When it comes to entertainment, technology is now a driving force behind innovation. Over the past five years, technological advancements have given rise to a ton of amazing new trends. From NFT crazes like Bored Ape and CryptoKitties to virtual concerts held in the metaverse, it seems like every year brings entirely new vistas in entertainment.
But when it comes to forays into technology, no industry is better at it than the gaming industry. In fact, no other popular sector of the entertainment industry relies on advanced technology as much as video games. And yet, while it’s clear that the future of gaming is tied to technology, predicting every new trend isn’t easy.
For example, VR has been touted as a cutting-edge industry project, but it has taken years to slowly evolve, even with developers like Sony and HTC working behind the scenes. Gaming experts have had VR on their agenda for more than a decade, but advanced headsets like the Meta Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro have only recently hit the market in earnest. And yet, it remains too expensive for most households.
Meanwhile, the quiet giants of the gaming industry, virtual casinos, have spawned some highly innovative new types of games. For example, casino fans looking for bonuses on the Oddschecker platform will find some of the world’s top brands, each offering a unique live dealer experience. These table games include real dealers that are live-streamed to players’ remote devices, emulating the gaming experience in a real casino.
Looking at these examples, it’s clear that not all gaming-related endeavors are progressing as expected. Some projects take longer to take shape, while others appear out of nowhere in niche areas of the industry. Looking ahead, let’s explore some of the most unique and innovative ways the world of gaming is likely to evolve, from hardware to AI to cryptocurrency.
Diversifying accessible games
Traditionally, gaming hardware hasn’t been very accessible to gamers with less athletic abilities: PC gamers rely on mouse and keyboard, console gamers stick to handheld controllers, and VR players typically need access to hand sensors. But over the next decade, we’re likely to see more developers putting money into more accessible controller devices.
Sony already offers an Access controller and Logitech offers a complete adaptive gaming kit that works over Bluetooth. Clearly, there’s already a lot of interest in making more accessible gaming controls and hardware, but we’re still only scratching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to inclusive gaming.
Virtual hub of global community grows
The metaverse is one of the most unique themes in the gaming industry. From Decentraland to Roblox, metaverses are designed to let players (or users) design their own worlds, games, NFTs, and more. While the goal is to create a virtual world where anything is possible, entertainment, especially gaming, remains at the heart of these themes. This is primarily because consumers need gaming hardware, whether PC or VR, to access the metaverse.
Over the next decade, these virtual hubs have the potential to become truly global communities. Recently, stars from Ariana Grande to John Legend have performed live for their fans in the metaverse, and this trend is unlikely to change anytime soon. Fans will continue to turn to their favorite metaverses for concerts, shows, contests, and more.
However, it’s worth pointing out that for the metaverse to truly go mainstream, players will need access to powerful gaming hardware, which is still out of reach for the average gamer.
AI takes center stage
Like every other topic on this list, AI is already impacting the world of gaming. Right now, games are using AI to generate new levels, create more realistic non-playing characters, customize game suggestions for subscription packages, etc. But in the future, AI is set to become central to game development.
Firstly, AI will become more accessible to AAA and indie game developers. Given the massive success of several indie games (Hades, Minecraft, Stardew Valley, etc.), AI will serve as a resource for up-and-coming developers working with small teams and low budgets. AI will be used as a tool to simplify the process of creating a game from scratch.
Beyond its role as an indie resource, the AI will also be adapted to the in-game experience in a more meaningful way, meaning players can expect AI-based algorithms that tailor specific game modes and settings to their pre-defined needs, from difficulty to audio settings to in-game events.
Cross Everything
At the beginning of this article, we mentioned some of the different ways players can play games: on consoles, handheld consoles, mobile devices, PCs, VR headsets, etc. Some games are now offered as cross-platform titles, meaning players can access the game on different devices and play with friends across different devices.
But cross-platform efforts are still in their infancy. Some games are available on mobile devices and the Nintendo Switch, but not on Xbox or PC. These combinations can take many forms, limiting players who want to invite friends to play with them on different hardware. While many developers are working on cross-platform ports, gamers can rejoice that many analysts expect the future of cross-everything games to start taking shape.
Gaming becomes greener
Let’s finish this list with one of the hottest topics in the gaming industry: environmental protection. More and more companies around the world are looking to adopt “greener” technologies that minimize reliance on fossil fuels. However, with the number of energy-hungry servers used by billions of active gamers around the world, change can’t come soon enough.
So what’s on the agenda for green gaming over the next decade? While the idea of gradually running servers and data centers on green energy is great, the industry would benefit from an organization that can aggregate concerns from developers, players, studios, and more. As more environmental watchdog groups take notice of the gaming industry, we may see big companies like Microsoft and Nintendo launching meaningful environmental initiatives of their own.