2023 has been a roller-coaster year for the gaming industry. Although revenues have yet to reach mid-pandemic levels, nevertheless the industry has pulled in over $180 billion. The year saw the release of groundbreaking games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard (worth a cool $68.7 billion) dominated the headlines.
The global gaming industry is already impressively varied, covering a huge range of digital experiences ranging from leisure to competitive. Over the past two decades, we’ve seen several exciting segments emerge alongside the progress made in video game development — we only have to look at the high quality titles accessible across all devices today to see how far that’s come — such as eSports and online poker. Both sectors introduced revolutionary aspects to the industry; eSports has elevated playing video games to a professional occupation while the online poker sector digitalised a centuries old card game and made it accessible to a wide demographic of players. Today’s gamers can access premium titles on their smartphones and even take part in poker tournaments in the digital realm or enter eSports events.
With so much on offer, it’s hard to imagine just how much further the industry could develop. But, as technologies continue to be ever more innovative, so too will the gaming sectors.
Let’s check out some of the core trends that will likely dominate the industry over the next 12 months.
Web3 will go Mainstream
Web3 is a relatively new sector of the industry that integrates blockchain technology and decentralised principles with digital gaming. Web3 has given rise to concepts like play-to-earn gaming, which rewards players with virtual assets for the time they spend engaging in gaming activities. It’s a popular sector among cryptocurrency and blockchain devotees, but it hasn’t quite hit the mainstream in 2023.
2024 may bring about changes in that regard, however. According to the Blockchain Gaming Alliance, 37.8% of blockchain game developers predict that traditional gaming studios will be a key driver in accelerating the Web3 gaming sector in 2024. In 2023, over $2.3 billion in investments were made into Web3 gaming projects, so it has all the makings of being a lucrative sector. Several established gaming companies have already announced moves into the sector, with the likes of EA, Ubisoft, and Sony investing in projects or launching initiatives. We can expect more big names to jump on board during the coming year.
The Emergence of Extended Reality
Extended reality has been bubbling away on the sidelines for several months now, aided by the launch of Meta’s Quest 3 this October. In 2024 a major Apple launch could see it emerge as a full-fledged gaming sector.
Extended reality, also known as mixed reality, is a relatively fresh concept that refers to the amalgamation of different immersive technologies that blend physical and digital worlds. By combining virtual reality with augmented reality, XR experiences offer a seamless experience in which users can interact and engage with both real and virtual objects in a shared space.
With Apple Vision Pro slated for a release in March 2024, we predict that the gaming industry will soon follow en masse into producing XR titles. Apple has already announced that around 100 of its existing Arcade games will be available to play on the headset. While we don’t know yet which game development studios will make XR their next move, there’s no denying the impact that Apple has when it releases new hardware, especially when we take into account the fact that the tech giant has already started factoring gaming technology into its latest range of Macs and MacBooks.
2024’s Most Anticipated Games
In addition to being an exciting year for gaming tech, 2024 is also going to deliver yet more ground-breaking gaming titles across the full spectrum of platforms. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is one of the first up in February, with Square Enix no doubt continuing its “weird, meta approach” to updating the story of the original game.
Another gaming staple that will be on the receiving end of a much-needed digital face-lift in 2024 is the original Tomb Raider series. Over the years, the Tomb Raider editions I to III have been increasingly harder to get hold of, and their blocky graphics in no way stand up to the quality of today’s immersive, hyper-real experiences.
In terms of new VR games hitting the market, Unreal Engine 5 seems to be the go-to engine for new game development. A number of major upcoming VR releases have been developed with UE5, including Avowed, Black Myth, Senua’s Saga, and Tekken 8.
Photo Credits
Game Controller – PickPik
Woman with VR headset – PxHere
Guest Author Bio
Abby Fox
Abby Fox is a tech writer with a fascination for innovation. With a background in computer science, she delves into the intricate world of technology and gaming, crafting articles that demystify complex concepts. From AI breakthroughs to cybersecurity, Abby’s pieces blend technical depth with a knack for making the latest tech trends accessible to all.
Please Share Your Thoughts - Leave A Comment!