Vast Majority of Devcom Speakers Oppose Additional Purchases in AAA Games

The Devcom conference in Cologne has commenced, and organizers have released the results of their speaker survey, indicating that nearly 90% of respondents believe AAA games can achieve financial success without relying on additional purchases. The survey, which polled 100 speakers out of 300 industry experts, found that 89% of respondents think AAA titles can thrive on a buy-to-play model alone. This comes after years of controversy surrounding add-on purchases in AAA games, including loot boxes, season passes, and progress boosters. The survey also showed that 65% of respondents prefer the premium model for both digital and physical games, while only one respondent supported free-to-play games with ads. Furthermore, the survey explored the role of AI in game development, with 31% advocating for limited use, 21% seeing benefits in code and production, and 18% supporting its use in marketing and communication. Less than 10% believed AI should be used in art and animation, and less than 5% thought it should be used in narrative design. On the industry's biggest challenges, 55% cited market saturation, and 46% pointed to increasing development costs. Additionally, 57% of speakers predict ongoing industry layoffs over the next 12 months, with nearly half expecting the pace of job cuts to accelerate.