Game development tech being keenly adopted by enterprises in other industries, research shows

Enterprises in a wide range of industries are increasingly drawing on the tools and techniques used by computer game developers to deliver new offerings for their users, research by DevOps and automation software maker Perforce suggests.

The company’s 2024 State of game technology report featured input from 546 respondents, spanning 64 countries, and set out to ascertain enterprise attitudes towards the use of game engine technology.

For several years, the company has embarked on research projects, geared towards examining technology adoption trends within the gaming industry, but the remit of this year’s report is notably wider.

“This year, we’re doing something a little different. Over the past few years, practices previously limited to game developers have gained traction with industries facing similar challenges,” said the report.

“Recognising these trends, we’ve expanded the scope of this year’s report to gather data about game technology’s increasing relevance in media and entertainment, education, engineering, automotive and manufacturing.”

The results of that work revealed that half (50%) of respondents said game development technology is being deployed in a variety of use cases and projects outside of the gaming space.

According to Perforce’s report, the technology is also being used within the automotive, manufacturing, education, architecture, virtual production and in general purpose IT environments.

The reasons for this, as detailed in the report – which was produced as part of a collaboration between Perforce and productivity software maker JetBrains – are varied.

“Game developers have always been on the cutting edge of scale and performance needs. From mobile devices to virtual reality headsets, game developers must develop their projects with a variety of new platforms, requirements and use cases in mind,” the report stated.

And, it seems, this has not gone unnoticed by enterprises in other industries who are keen to tap into tools and technologies at the disposal of gaming firms to gain a competitive edge, as IT projects become increasingly complex.

“The economic uncertainty, along with the rise of remote and globally distributed teams, have made projects increasingly complex. In addition, consumers have come to expect high quality and realistic visuals – which take more time and require more data – across a variety of applications,” the report stated.

“Business are also looking to consolidate technology toolsets across their business to save resources and reduce costs. Game technology is often seen as extremely versatile, with a deep set of integrations that enable teams to create across a variety of workflows and industries.”

Brad Hart, CTO and vice-president of product management and digital creation at Perforce, said there has been “unprecedented adoption” of game technology in other industries in recent years, which he claims is down to the reputation of the gaming developers who have pioneered their use.

“I really credit the game developers. They have pioneered versatile workflows, around a set of foundational tools, that streamline collaboration and manage complexity at a global scale,” he said.