About r/gamedev
The subreddit covers various game development aspects, including programming, design, writing, art, game jams, postmortems, and marketing. It serves as a hub for game creators to discuss and share their insights, experiences, and expertise in the industry.
The community at a glance
r/gamedev is a Subreddit for Game Designers with roughly 2.1M members. It has been around since 2008. It has both a forum and a live chat communication style. It is the 1st largest community in the Game Design topic page.
Roughly 144K members have joined in the past year. Popular discussion topics include Game Dev, Game Development, and Struggling. Common discussion themes are Advice Requests and Pain & Anger. Product recommendations often mention game engine, macbook pro m1, and macbook.
Community Topics
Subreddit Analysis
via GummySearchMember growth over time
All time (yearly)
- 2013: 32K members
- 2014: 38K members
- 2015: 28K members
- 2016: 39K members
- 2017: 52K members
- 2018: 65K members
- 2019: 88K members
- 2020: 130K members
- 2021: 96K members
- 2023: 712K members
- 2024: 479K members
- 2025: 154K members
- 2026: 124K members
Past year (monthly)
- Dec: 12K members
- Jan: 13K members
- Feb: 11K members
- Mar: 13K members
- Apr: 13K members
- May: 12K members
- Jun: 13K members
- Jul: 12K members
- Aug: 12K members
- Sep: 11K members
- Oct: 11K members
- Nov: 3K members
Themes
- Advice Requests7 posts in the past month
- What is the core "Toy" in games like Factorio or Mini Metro?
- Are there UX/UI books or free courses?
- Background Art Opinion Needed!
#17Advice RequestsWhat is the core "Toy" in games like Factorio or Mini Metro? · Are there UX/UI books or free courses? · Background Art Opinion Needed! - Pain & Anger4 posts in the past month
- Am I wasting my time? Is breaking in dead?
- Steam KYC process currently takes up to 30 days due to heavy load.
- Someone stole my game's name and is releasing basically the same game, except it's made with AI
#24Pain & AngerAm I wasting my time? Is breaking in dead? · Steam KYC process currently takes up to 30 days due to heavy load. · Someone stole my game's name and is releasing basically the same game, except it's made with AI - Solution Requests1 post in the past month
- Need help in picking the right choice in game development
#31Solution RequestsNeed help in picking the right choice in game development - Self-Promotion1 post in the past month
- I kept my game hidden until its Steam page went live, then pitched 85 outlets. 4 articles, 260 wishlists after three weeks.
#41Self-PromotionI kept my game hidden until its Steam page went live, then pitched 85 outlets. 4 articles, 260 wishlists after three weeks. - Money Talk1 post in the past month
- How profitable are simple games on Steam?
#51Money TalkHow profitable are simple games on Steam?
Topics
- Game Dev17 posts in the past month
- Need help in picking the right choice in game development
- Finding my area in game dev
#117Game DevNeed help in picking the right choice in game development · Finding my area in game dev - Game Development12 posts in the past month#212Game Development
- Struggling10 posts in the past month#310Struggling
- Looking For6 posts in the past month#46Looking For
- Looking For A Laptop5 posts in the past month#55Looking For A Laptop
Flair
- Discussion57 posts in the past month
- Some guy on YouTube is complaining that AI might copy his game - which is itself a copy of an already existing game.
- Update: Megascans are going free again
- Can you make this up? Dev cries about people stealing games via demos, gets exposed for stealing the game himself
#157DiscussionSome guy on YouTube is complaining that AI might copy his game - which is itself a copy of an already existing game. · Update: Megascans are going free again · Can you make this up? Dev cries about people stealing games via demos, gets exposed for stealing the game himself - Question21 posts in the past month
- Looking for mentorship or just a little bit of help
- Are there UX/UI books or free courses?
- Anyone here made their own CPU opponents for a 4X game? I need some advices and tutorials
#221QuestionLooking for mentorship or just a little bit of help · Are there UX/UI books or free courses? · Anyone here made their own CPU opponents for a 4X game? I need some advices and tutorials - Postmortem6 posts in the past month
- 6+ years building our VR sandbox game, we sold 17 copies since we launched on Steam last week... What did we get wrong ??
- A month ago I launched a game where only one person in the world can play at a time. Players have now spent 39000 hours in it!
- I kept my game hidden until its Steam page went live, then pitched 85 outlets. 4 articles, 260 wishlists after three weeks.
#36Postmortem6+ years building our VR sandbox game, we sold 17 copies since we launched on Steam last week... What did we get wrong ?? · A month ago I launched a game where only one person in the world can play at a time. Players have now spent 39000 hours in it! · I kept my game hidden until its Steam page went live, then pitched 85 outlets. 4 articles, 260 wishlists after three weeks. - Marketing2 posts in the past month
- How you get streamers for your games? ~ Really zero budget
- The day has arrived; today I published my first video game :')
#42MarketingHow you get streamers for your games? ~ Really zero budget · The day has arrived; today I published my first video game :') - Industry News1 post in the past month
- Private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF have held talks to buy Unity
#51Industry NewsPrivate equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF have held talks to buy Unity
Product recommendations
- game engine24 posts in the past month
- best game engine for this (besides unity)
- Is there such a thing as the best game engine, or is it dependent on what you want to do?
- Best software engine for making a very simple historical RPG?
#124game enginebest game engine for this (besides unity) · Is there such a thing as the best game engine, or is it dependent on what you want to do? · Best software engine for making a very simple historical RPG? - macbook pro m12 posts in the past month
- Which MacBook Pro m1 would you recommend for game development?
- Which MacBook Pro m1 would you recommend for game development?
#22macbook pro m1Which MacBook Pro m1 would you recommend for game development? · Which MacBook Pro m1 would you recommend for game development? - macbook1 post in the past month
- Recommend me a Macbook for game dev. No, I don't have a choice.
#31macbookRecommend me a Macbook for game dev. No, I don't have a choice. - laptop1 post in the past month
- Best Laptops for Game Development
#41laptopBest Laptops for Game Development
Community Reviews
Frequently asked questions
- Who is r/gamedev for?
- Best for Game Designers enthusiasts looking for a Reddit-based community with forum discussion, live chat.
- Is r/gamedev free to join?
- This listing is not marked as paid-only. Access rules and any fees are decided by the community.
- How many members does r/gamedev have?
- Roughly 2.1M members, based on figures reported by the community or its host. Member counts are approximate and change over time.
- What platform is r/gamedev on?
- r/gamedev runs on Reddit. Reddit communities (or "subreddits") are forum-based groups on the popular social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website Reddit. Reddit is commonly known as "the front page of the internet". Users submit content to the site such as links, text posts, and images, which are then voted up or down and discussed by other members. From investing Reddit communities, to professional ones, to ones just for laughs, you're likely to find a community for you on Reddit.
- What topics does r/gamedev cover?
- On the Hive Index, r/gamedev is organized under Game Designers.
- How do I join r/gamedev?
- You can join r/gamedev by clicking this link, or pressing the "Go to community" button above.
- What are the Game Design communities like?
- Communities for game developers and designers at indie studios and beyond. Discord is the primary hub, with communities for feedback on prototypes, finding collaborators like artists and musicians, getting indie game jobs, and talking craft across all stages of development.
Added 12/23/2021
Monthly Stats
- 39
- Views /mo (-13%)
- 37
- Visitors /mo (-10%)
- 1
- Referrals /mo (-87%)
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