The gaming industry never stands still, and like retail, finance and many other sectors of the economy, its rapid development is driven by ever-evolving online technology.
New technology and new thinking have produced many innovations in other online areas, most notably in the gambling industry, where developments such as sweepstake casinos and live casino gaming have fundamentally changed the nature of the customer experience – you can read more about this on sweepstakescasinos.net if you are interested.
When it comes to gaming, 2023 is set to be an exciting year, in which as many as 3.07 billion people will at some point pick up a gamepad or open their favorite game. Here are some of the biggest trends in gaming that we can expect to see in the next 12 months:
New frontiers for PC gaming
Steam has dominated the PC gaming space for many years, but there are now some serious challengers that are set to become more popular and successful in 2023. One example is GOG, which offers a huge range of retro games and new titles, but Epic Games Store, Origin and Uplay are also making inroads into the PC gaming market. For the latest in the world of indie games, the Roblox platform is becoming the go-to site, having evolved dramatically since its launch as a kids’ platform.
Cloud gaming progress
At one time, gamers had to buy their games from a real-world store. Then, it became possible to download the game although the speed of the download varies. Cloud gaming is the next generation of gaming access, and although not a new concept for 2023, it is set to explode. The technology has been held back by its high internet speed requirements, but with 5G rolling out around the world and internet connections getting faster, cloud gaming is about to enjoy a boost in popularity.
Fitness gaming
Gamification is a concept that is transforming many aspects of our online world, and in recent months, the phenomenon of fitness gaming has been a big hit. Known alternatively as Active Video Games (AVG), this technology has something in common with older gaming hits, such as Wii Sports and Pokémon Go. However, in 2023, fitness gaming is set to become much more sophisticated.
Brands such as Peloton have become incredibly popular, but there are many similar ideas being turned into reality out there, many of which take the original fitness idea into new realms. Games such as Zombies, Ring Fit Adventure and Until You Fall combine fitness boosting with engaging and immersive video game play. The development of this technology promises much in 2023.
Gender diversity in gaming
The common perception of the gaming industry is that it is dominated by young men, but it may surprise you to learn that in 2020, women made up over 40% of US gamers, while the figure in Asia was over 45%. Those figures are set to rise higher in 2023.
It seems that game developers are finally paying attention and rather than producing occasional games ‘aimed’ at women, are increasingly incorporating gender diversity in their mainstream games. It helps too that there are more women involved in making and working on video games. The result will be that in 2023, the concept of the game apparently designed solely with young men in mind will become nearly extinct and a more rounded, richer range of gaming experiences will be the result.
The metaverse
When Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the ‘metaverse’ and launched the new Meta brand, the initial reactions were skeptical to put it mildly. However, even if you were underwhelmed by the execution, the concept remains an exciting one that will surely be explored more fully in 2023.
Right now, there is some confusion over whether the metaverse is a place where real and virtual worlds come together, a 3D internet or one limitless VR space. In some ways, this debate has a lot in common with the discussions that were taking place in the 1970s and 1980s over what exactly the internet would be and how it would be used.
Whatever the metaverse turns out to be, there is huge potential for the game industry to get involved. That will be something for all gaming fans to keep an eye on in 2023 as both VR and AR come together with the metaverse concept to produce a new generation of games that promise to be more interactive and immersive than any we have seen to date.
