The team behind the GDC Festival of Gaming has released the debut GDC Highlights entry, sharing a variety of stats around live service gaming.

The inaugural GDC Insights segment focuses on live service gaming, touching upon its role in the larger gaming industry along with sentiment from developers creating experiences within it.

Highlights from the GDC Insights report can be found below:

• Mobile gaming still dominates in terms of global revenue, but the market is stagnating at the top. Mobile titles earned $100.3B in 2024, making up more than half of all global game revenue, yet charts are increasingly topped by long-running franchises like Honor of Kings and MONOPOLY GO!
• Developer sentiment is trending negative, especially among premium-game creators. Over half (53%) of premium-game developers say they do not want their next project to be live service, nearly double the rate of those working in F2P/subscription spaces (27%). 
• Monetization strategies for mobile and core games are diverging sharply, with mobile’s top-grossing titles relying on gacha-style mechanics that are often rejected by PC/console audiences.

One can find the full GDC Insights blog post via its official website, along with the full report with additional insights. 

GDC Festival of Gaming is happening in San Francisco from March 9–13, 2026.

One can learn more about the GDC Festival of Gaming and register for the event via its official website.