One-third of developers have had their projects delayed because of the coronavirus.

In a survey by the Game Developers Conference (which itself had to make this year's conference digital-only due to the virus), 33% of developers claimed that the games they were working on had been delayed, with the main reasons citing the transition from telecommuting, among other factors. The report states that up to 70% of developers have had to transition to telecommuting since the pandemic began.

According to one respondent, their studio had a relatively smooth transition to remote work, but partner companies that lagged behind caused delays. One company that has been a bottleneck is Nintendo, whose authentication system has struggled with pressure from the coronavirus.

Other barriers included access to necessary hardware (console development kits, especially for next-generation consoles, are often subject to strict security policies that prevent them from being taken home) and difficulties in recording voiceover and audio work at home.

Problems also were noted that stemmed from "ambient stress." Pandemics are scary, lockdowns are difficult, and the world is in absolute turmoil right now. So developers are trying to address not only the practical challenges this situation brings, but also the stress on workers. As one respondent noted, "We try to make sure people don't feel too isolated by encouraging them to request time off and take breaks if needed, and organizing social activities through video conferencing."

Even for the 46% of developers who said they were not behind in their game, the effects of the coronavirus were felt severely: 41% felt their productivity had dropped since the lockdown began, 35% said they were less creative, and nearly 41% had to work from home longer than before answered that they had to work from home for longer periods of time than before. Worryingly, 26% said their household income has decreased since the pandemic began. One respondent stated that as a result they could no longer afford rent and "may have to move back to their parents' house to survive."

On the flip side, the shift to telecommuting is also bringing lasting changes to the way people work: 12% said they would not want to return to an office job in the foreseeable future, even if a vaccine is released, and permanent plans to allow both remote work and flextime are More and more studios are introducing them.

It is impossible to determine from the survey how many projects were postponed, and none were actually named by the GDC. However, a number of titles were postponed, including "Iron Man VR," "Sword Art Online," "Aliciziation Lycoris: Aliciziation Lycoris," the PC port of "Death Stranding," "The Dark Pictures: Little Hope" and Mafia: Definitive Edition.