If you are an experienced gamer or have only recently started to expand your gaming horizons, you have probably already formed your own opinion about which genres you like and which genres you dislike. It has been the rapid growth and development of the longstanding sci-fi genre. However, that has experienced a revival in the past couple of years in the gaming, film, and television industries. It has led a growing number of gamers to wonder whether it has almost reached its natural peak or is only just getting started. If you are interested in how the sci-fi genre is expected to progress in the coming years, continue reading to learn everything you need to know as a gamer.
A brief history
In the late 1960s, as the world was experiencing the so-called golden age of space exploration thanks to the 1969 moon landing, and science-fiction was king thanks to the release of Star Wars Episode IV and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the gaming industry was also reeling from the release of Metamorphosis Alpha.
It was published in 1976 and has since been heralded as the world’s first role-playing game centred on the then-burgeoning genre of science fiction. It captivated an entire generation of console-based gamers and paved the way for the increasingly popular genre to truly take flight and spawn a number of both similar and inspired games connected by the same underlying premise of a world defined by imaginative and futuristic concepts. It can be argued that this set the scene for all future science-fiction themed games, movies and TV series
In the years that followed, this trend only continued gaining traction with the release of Fallout, Dues Ex, and Chrome, to name a few, with the film industry only mimicking its success with the release of Dune, Back to the Future, and Short Circuit as emerging technological advancements continued to push the boundaries of what was possible in the highly imaginative world of science fiction.
A historic time
It may never induce the levels of mass hysteria that it did in the late 1900s, but in the past couple of years, the sci-fi genre has undergone a much-needed revival with both existing and brand-new gamers exposed to titles that have been expertly and beautifully designed and crafted to produce a final product that is nothing short of a technological marvel.
It was the highly anticipated release of No Man’s Sky in 2016, for example, that kickstarted the sci-fi genre back into first gear as existing fans of sci-fi themed slots, blockbusters, and television shows scrambled to experience the genre-defining game on a first-hand basis despite its mixed reviews during launch. It has since undergone further updates and developments over the years that have seen it emerge as one of the greatest sci-fi games of its generation, with future expansions scheduled to be released in the coming years.
In addition, the upcoming release of Starfield, which has been in the works since 2018, is poised to revolutionise how gamers experience the genre on a multi-platform level with initial trailers and teasers pointing to a game that has been designed with the utmost attention to detail and following the latest technological capabilities to usher in the next generation of the gaming industry.
A stratospheric future
It has been said that the release of several upcoming games, namely Starfield and No Man’s Sky, marks a fitting conclusion to the ongoing popularity of the sci-fi genre with nowhere else to go but down in terms of fan anticipation technological capability, and audience reception. It is, however, only likely to inspire an entire wave of both experienced and up-and-coming gaming developers to pay tribute to their legacy by releasing games that evoke a similar response. It has, after all, become something of a trend since the gaming industry’s early beginnings to continue evolving in line with emerging technological advancements with the progress that has been made so far.
This progress can easily be seen by comparing the world’s first gaming consoles, such as the Magnavox Odyssey, to today’s gaming consoles, such as the PlayStation 5. This progress is also likely to improve in games as game developers search for new and fresh ways to continue surprising gamers of the science fiction genre with titles that exceed their wildest expectations.
In 2022, sci-fi games are expected to continue experiencing rapid growth and development as the release of many popular titles, such as Starfield and No Man’s Sky, sets the standard for what fans of the genre are likely to expect. By familiarising yourself with a brief history of sci-fi games, their current popularity, and their stratospheric future, it is clear that the only way is up for the sci-fi genre into the broader gaming world.
