We’re excited to share the results of the 2026 LunarG Vulkan Ecosystem Survey—our annual check-in with the Vulkan developer community. With 360 respondents (a nearly 30% increase from 279 in 2025), the survey captured valuable insights from both commercial developers (49%) and those self-studying or working in academic settings (51%).
The feedback comes from an experienced group: 71% of respondents identified as regular, advanced, or expert Vulkan developers (similar to the 72% in 2025), with commercial users skewing even more toward advanced/expert levels. This experienced perspective helps guide priorities for the Vulkan SDK, validation layers, tools, and broader ecosystem improvements.
(If you left a question or specific feedback in your survey answers, check out the full report…it includes many direct replies to specific comments!)
Key Highlights from 2026
- Strong continued demand for better Vulkan documentation, tutorials, and samples—echoing a consistent theme from prior years.
- Persistent concerns around API complexity, platform fragmentation (consistency across platforms), and platform stability/reliability. (This feedback is being reviewed by the Vulkan Working Group. The best method to get attention and action from the Vulkan Working Group is to submit an issue to Vulkan-docs – https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Docs).
- Shading language shifts: GLSL remains the top preferred shading language, but Slang surged in popularity. In 2025, ~27% favored Slang; in 2026, that rose to 42%. Similarly, use of the Slang compiler for generating SPIR-V grew from 24% to 40%, though glslang/glslc still leads overall at 74%.
- Vulkan on Apple platforms: 60% of respondents expressed interest in a Vulkan-to-Metal driver (must-have or nice-to-have). Awareness of KosmicKrisp (LunarG’s Mesa-based driver) stands at 56%, with 33% already adopting or planning to adopt it and 34% undecided. KosmicKrisp is approaching feature parity with MoltenVK, and factors like OS26+ support or ARM64-only builds are not seen as major barriers. Performance tuning is expected to drive further adoption.
- Validation layers progress: Error messages have improved (fewer comments this year), and synchronization validation is in good shape (though integration with GPU-AV is still desired). GPU-AV needs additional maturation before broad daily use.
- SDK usage and updates: Most developers use the Vulkan SDK, with growth in Linux tarball usage (now 53%, up from 34% last year due to Ubuntu package changes) and slight increases in Windows on ARM. 66% update within a month (benefiting from validation improvements), but 34% do not—often citing no immediate need for new features, stability concerns, or update friction. (LunarG notes that newer SDKs are backwards-compatible and deliver ongoing validation layer enhancements in coverage and robustness.)
Other areas of feedback include requests for bundling llvm-pipe (software renderer), better SDK management (auto-updates, easier old version cleanup), and continued tool improvements (e.g., Vulkan Configurator, GFXReconstruct).
Comparison to 2025
The 2026 survey builds directly on last year’s trends:
- Respondent growth and experienced developer skew remain consistent.
- Slang’s momentum accelerated significantly (from ~27% to 42% preference; compiler usage from 24% to 40%).
- Validation feedback shows measurable progress in error messaging and overall maturity.
- Apple platform support remains a priority, with KosmicKrisp emerging as a promising alternative.
- Core pain points like documentation, complexity, and fragmentation persist but continue to receive attention from the Vulkan Working Group.
These year-over-year shifts highlight the ecosystem’s evolution while underscoring ongoing opportunities to make Vulkan development more accessible and robust.
The full LunarG 2026 Ecosystem Survey Report (including all graphs for commercial vs. self-study respondents, every open-ended comment, and LunarG editorial notes) is available for download here.
THANKS! To all who participated
A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to participate—whether via the LunarG SDK mailing list, X, Reddit, LinkedIn, Khronos channels, Discord, or elsewhere. Your candid feedback, including repeated themes and detailed suggestions, directly shapes priorities for the Vulkan SDK, validation layers, tools like GFXReconstruct and vkconfig, documentation, and platform support. This input helps make Vulkan easier, more reliable, and more productive for developers across gaming, visualization, engineering, and beyond.
We appreciate the community’s engagement and look forward to continued collaboration. If you’re working on a Vulkan project and need support, feel free to reach out.
Download the full 2026 report and stay tuned for SDK updates and ecosystem progress.
Happy coding with Vulkan!
—The LunarG Team
