5 trends we’ll be looking out for at GDC this year

Every year, the video game industry gathers in San Francisco for an all-important event: Game Developers Conference. The show brings together professionals from all over the world for a week of panels, demos, and closed-door meetings that can determine who gets funding to make their next project. It may not be as consumer-facing as E3 (RIP), but it can shape the industry’s upcoming trends — and determine what games get a shot at life.

This year’s GDC is especially crucial for a struggling industry. As hardware costs rise, AI seeps into the space, and uncertainty clouds major platform holders, developers will gather at the show in search of a sustainable path forward. Even GDC itself is at a meta crossroads, as this year’s show will attempt to bring in more gaming fans as part of its expanded “Festival of Gaming.”

Polygon will be on the ground at GDC this week to get a sense of how creators are navigating the state of the industry in 2026. We’ll be playing games, attending panels, and talking to developers. We’ll have plenty of coverage coming from the event, but these are the five trends we’re looking to get some clarity on during the show this week.

So, what is GDC now?

I’ve been to GDC plenty of times over the years and have a feel for how the industry-centric show operates. It’s usually all about the business, defined by conversations between professionals in the Moscone Center’s back rooms. This year’s show is bound to be very different. For 2026, GDC has tried to bring the public-facing element of the show to the forefront. GDC has always had a show floor where gamers could come and try demos, but it appears like that’s going to be a much bigger focus thanks to the show’s new Festival of Gaming component.

What does that mean? I genuinely have no idea. It’s hard to imagine that GDC has serious ambitions to fill the E3 power vacuum, but it sure sounds like that’s the plan on paper. If it goes well, there’s a chance that the show might become as much about the public as it is about developers going forward. That’s a dicey proposition, considering how important the event is for professionals looking to connect. We’ll be watching how that new dynamic works closely through the week to determine if a fundamental long-term change is in the cards for GDC.

The AI takeover

Trendy tech and GDC go hand-in-hand. Back when the Metaverse was big tech’s favorite buzzword, the show floor was filled with confounding virtual worlds and panels about the value of NFTs. There’s always a major tension at the show between developers focused on diagnosing the industry’s health issues and executives trying to force gimmicky tech into the business. We’ve seen that over the past few years with the generative AI boom, and this year’s GDC is bound to continue that trend in a big way.

We’re expecting to see a lot of AI at the show. The conference is filled with panels about the tech, which are bound to draw some skeptical developers who will make their voices heard during Q&A sessions. You can expect tons of AI booths on the public-facing show floor, too. Tech companies are going to do everything in their power this year to manufacture acceptance for AI across the industry, just as the NFT hype men attempted years ago. The resistance to that during the week will give us a good sense of how successful that push will ultimately be.

The cost of gaming

Generative AI’s impact on gaming isn’t just about slop software. The tech is wreaking havoc on hardware prices. As AI operations have gobbled up RAM, the price of memory chips has skyrocketed. Every piece of tech you use on a daily basis is getting more expensive, from PCs to video game consoles. That problem is only bound to get worse as companies show no signs of slowing down their AI ambitions — at least until a bubble burst forces their hand. All of that is compounding with President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs, which have made tech produced overseas even more expensive.

We know how consumers are dealing with that, but how is the games industry responding? GDC is going to double as an economic forum this year, as industry professionals try to reckon with how to keep the cost of development down amid rising prices. Don’t expect any easy solutions to come out of the show, but getting developers in front of the tech companies fueling the crisis should make for some heated conversations behind the scenes.

Xbox health check

Image: Xbox/Microsoft

Xbox is going through some changes — and that’s putting it lightly. Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out, and Asha Sharma is in as the new CEO of Xbox. The chaotic executive sent shock waves through the industry weeks ago, but we still haven’t seen the real aftermath of it. Is Xbox bowing out of the console market? Are its multiplatform days over? And is the whole company about to turn into an AI slop factory?

While we’re unlikely to get firm answers this week, we will hear much more about Xbox’s future than we’ve gotten so far. Microsoft will host several panels during the week, including a keynote speech aimed at developers about “building for the future with Xbox.” Machine learning forums, talks on games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and panels about the company’s multi-device vision will give us some clear hints about where the company is headed in a new era. Developers want to know if making games for Xbox still makes sense, and Microsoft will need to come prepared with a good sales pitch that brings down the stress.

International anxiety

Typically, GDC is a very international show. Developers from all over the world convene in California to break down borders within the industry for a week. That’s a much dicier proposition in 2026. Under President Donald Trump, the United States has become far less hospitable to international travelers. Horror stories of border detainments and ICE raids have left many professionals outside the United States wondering if it’s safe to travel to the country. That’s bound to have a tangible impact on attendance as a result.

GDC can’t really afford that loss. The show already has a tense relationship with developers due to its high cost of entry. (A festival pass is expensive, and San Francisco is a pricey city.) There’s been a vocal contingent of developers who have been calling for the show to move elsewhere for years, so a pronounced downturn in international attendance could finally force GDC’s hand. Even if that doesn’t happen, lower attendance can mean less opportunity for developers to secure funding, so expect the Trump administration’s international antagonism to leave a scar on GDC.