GDC Survey Finds In-House Engines Lead at AAA Studios
The organizer of the Game Developers Conference published "State of the Game Industry: November 2026" on November 12, drawing on responses from more than 2,600 developers in 69 countries.
1 source 1h ago
Reporting from 1 source: Automaton.
Why it matters
The reversal at AAA scale suggests the largest studios now judge that tuning a development environment to their own games pays off more than a general-purpose engine's versatility, though the survey does not define how modified engines are counted.
Key Facts
- The GDC organizer published "State of the Game Industry: November 2026" on November 12.
- The survey covered more than 2,600 developers in 69 countries, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
- Among AAA studios, 53% use in-house engines and 41% use Unreal Engine.
- Last year's survey had 44% of studios on in-house engines and 47% on Unreal Engine.
- AAA developers made up 36% of respondents, up 5 points, while indie developers totaled 35%.
Among AAA studios, 53% use in-house engines and 41% use Unreal Engine, reversing last year's survey, which had 44% on in-house engines and 47% on Unreal. At AA and indie studios, Unreal Engine still leads.
The survey ran from mid-August to a September 11 deadline, and the organizer moved the report to a year-end slot to describe current conditions rather than forecast. AAA developers made up 36% of respondents, up 5 points, while indie developers totaled 35%, split between studios founded less than 5 years ago (16%) and 5 or more years ago (19%).
Engine choice tracks studio size. At AA studios, Unreal Engine holds roughly 40% to 50%, with Unity and in-house engines behind it. At indie studios, Unity follows Unreal, and the rest divides between Godot and in-house engines. Godot reaches 14% among newer indie studios, and its adoption rises the younger the studio.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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