the state of game development

The State of Game Development

Wanda Meloni M2 Research

Casual Connect San Francisco, July 24, 2014

@WandaMeloni @M2Research

M2 Partners - What We Do Communicate

• Trends

• State of the Industry

• Case studies

• Best practices review

Consult

• Market Positioning

• Market Strategy

• Project Management

• Tactical Market

• Leadership Management

• Distribution

2

State of Game Development

Connect

Network

Events

3

STATE OF GAME DEVELOPMENT 2014

4

Growth of Indies Content Development Diversity

1

2

3

4

State of Game Development

Changing Landscape

5

GROWTH OF INDIES

Film • 1919- United Artists

• 1981 – Sundance Film Festival

• 2010 – 42% of US box office revenue comes from Indie titles

• Crowdfunding

6

State of Game Development

Music • 1950s – Start of indie music

• 1970s – National Association of Independent Record Distributors

• 2013 – 510% increase in indie musicians making their living

• Apple – over 16 billion songs sold through iTunes

Games • 1995 – first Amiga games

• 2004 – Unity founded

• 2005 - IndieCade

• 2008 – Microsoft launches Xbox Live Indie Games

• 2009 – Minecraft launches

• 2014 – Minecraft sold 54 million units and reaches 100 million registered users

• Crowdfunding

Source: M2 Research

7

State of Game Development

Individual: Part-time/Hobbyist

Individual: Freelancer

Individual: Full Time Indie

Studio: Small Independent with 2 - 24people

Studio: Midsize Independent with 25 -100 people

Studio: Large Independent with over100 people

Studio: Owned by Publisher

Publisher: Activision, EA

Other: Services, Academics, Support,Media

Company Description 62%

20%

18%

Source: M2 Research

8

Publisher Indie

State of Game Development

Source: M2 Research

9

Reasons for Independence

Source: IGDA Satisfaction Survey 2014

58% 56% 56%

44%

33% 32% 31%

15%

6%

19%

State of Game Development

10

CONTENT

11

Source: Inmobi, Mobile Gaming Cross-Market Analysis

State of Game Development

Consumer Preference by Genre

12

Developer Focus - Game Genre

State of Game Development

51%

42%

31% 29%

26% 25%

23% 22% 20%

16% 13% 12% 12%

9% 8% 8% 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 3%

Source: M2 Research

13

Developer Focus and Game Genre

State of Game Development

51%

42%

31% 29%

26% 25%

23% 22% 20%

16% 13% 12% 12%

9% 8% 8% 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 3%

Source: M2 Research

14

Consumer Preference by Genre

Source: Inmobi, Mobile Gaming Cross-Market Analysis

State of Game Development

15

Developer Focus and Game Genre

State of Game Development

51%

42%

31% 29%

26% 25%

23% 22% 20%

16% 13% 12% 12%

9% 8% 8% 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 3%

Source: M2 Research

16

DEVELOPMENT

17

PLATFORMS

State of Game Development

Source: M2 Research

64% 66%

64% 64%

31%

23%

37%

60%

23%

38%

14%

8%

4%

8%

18

DISTRIBUTION

9%

20%

11%

17%

10%

2%

7%

5% 5%

9%

7%

10%

14%

9%

16%

19%

2%

4%

8% 8%

5% 5%

Currently In 12 Months

State of Game Development

Source: M2 Research

Development has Changed 1900-2000’s

• Tools very expensive or custom built

• Specialized high-end systems

• Cost Millions of dollars to build

Nicole Stenger, 1992

Today

• Unity and Unreal have democratized tools

• 8% of developers doing VR games

• Cloud-gaming

Paul Bettner: Playful Corp. – Lucky’s Tale

19

State of Game Development

Source: M2 Research

20

DIVERSITY

21

State of Game Development

Source: IGDA Satisfaction Survey 2014

22

Sources: Celluloid Ceiling, Game Developer Magazine

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Women in the Film Industry

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Women in the Games Industry

State of Game Development

23

State of Game Development

Source: IGDA Satisfaction Survey 2014

24

State of Game Development

Source: IGDA Satisfaction Survey 2014

25

FUTURE OUTLOOK

26

State of Game Development

Growth of Indies • More independent studios means more crowded eco-system

Content • Focus on expansion of genres, game play, storytelling

Development • Platforms, distribution, development are shifting

Diversity • More diversity needed to sustain industry

1

2

3

4

27

M2 Partners wanda@m2research.com

THANK YOU!

State of Game Development

References

State of Game Development 2014, M2 Research

Developer Satisfaction Report, IGDA – Kate Edwards, Johanna Weststar, Wanda Meloni, Celia Pearce, Marie-Josée Legault

28

State of Game Development