People versus the machine

This year’s GDC focused on human solutions, boutique development, and the state of AI

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The Game Developers Conference can always be relied upon to lay down a marker of the industry's mood at a specific moment, and so it was at this year's event, held March 17-21. After 2024's apocalyptic tone, here the dominant theme was tactics for survival. If the event felt quieter than usual overall, that wasn't down of a lack of concerns being aired.

Worker rights proved a popular topic. Ty Underwood, founder of cooperative-focused Patreon alternative Comradery, co, together with Soft Chaos founders D Squinkifer and Jess Rowan Marcotte, delivered the first day's highlight session, focusing on the sustainability of their lives as studio owners, and why the industry should organise against the worst excesses of capitalism. Later in the week, New union United Videogame Workers-CWA was announced at the show, in partnership with Communications Workers Of America and the American Federation Of Musicians. “Our mission is to take back our lives, our labour, and our passion from those who treat us like replaceable cogs,” read the launch statement.