Introduction
Since the creation of retro gaming decades ago, the gaming industry has since grown with unparalleled speed. The past five years alone have seen it move around goal posts like no one expected since its inception in the 70s. Gamers are now spoilt for choice, there are games for consoles, mobiles, PC and online browser games. Online casinos have taken advantage of the rise through developing games like sweet bonanza, as well as countless other online slots, catering for a range of interests and the industry shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Although the pandemic prevented many gaming companies from developing new products, it helped the industry see a surge in many new gamers entering the market, leading up to present day.
Gaming has now become so standard that even non-traditional gaming companies like Meta, Apple, and Google, are looking into taking advantage of its momentum. Amid the rapid growth of gaming, its basic drivers are still familiar: processors are getting faster, improving graphics and the overall gaming experience. Console makers are also launching new hardware with better capabilities and offering more exclusive game titles. Moreover, global internet availability will continue to rise, enabling more people to play online games. Multiplayer games, mobile games and the population of casual gamers all are expected to continue to expand.
As the tech industry is always looking for ways to innovate itself, more and more gaming platforms and services have emerged as a result of this innovation. Microsoft has already been in the gaming industry through its popular Xbox console. In 2019, the company introduced Project xCloud, a video game streaming service that allows users to stream Microsoft’s Xbox games to PCs or other devices. The service became fully functional in September 2020 and can be accessed by subscribers to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
In 2016, Meta began developing a gaming platform with Unity Technologies, which makes a game development framework for people to make video games. Google launched its program, Stadia, which is Google’s cloud gaming service, that allows users to play streaming video games with extremely high quality. It is available through Google’s browser, phones, tablets, and desktop computers.
The end goal for all these companies has always been to give players access to games without the need for over the top machinery or huge investments of money. As it is, gaming is also on the verge of a major transformational shift due to the emergence of the metaverse — a shared, persistent, three-dimensional virtual realm where users interact with objects, the environment, and each other through digital representations of themselves or avatars.
Here’s all you need to know about it.
The metaverse and future of gaming
Many people believe that the metaverse will eventually be pervasive throughout society, including in the business world and on social media, but that could not be further from the truth. Gaming has quickly become a first mover in this space, with the concept of a new digital universe not a new one. The idea for the metaversewas originally conceived in a 1992 dystopian science fiction novel in which people use avatars to interact with each other in a futuristic virtual world. Today, this fictional universe is becoming a reality, with a number of early adopting gaming companies experimenting with a metaverse presence and many others formulating strategies for their own entry.
This means that gaming titles will keep being in competition with one another, but because each title is just one of many “realms” in the metaverse, they will also compete with a seemingly endless number of destinations and activities. This could lead to significant change in gaming companies’ business models, the way they develop their products, the employee skill sets needed and even the way these companies are structured.
The metaverse is an enormous force securing the ongoing growth of gaming today. According to recent studies, more than 52% of US gamers believe that the metaverse can revolutionize the gaming industry. But much of the technology to create a truly immersive, seamless, and lifelike metaverse is still a long way off. It may be years until the metaverse reveals its true impact on video gaming.
Conclusion
Gaming has always been about innovation. New technology, new controls, and new experiences are to be expected. As the world moves more and more to time spent on mobile phones, streaming services, and mobile phone game playing will become an important arena for revenues, and large tech companies will look to leverage their current framework to get involved.
Perhaps the most interesting change in the video game industry along with the Metaverse is the expanding demographics of gamers. With more people playing games, creating demand for more immersive entertainment, and looking for easier ways to access games, the future of the video game industry looks bright.
Gaming is not only considered to be a booming entertainment business but are expected to transform the way in which people interact. With all this in mind and the promise of the metaverse still holding strong, the gaming industry is projected to rise exponentially in popularity worldwide. It will continue to evolve as new technologies, genres, and target markets arise.
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