Gaming is one of the most competitive and profitable industries in the world. That’s why there always seems to be something new being released. 2020 was a great year for gaming, and it saw the rise of eSports as a legitimate alternative to live sporting events. Sony also made waves with the release of the PS5. 2021 has also been a big year with many interesting trends starting to shape up. Let’s take a look at some of the gaming technology trends to watch out for right now.
Increased Competition in the Online Gambling Sector
Online casinos have exploded in popularity during the recent pandemic, and many jurisdictions around the world have started to loosen up restrictions around them. This has caused a massive increase in new gambling sites, which brought more competition. Casinos are trying to outcompete each other to gain the attention of new players and we can expect them to become even more aggressive in their bonus strategies.
Bonusfinder announced earlier that it would now be offering new players 24 hours of risk-free play, which is unheard of in the online casino industry. We could see other casinos try to put their spin on this strategy. These should be interesting times for the online gambling industry, especially for players.
VR Going Mainstream
There has been much talk about AR going mainstream, but besides Nintendo, we haven’t seen many developers trying their hand at the technology. VR, on the other hand, seems to be much more popular with the public and programmers. Not only has the cost of VR headsets decreased significantly recently, but current mobile phones also are more than capable of running VR games and can easily be converted into VR devices. This should push even more developers to create VR games and more people to start playing them.
Cloud-Based Gaming
While Google’s foray into cloud gaming was received with mixed reviews, it still showed the potential of the technology. Cloud gaming – the principle that users can access games from a remote server using the interface of their choice – has been a dream for many years, but connectivity issues have always stopped it from becoming a reality. Now that 5G is being rolled out in most major cities in the world, it could become a real option.
One of the benefits of cloud gaming is cost savings. Players don’t have to worry about having the best specs as games are not run from the user’s device but broadcasted from the cloud server. This could allow players to play powerful games on any device without losing performance.
Social Gaming
Gamers are interacting with each other more than ever. Applications like Discord allow players to communicate directly, form groups, and build friendships. The social restrictions have pushed even more people to turn to these platforms in search of human contact.
Social games are also becoming increasingly popular, again, probably because of restrictions. Games like Among Us have seen a 15,471% increase during the pandemic. Animal Crossing is another title that became an unexpected hit because of the social aspect. We can expect many developers to inspire themselves from the genre and more of these games are starting to be released.
Browser-Based Games are Making a Comeback
An interesting trend in gaming right now is the return of browser-based games. While those were once mainly used to pass the time, advances in browser and internet technology now allow developers to create increasingly more powerful games.
Browser games are becoming so good that some were able to cross over to consoles. One great example is the wildly popular Five Nights at Freddy’s. We can expect to see more of these games being ported to consoles and more people to start paying attention to browser games.
Easy Access to Live Streaming
Streaming is now more popular and accessible than ever. We can expect all consoles in the future to have features to allow for easy streaming. Recording and audio equipment are also cheaper than ever. Not to mention the impact 5G could have on the future of streaming. We could eventually see 4K video streaming seamlessly over mobile devices, which could be a game-changer.
Crypto iGaming Platforms
Cryptocurrencies and casinos seem to be a match made in heaven. Not only do they offer more anonymity to players, but they allow them to make deposits and withdrawals much faster than through bank transfers.
We can expect to see more operators harnessing the power of the blockchain and accepting crypto payments. Many casinos have been released over Ethereum’s platform and more casinos are starting to accept the cryptocurrency. Crypto casinos should get much more legitimization as cryptocurrencies are becoming more widespread.
These are only some of the top trends to look out for in gaming technology. It’s impossible to know what’s going to happen next in this fast-paced industry, but these trends should help shape what the future of gaming will look like.
