbox Series X SSD: DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 NVMe with up to 3.7GB/sec speeds
PC reigns supreme with over half of users developing titles for the versatile platform. About 56% of devs, or 2,240 games-makers, are currently creating titles for PC. Many of them have decent faith in the Epic Store, but still say Steam doesn't deserve its 30% cut of all sales.
Essentially this falls in line with what we expected. Third-party next-gen exclusives should be seldom and rare-ish in 2020 apart from some major first-party titans from Sony. Remember that both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X feature immense backwards compatibility, so there's no real need to jump into next-gen right out of the gate--or at least prioritize next-gen over current-gen thanks to the latter's install base lead.
Xbox Series X is due out by Holiday 2020. No pricing has been announced.
Check below for confirmed specs and details, and a huge content listing of everything we've heard about Xbox Series X so far:
Xbox Series X confirmed details (Formerly Project Scarlett):
- 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU
- Navi GPU on RDNA architecture
- Highly customized 7nm SoC from AMD
- GDDR6 memory
- 2x Xbox One X's 6TFLOPs of GPU perf
- 4x CPU power of Xbox One generation
- Can deliver up to 40x more performance than Xbox One in specific use cases
- Adaptive sync supported
- Super-fast SSD that can be used as VRAM
- Supports 8K resolution (likely media playback)
- 120FPS gaming
- Variable refresh rate (adaptive sync/FreeSync)
- Variable Rate Shading
- Raytracing confirmed with dedicated raytracing cores
- Backward compatible with thousands of Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games
- New controller with a dedicated share button
- Compatible with Xbox One accessories
Lockhart (Unconfirmed lower-end Xbox Series hardware)
- 1440p 60FPS
- No disc drive
- Super-fast SSD that can be used as VRAM
- 7nm AMD SoC w/ scaled-down 8-core, 16 thread Zen 2 CPU at 3.5GHZ and Navi GPU
- Lower GDDR6 memory pool (Possibly 12GB)
- ~6-8 TFLOPs of power?
- Aims to rival PS4 Pro/Replace Xbox One S
- Full backward compatibility with all Xbox One games
- Cheaper MSRP
Anaconda/Xbox Series X/Project Scarlett
- 4K 60FPS
- Disc drive with 4K UHD playback
- Super-fast SSD that can be used as VRAM
- 7nm AMD SoC with 8-core, 16 thread Zen 2 CPU at 3.5GHz and Navi GPU
- 16GB GDDR6 RAM
- 12 TFLOPs of power
- 2x GPU power as Xbox One X/aims to replace Xbox One X
- Full backward compatibility with all Xbox One games
- More expensive MSRP
Xbox Series X coverage:
- New Xbox Series X renders show ventilation and back ports
- Ex-Xbox VP won't buy next-gen Xbox, will play exclusives on PC instead
- Xbox Series X HDMI pass-through currently not supported
- New Xbox Series X renders show ventilation and back ports
- Xbox Series X new die shot teases beautiful AMD custom 7nm APU
- Analyst: $500 Xbox Series X will take wind out of Microsoft's sails
- PlayStation 5 to outsell Xbox Series X in 2020, analyst predicts
- Xbox Lockhart going digital-only at launch would be a mistake
- Xbox Series X new die shot teases beautiful AMD custom 7nm APU
- Xbox Series X will destroy PlayStation 5 with its MUCH faster GPU
- Xbox Series X rumor: launching November 22 for $499
- Xbox Series X GPU is better than any Navi GPU released so far
- Xbox Series X may be more powerful, but will third-party devs use it?
- Xbox Series X will boost performance of previous gen Xbox games
- PS5, Xbox Series X SSD may use software-defined flash to boost speeds
- Microsoft to 'virtually eliminate' loading times on Xbox Series X
- How the Xbox Series X will look in your living room
- Clarifying the Xbox Series X name
- Xbox Series X's custom SoC built with backward compatibility in mind
- Next-gen Forza is playable on Xbox Series X, is 'vastly different'
- Xbox Series X size comparison vs Xbox One, PS4 Pro, Switch
- Next-gen Xbox controller has a share button
- Xbox Series X naming scheme leaves door open for Lockhart
- Xbox Series X may allow suspend and resume for multiple games at once
- Microsoft reveals next-gen Xbox console, the Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series X may allow suspend and resume for multiple games at once
- Next-gen Xbox Lockhart has 'significantly less RAM' for 1440p gaming
- Next-gen Xbox Scarlett specs: 12TFLOPs, 16GB RAM, 3.5GHz Zen 2 CPU
- Cheaper next-gen Xbox Lockhart targets 1440p 60FPS
- Cheaper next-gen Xbox Lockhart targets 1440p 60FPS
- Project Scarlett devkits aren't widely available yet
- PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds
- NVIDIA G-Sync monitors to improve PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett
- Project Scarlett won't get VR gaming, Microsoft doesn't care about VR
- Next-gen Xbox Scarlett plays four generations of Xbox games
- Microsoft teases next-gen Xbox: 8K, 120FPS, super-fast SSD
- Xbox Scarlett CPU: 'no compromises', allows for 4K 120FPS gaming
- Microsoft: Xbox Scarlett will kick PlayStation 5's ass in perf/price
- Next-gen Xbox may hit 4K 60FPS in every game
- Project Scarlett to hit 1080p 120FPS gaming
- Project Scarlett trade-in program announced, but there's a big catch
- New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
- Next-gen Xbox may get room-scale VR gaming
- PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
- Gears 5 developer says Xbox Scarlett has dedicated ray tracing cores
- GTA 6 on PS5, Project Scarlett to have insane hyper-realistic visuals
- AMD 'Flute': Xbox Scarlett SoC: Zen 2 8C/16T @ 3.2GHz on 7nm
- Project Scarlett's price isn't locked in yet
- Project Scarlett isn't the last Xbox console
Sony is expected to reveal the PS5 in a special event in February 2020. The console will release in Holiday 2020, and it may cost $499.
Check below for more info:
PlayStation 5 specs and details:
- Custom SoC with second-gen Navi GPU, Zen 2 CPU
- 8-Core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU at 3.2GHz
- Navi GPU at 2.0GHz with 36 Compute Units
- Navi, Zen SoC uses new AMD RDNA 2.0 architecture
- Ultra-fast SSD
- Support for 4K 120 Hz TVs
- Ray-tracing enabled
- 8K output support (for gaming)
- Plays all PS4 games
- Separate games that ship on BD-XL Blu-ray discs
- New controller with extensive haptic and tactile feedback
PlayStation 5 Coverage:
- PlayStation 5's biggest features have yet to be announced, Sony says
- PS4 has sold over 1 billion games and 106 million consoles
- PlayStation 5 backward compatibility should support every PS4 game
- Sony reveals the PlayStation 5...logo
- New trapezoidal PS5 render is an expensive accident waiting to happen
- A $399 PlayStation 5 will conquer next-gen
- PlayStation 5 to outsell Xbox Series X in 2020, analyst predicts
- PS5 may only enhance PS4 games, legacy PS1, PS2 and PS3 games unlikely
- PlayStation 5 prototype dev kit console gets V-shaped clean
- Sony: The future is coming at CES 2020
- PlayStation 5 GPU: 9.2 TFLOPs with 36 custom Navi compute units
- PlayStation 5 GPU emulates PS4, PS4 Pro with special modes
- PS5, Xbox Series X SSD may use software-defined flash to boost speeds
- PS5's SSD is 'exceptionally powerful,' may beat Xbox Series X speeds
- DualShock 5 renders show new trigger design, USB-C, ergonomic shell
- PlayStation 5 to support 8K gaming, Sony confirms
- New PlayStation 5 renders show off radical different design, again
- Leaked PlayStation 5 ad prices console at $1,000, is totally fake
- Sony seeks a new Head of Strategy for Worldwide Studios
- Leaked PlayStation 5 devkit photos show new DualShock controller
- PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds
- NVIDIA G-Sync monitors to improve PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett
- PlayStation 5: Everything We Know So Far
- PlayStation 5 confirmed to have 8C/16T Zen 2 CPU from AMD
- PS5, Project Scarlett may use Samsung's 6th gen V-NAND NVMe SSDs
- PS5 backward compatibility confirmed, will play PS4 games
- Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 has 4K 120Hz output support
- PS5, Project Scarlett to hit over 10TFLOPs of power, sources say
- PS4 will be supported into 2022, to live alongside PS5
- Sony: ultra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5
- PS5 dev kit rumor: 'ultra-fast RAM', Navi GPU with 13 TFLOPs
- PlayStation 5 rumored to ship with 2TB of super-fast SSD for $499
- Insider: PlayStation 5 dev kit faster than Xbox Scarlett right now
- PS5 cartridges aren't real, patents are for Sony kids toys
- PS5's SSD may benefit PS4 games the most
- PS5 powered by Navi in 2020, AMD making Navi with Sony input
- Cloud-powered PlayStation controller may let you play free game demos
- Gran Turismo 7 is a PlayStation 5 launch title: launches Nov 20, 2020
- PS5 confirmed to support 8K video, ray tracing, all on Navi
- PlayStation 5 rumored to cost $499, launches November 20, 2020
- PlayStation game demos are coming back with Sony's ambitious new plan
- PS5 controller: Built-in mic, USB-C, no lightbar, ergonomic design
- PlayStation 5 concept video shows totally new design
- Sony solves PS5's biggest issue
- Sony: PS5 development going according to plan
- New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
- AMD working on 'secret sauce' for next-gen Xbox/PlayStation
- The first real photo of a PlayStation 5 dev kit appears
- Next-gen PS5/Xbox Scarlett open-world game: 'best real-time graphics'
- Sony restructures workforce to prepare for PS5
- PlayStation VR 2: built-in cameras, wireless, ready for PS5
- PS5 games will ship on 100GB Blu-ray BDXL discs
- PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
- PlayStation 5 could feature AI-powered 'PlayStation Assist'
- Sony won't abandon singleplayer story-driven games on PS5
- PS5 rumor: GPU is nearly as powerful as RTX 2080, GPU clocked at 2GHz
- PlayStation 5 rumored to be unveiled on February 12, 2020
- Sony to raise PS5 cost thanks to U.S. tariffs