The most exciting industry to be a part of, or a consumer of, right now is gaming. The gaming industry has enjoyed years of a solid fanbase, but the last ten years have been incredible.
New consoles, new online gaming experiences, games that exploded like Fornite and Apex, and the cult favorites like Minecraft and League of Legends.
There is something for everyone, and one thing we know for sure is that the future of gaming will bring some fantastic stuff for every type of gamer.
Being a gamer, from hard-core to hyper-casual, is one of the most exciting positions because every year, game developers offer up twists on classics and brand new concepts.
We now see live casinos offering live poker dealers while people play at home. The online slots on this casino show that original mechanics with new themes are superbly popular. And a few remakes like Final Fantasy have made waves too.
That is just the tip of the iceberg, though. The trends appearing and being refined right now are set to make 2022 onwards a feast for gamers hungry for new content and concepts.
Early Access
Early access has been around for a long time; however, platforms like Steam have offered early access codes to players in the last few years. These codes are so popular they create a fever storm around an impending release or update.
A growing number of regular players would watch their favorite streamers on Twitch, as they explained to them some of the new features accessible in the early access. Now BETA codes and early access are available to many more people.
Of course, not everybody will get early access, which is what makes it so popular.
One of the biggest things for game developers is highlighting and fixing many bugs and issues ahead of their release date when they allow early access.
This is a win-win for players and game development companies.
Indie games
Indie games used to be very niche, and you would find some smaller streamers playing them. Indie games typically don’t have the massive budget required for marketing to compete with those big gaming development companies.
However, if you have heard of Star Dew valley or Roblox, these were independent game developers that went on to have colossal success.
Since their success, it is much more likely that we will see a rise in the number of Indie games available and the popularity that they get.
Pop culture themes
Everybody loves a remake or a reboot. Some of the original games that people fell in love with will have a fresh face painted on them.
Final Fantasy and Crash Bandicoot are two fine examples of this.
Slot games have always been incredible with pop culture themes. Famous rock bands like KISS and Guns N’ Roses, hit movies like Twilight, Jurassic Park, James Bond, and even modern and retro Batman.
Reboots and remakes are significant because many player bases remember the game or the movie from their childhood, sparking a certain nostalgia.
So when the opportunity comes along to play with brand-new features and upgraded graphics, it becomes an irresistible option.
Next-Gen
While there are plenty of consoles that you can enjoy, two of the most popular – and the ones that have been in the most competition – are PlayStation and Xbox.
The PS5 and Xbox series X were so challenging to get hold of that the prices rocketed – making them even more coveted.
And that is because everybody wants to get their hands on the next-generation consoles that use the latest Unreal Engine for their game builds.
NextGen is the label that we apply to any hardware or software product that has a substantial upgrade; it’s difficult to see where some of these consoles will go from here. But you can expect the gaming experience to be on like anything that you have had previously.
Mobile gaming
It’s hard to consider mobile gaming as a future trend when it’s already so popular. However, gaming developers have invested a lot in creating smartphone apps and mobile app for most websites to increase the player experience.
Mobile gaming has had the most significant growth in the last few years, and we are set to see more.
Every year mobile phone technology advances and offers us a more immersive gaming experience; from incredible graphics to highly calibrated touch-screens, it means the game developers can go all out when it comes to mobile gaming.
VR
Virtual reality gaming has been around for a while; it is a process that is constantly being refined. Initially, the technology was quite expensive and not viable for regular home players. However, the technology is becoming more friendly in price, and the experience is better too.
Using a headset from one of the leading providers like HTC, Google, PlayStation, Facebook, or Samsung.
You can put yourself into the digital world. As both hardware and software improve, we will likely see some mind-blowing games in the near future.
Inclusion
Inclusion and accessibility in the gaming industry have been under fire for a long time.
It used to be that most games were designed for a specific type of male player. However, there has been a push to have more LGBTQ+, women, and people from different ethnic backgrounds presented in games.
Inclusion and diversity should be the standard, but we might be surprised just how many people feel represented when we take that into account. Therefore, there could be a potential growth in the gaming market coming from those underrepresented until now.
The gaming industry has always been known to push the boundaries of the software and hardware available.
The next few years will present gamers with so many options – no one will know what to play or buy first – and that is just how it should be.
