ReportPerforce Software
Perforce 2024 State of Game Technology Report
1 Jan 202433 pages~46 min full read
Real-time 3D engines have expanded beyond gaming, with over 50% of organizations in media, automotive, education, and healthcare now integrating these technologies into their workflows.
See it on page 7Unreal Engine leads the market with 63% usage, followed by Unity at 47%, while Perforce Helix Core remains the primary version-control solution for 51% of firms.
See it on page 15Generative AI adoption is widespread, with over 65% of respondents utilizing AI tools, led by ChatGPT at 47%, with indie studios showing higher adoption rates than AAA counterparts.
See it on page 23Collaboration remains a significant bottleneck, as 31% of studios struggle with slow large-file transfers and 38% report ongoing issues with remote team coordination.
See it on page 10Cloud infrastructure is the industry standard for development, with 49% of organizations utilizing cloud servers, primarily through AWS (30%) and Azure (18%).
See it on page 24AAA studios frequently divert development resources to build custom asset management tools (19%), whereas 32% of indie and mid-size studios rely on Perforce Helix Core.
See it on page 21Hiring strategies across all sectors prioritize deep technical expertise, with 91–100% of firms requiring specialized experience and 75–94% demanding strong portfolios.
See it on page 29The report demonstrates that real‑time 3D engines and advanced asset pipelines are now integral to more than half of organizations beyond traditional game development, spanning media, automotive, education and healthcare. The primary drivers are the demand for high‑quality visual tools that can be reused across projects and the need to streamline workflows amid increasingly complex, remote‑enabled teams. Funding constraints, collaboration bottlenecks—particularly large‑file transfer—and limited staffing emerge as the top challenges.
Collaboration pain points persist, with 31 % of studios citing slow large‑file transfer and 38 % reporting remote coordination issues. Unreal Engine dominates usage at 63 %, while Unity follows at 47 %. Perforce Helix Core leads version‑control adoption (51 %) across industries, with GitHub and GitLab trailing. These figures underscore the necessity of robust pipelines that support rapid asset sharing, remote teamwork and efficient version control.
Asset management practices vary by studio size: AAA studios largely build custom tools (≈ 19 %) to handle extensive IP libraries, diverting resources from core development; indie and mid‑size studios rely more on market solutions, with 32 % using Perforce Helix Core and only 17 % developing in‑house tools. Generative AI is widely adopted, with over 65 % of respondents using an AI tool—ChatGPT being the most common (47 %). Indie studios adopt AI more aggressively than AAA studios, and usage patterns differ by industry. Cloud development is also prevalent: 49 % run cloud servers, led by AWS (30 %) and Azure (18 %), while hybrid or on‑premises setups are rare.
Hiring priorities across gaming, media, education, engineering and automotive sectors emphasize specialized experience (91–100 %) and strong portfolios (75–94 %). General cross‑functional skills such as rapid learning and presentation abilities are valued but to a lesser extent (54–82 %). The data indicate that firms prioritize deep technical expertise and demonstrable work, reflecting a continued focus on specialized knowledge across all sectors.
