The gaming industry is moving towards new dimensions and is attempting to offer different new verticals for the players. The advancement in technology in the gaming industry has gained players’ attention across the globe. Both the professional players and the novice players are joining multiple tournaments and leagues online to earn from different gaming verticals.
According to Statista, the global gaming market is predicted to be worth $268 billion by 2025. Back in 2021, this figure was around $178.8 billion with an active player base of 2.9 billion. These stats are enough to show that the gaming industry is exploding at an unprecedented rate.
Image source: Statista
With the pandemic disrupting everyday lives, people turned towards games of all kinds as their main source of entertainment. But this surge also saw multiple fantastic technologies evolving the entire gaming experience for the players. Though the pandemic has started to get normalized, the boom in the gaming industry continues.
Recent trends in gaming range from cloud gaming to blockchain-based games that let players earn digital goods from their gaming activities viz. missions, trade and other in-game. Here’s a look at the top five gaming trends you should know in 2022.
- AR Gaming
Arguably, one of the biggest AR hits in the gaming industry was Pokemon Go. This augmented reality game won the hearts of millions and has been downloaded by people around the globe wandering the streets in search of virtual monsters.
Even though the game couldn’t last long in the market, it proved the immense potential of AR in the gaming space. This new technology element overlays computer-generated imagery in real environments, making games more engaging and fun.
These technologies have been around for almost a decade now, but it is only recently with more AR startups that the masses are getting hands-on experience with this innovation. Companies are trying to make AR games even more affordable to reach a broader range of audiences. Knightfall and Jurassic World Alive are at the forefront of getting more players interested in AR gaming.
- VR Gaming
Virtual Reality has taken the AR experience to the next step by creating a visual stimulus through VR hardware that screens the real world. This is where VR sets itself apart from AR— it takes you into the gaming space where you become a part of the virtual world. Gamers not just experience but also influence their gaming environment.
VR games can be played on different platforms, including PCs, game consoles, and even smartphones. A variety of add-on devices may be used for added control that intensifies the player’s real-life movements into the virtual world.
Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR are some of the most popular headsets in this segment. Various VR games were launched in 2021 for these headsets, and with the release of Oculus Quest 2 and the upcoming PSVR2, players can look forward to plenty of notable exclusive games.
- Cloud Gaming
Gaming can be fun unless you have to download a resource-heavy file that can take hours, and if that’s not enough, sometimes your PC hardware may not be compatible with the game you just spent hours downloading.
Image source: Newzoo
The solution to this problem came in the form of Cloud gaming that allows gamers to bypass the need for downloading resources and owning compatible hardware as they stream the game from a provider’s platform.
These platforms work similarly to video-on-demand services where resources (in this case games) are stored and executed remotely. Nvidia, Google Stadia, Xbox, Luna are some of the leading cloud gaming services in the market.
2022 has already started with a boom in the cloud gaming segment with games like Hitman Trilogy, Blacksmith Legend, Control across different platforms.
- GameFi
The last few years have changed the way we look at the world, but if there’s one thing going mainstream for sure, that has to be Blockchain technology. Every industry has seen exponential growth in the adoption of this futuristic technology and the gaming space is no exception.
Blockchain-based games allow players to buy, sell, and trade NFTs or cryptocurrencies with other players. Even though blockchain-based games have existed since 2017, they only started to gain attention in the past year.
Another notable blockchain-based trend soaring in 2022 is the non-fungible token (NFT). Its utility in play-to-earn (P2E) is enticing players as the digital assets earned can be traded for fiat currency. Thus, this wonderful union of blockchain-based monetization and gaming is a massive hit this year.
De-fi Kingdoms, Guild of Guardians, Galaxy Fight Club are some of the trending games that are stealing the spotlight in 2022.
- Mobile Gaming
Getting PC gamers, console gamers onto the mobile side of things is the main focus of mobile gaming developers these days. With more mobile users in the world as compared to PC or console, the idea is to bring these players together on a gaming platform that is easily accessible. And that’s where the mobile industry has already surpassed the traditional gaming peripherals.
Acquisitions across the traditional gaming space has also garnered the attention of the mobile gaming community. Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is undoubtedly the most significant acquisition ever made in the gaming industry and is giving us hints the mobile gaming industry has so much more to do with Microsoft entering the market.
The likes of PUBG, Free Fire, and COD (Mobile) have proven the untapped potential of mobile games. Trends also show that once a game becomes famous and gets into the top slots, it’s pretty hard to unseat it, unlike traditional PC games where the numbers often change.
For the same reasons, more and more companies are now entering the mobile gaming segment to take a piece of the cake. As for the players, the rise of mobile gaming popularity is primarily due to their portability and ease of play.
The introduction of high-tech innovations like AR and the option to experience multiplayer gaming remotely has added to its demand in recent years.
- Â EsportsÂ
The pandemic has fueled a significant shift in Esports’ nature as the platform’s idea has started overlapping with live streaming and even influencer marketing.
With the rise of mobile gaming, millions of players worldwide are participating in gaming events. Unlike PCs where you need to buy certain high-end hardware, the entry-level for mobile gaming demands lower investments, which have ultimately opened opportunities for new players to explore and be a part of the ever-growing Esports industry.
Seeing the rising engagement of the audience, many companies have started investing in Esports, which has further contributed to its rapid revenue growth.
ConclusionÂ
It is estimated that the global revenues for Esports will be at $3.2 billion in 2022. This reflects the endless opportunities this new way of gaming is opening for its players. Millennials are looking at Esports like never before – they are considering it a real career option.
The evolution of Esports has just begun, and the integration of new technology will only drive this further to an unrecognizable future.
About FanClash
FanClash is a fantasy esports platform where Daily Fantasy Esports contests are hosted. With 5K new users each day, we are growing as an esports tournament platform and leveraging the technology to deliver the ultimate fantasy esports experience to the users.
Backed by a strong team of developers and designers, our esports fantasy platform is comprehensive and supports both crypto and fiat currency. With multiple esports tournaments for games including CS:GO, Pubg Mobile and PC, Valorant, FreeFire, and Call of Duty, we have gained recognition for our state of the art features and interactive user interface.
