Nearly 90% Of Developers Surveyed Say Premium Games Don’t Need Microtransactions

As someone who has been deeply immersed in the gaming world for decades, it’s refreshing to see that the majority of developers at Devcom 2024 are leaning towards the notion that premium AAA games can thrive without microtransactions. It’s a breath of fresh air in an industry where the need for extra purchases has often overshadowed the core gaming experience.

For quite some time, the discussion surrounding microtransactions within the gaming world has been intense, and it’s not just gamers who are questioning their usefulness. In a recent survey conducted among developers at Devcom 2024 in Cologne, nearly 90% of those questioned expressed that premium games can do without microtransactions.

Among the 100 developers out of the total 300 speakers at the event, approximately 89% expressed confidence that high-end AAA games can achieve financial success solely through a Buy-to-Play model. Regarding business strategies, a significant majority of 65% supported the idea that premium games could be successful for both physical and digital formats. Interestingly, only one respondent advocated for the free-to-play model with ads as the future direction of the industry.

31% of developers expressed a preference for minimal use of AI in game development, but 21% showed an interest in employing AI to facilitate coding and enhance overall production speed. Regarding AI’s role, there was widespread belief among those surveyed that it could potentially replace human roles in localization and translation within the coming year (12-24 months).

As a passionate follower of the gaming world, I’ve been noticing some significant trends. About half of us believe the industry’s current struggles are due to market saturation, while nearly as many see rising game development costs as the main issue. Looking ahead, around 57% anticipate layoffs will persist or even increase over the next year, while a hopeful 43% think we might see a decrease in layoffs during the same period.

At present, Devcom is being held concurrently with Gamescom 2024 in Cologne, Germany. Throughout the entire week, TopMob will be on-site at Gamescom, delivering the freshest updates straight from this yearly gathering.

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