Gaming has been changing rapidly in the last couple of years due to the emergence of new tech and a change in public attitude. The industry has become much more lucrative and much more intertwined with the entertainment industry as a whole.
This article will outline some of the industry’s broad trends that started to emerge years ago and will become fully noticeable in 2024. Some of these are fads that are common in gaming and tend to come and go, but others are long-term changes that will affect gamers in years to come.
Multiplayer Mobile Gaming
Games have been moving to mobile devices for years now, as that’s where the younger players are. These players are used to doing everything on their phones and tablets and find PCs and consoles too troublesome.
In the last couple of years, multiplayer games are also making a push for mobile devices. Competitive gaming is the heart of the industry for PCs and consoles, and mobile devices are now becoming an equally important part of it.
The Introduction of AR and VR
VR and AR were a science fiction topic just a few years ago. Now, the technology has improved so much that the devices are available to the general public, even though there are still no games that are caught up in the tech. This will soon change, and more developers will focus on games that utilize VR glasses.
The first AAA games made specifically for VR will come out in 2024, and it’s especially interesting to watch for the next installment of the Metro series that will come out exclusively for VR.
Using AI to Build NPCs
Artificial intelligence has improved by leaps and bounds in just a few years it’s been around. AI will improve gaming in many ways, but the players will first notice how Non-playable characters have become smarter and more adaptive.
NPCs will use AI to learn from their interactions with other players. That way, the NPCs will be able to adapt to change and expand their vocabulary as they come across more players. All of this will lead to a new sense of realism in gaming, which is a general trend for many AAA games.
Using Crypto for In-Game Purchases
Cryptocurrencies are already used in many online games as a payment method. It first started in casino games but quickly spread to all genres. The main advantage of using cryptocurrencies is that the players can make purchases without providing their real name or bank account number. The best anonymous casinos of the year have always offered both games of luck and games of skill.
Games of luck include dice games, roulette, and crash games. Traditional casino games such as poker or blackjack are games of chance in which players can affect the outcome. Cryptocurrencies earned when playing online can be exchanged in crypto exchanges or used to make purchases online.
The Introduction of Active Video Games
Active video games take advantage of AI technology to create games in which the players can move around and mimic movements that would appear in the game. Fitness games aren’t new, and there have been many iterations of them, but with the improvement of the technology you can use, the games have become more realistic and faster in their response.
Augmented reality interacts with the objects around you, which means that the games are safe to play within the confines of your own home. Now, when the tech is here, it’s up to developers to use it in creative ways.
Introduction of New PC Platforms
For years, there has been only one big platform for PC gamers – Steam. It found the perfect spot in the market and used it to create somewhat of a monopoly. Steam has a huge collection of classics that it used to fund the introduction of new games – somewhat similar to what Netflix did with the film industry.
However, similar to the streaming industry, smaller niche platforms have also started to emerge and take out a piece of the market. Along with Origin, UPlay, and other platforms, Epic Games Store, the people behind Fortnite, is another to keep an eye on. Roblox has also created a niche of its own, and it’s growing.
eSports
eSports has been around for a long time, but since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become a huge part of the industry. Partly, this is because there were no sports events to bet on, and many players started betting on the outcome of eSport matches that didn’t require real-life venues.
Professional games are now huge companies that sponsor celebrities and teams of their own. Some believe eSports may be a new Olympic sport in just a few years.
Streaming and Cloud Gaming
For a while now, the gaming industry has been moving away from physical media, and players have been encouraged to download the game’s digital version instead. In a further move in this direction, we’re looking at a rise in streaming games instead of downloading them. This is a convenient upgrade for players as it allows them to play games right away, with little to no difference in experience.
However, it presents a potential problem regarding what it means for a player to purchase and own a game. If the games are only available as a part of a catalog and can’t be downloaded but streamed, the service can withdraw the game at any time.
The Rise of Cozy Games
AAA has been saturated with a complex narrative and competitive gameplay for some time now. These games have been growing more complex and have become the most significant part of the gaming market as the developers pushed the edge of the technology.
In turn, this led to the rise of what’s called cozy games. Those are the games with a quiet and simple aesthetic, for which the gameplay is the whole point, and there are no immediate goals to achieve. Instead, the appeal is in the cozy feeling these games create.
Trans-platform Games
Games that can be played on multiple platforms are probably the future of gaming for the next couple of years. Consoles are in a bit of a rut lately, and there won’t be any new titles for PS5 for a while, as the hardware isn’t selling as it’s supposed to.
The developers have, therefore, moved on to providing already existing games in the form of remakes made for different platforms. PC gamers have enjoyed this approach the most now when a few great games, mostly made for consoles, have their PC versions.
To Sum Up
The gaming industry is changing quite quickly in the last couple of years. This is partly happening with the adoption of new technology, such as AI and VR. The tech is here, and the developers are looking for new and creative ways to include it in their games.
At the same time, the overall approach to gaming is changing. Players are moving on to mobile games, and there’s more cross-platform gaming. Less intense and cozy games are gaining more traction as more players are bored of the big-name AAA games.