2024-2025's third quarter was rough on participating developers, but most think things will even out for Q4.
A recent survey from the Game Developer Collective reveals many developers feel their studio underperformed in the third quarter of FY 2024-2025.
Of those asked, 41 percent said their employer did "worse than expected." The survey notes it's a "major jump" from the 20 percent that shared this thought in the first half of the 2024-2025 year. Conversely, the developers who believe their team did better than expected has declined from 24 percent to 16 percent.
While this year has been rife with layoffs, not many publishers have attributed those reductions specifically to weak sales. More often, it's common for layoff announcements to mention the "harsh realities" of the game industry or say their game "didn't hit our targets" with audiences.
On the other hand, Don't Nod had no trouble saying in October that its first-half struggles and underperforming games this year meant reductions were on the horizon.
41% of surveyed devs think their studio underperformed for 2024-2025's Q3.
Looking at 2024-2025's current fourth quarter, about 50 percent of developers surveyed feel their studio will end up breaking even compared to Q3. That outlook is slightly ahead of the same sentiment shared during the fiscal year's first half.
Of this group, nearly 30 percent feel they'll do worse this quarter. 20 percent believe they'll do better, and around 5 percent are uncertain.
Developers have been candid about their industry concerns in two prior Collective surveys this year. In April, 70 percent of participants were unsure if live-service games would continue to be sustainable. Since then, major entries in the genre like xDefiant, Suicide Squad, and Concord have or will soon lose support, and their teams have faced layoffs or been closed entirely.
In June, 59 percent of surveyed developers felt the industry is in a bad place and facing "poor market conditions." 49 percent feel things will stay the same through 2025, as well.
As for what's made things so dire, 61 percent of developers put the blame on "unreasonable" expectations from investors. Trailing slightly behind were 58 percent who pointed the finger at mismanagement. Allegations of mismanagement hovered around xDefiant and Don't Nod throughout the year, in addition to Greedfall II creator Spiders.
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