The global gaming industry continues to grow, and the revenue it produces increases. As gaming technology advances, more people are attracted to gaming, and the industry expands further. Due to this expansion, by the end of 2023, gaming industry revenue is expected to reach $385 billion. In addition, growth of 7.9% year-on-year is expected to occur until 2027.
Top gaming trends that are with us now and those we will see more of in the future
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Top gaming trends that are with us now and those we will see more of in the future
These revenue figures are partially due to increased gaming engagement rates. According to research, around 79% of people who use the Internet engage with games in some way. Trends in the gaming industry are a driving force behind increased levels of engagement. When you look more closely at these trends, you see that they are also integral to the growth of the industry in their own right.
Trends in the gaming industry right now
Some gaming industry trends are already shaping the gaming landscape today. Others may already be around or getting talked about but are likely to develop further in the future. Starting with a look at the top trends that are making a difference today gives us an insight into the current gaming landscape.
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esports
During the early days of video gaming, people would have laughed at the thought of making money from gaming activity. Fast forward almost half a century, and the trend of esports is upon us. In 2022, the esports market globally was valued at approximately $1.38 billion, and its value is expected to rise to as much as $1.87 billion by 2025. In addition, individual gamers can make significant amounts of money by participating in esports tournaments. Top earner Johan Sundstein (N0tail) has career earnings in excess of $7 million.
Social gaming
Video gaming, in its entirety, has become a social activity for many people. Around 3 billion people who game across the world use their hobby as a primary way to interact and socialise with other people.
From this background comes the trend of social gaming. This industry commenced mainly through games such as Farmville and Candy Crush that players accessed using social media platforms. The idea of the games is as much about communication and socialising as it is about the gameplay itself.
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The social gaming market is expected to continue growing due to enhanced investment and the development of new technologies. It has also evolved to include social casinos which are also known as sweepstake casinos where players can enjoy traditional casino games like slots, poker, and blackjack while playing with virtual coins instead of real money.
Cloud gaming
The Cloud is revolutionising gaming in a similar way to the impact it had on videos and music, so it’s a trend that is not going away. Estimates suggest that Cloud gaming will grow from a value of US$2.5 billion back in 2021 to US$6.1 billion in 2025.
Cloud gaming is affordable as there is no need to invest in hardware updates that can be costly. Cloud gaming is also a good way to try out new games before downloading them. In addition, Cloud gaming is coming to TVs which means it will have a wider audience still.
Emerging trends that we’ll see more of
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Some of the trends that are currently being talked about in the gaming world have not taken hold fully yet. It’s interesting to look more closely at two of those trends.
AI
AI is not a new addition to gaming. It’s been used to aid machine-human interaction for a few years. For example, developers create bots that players can compete against. More recently, there has been talk about using AI during the game development process.
There are already opportunities to use AI to help with prototyping. It’s also possible that ChatGPT could be used as an ideation tool. If the trend to use AI continues to evolve it could play a central role in game development in the future, although developers regard it as a potential aid rather than a replacement for their services.
VR and AR
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Coming to the final trend we’re examining in more detail, the use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). This is a trend that has already advanced in recent years but it’s yet to come to fruition in terms of what can be achieved.
As VR and AR technology continues to advance, the gaming experience will become more immersive. This will lead to a growth in the market as people engage with more realistic gameplay. This growth is expected to result in a value of $11 billion for the video game market by 2026.
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