Gaming trends change the landscape daily. The video gaming market is among the few industries that grew tremendously during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. During this period, people of all ages stayed in their houses because of the lockdown.
That is the reason behind the record-breaking growth of the gaming industry in recent months. Everyone turned to video games as a pastime and to entertain themselves. Clearly, the gaming industry surpassed both sports and movies and made more money than their combined revenue.
Innovative and new trends are necessary for the video gaming industry. Next-generation gaming consoles (like PS5) and advanced PC parts kickstarted the market in 2021. Modern technologies like these also give birth to new gaming trends.
Gamers of this generation are inspired to try new trends in the gaming industry. It is psychologically true that no one wants to try the same thing again and again. That’s why we see recent advancements and trends in the gaming industry.
Everything has changed in the gaming industry since they switched from 2D to 3D graphics in video games. The gaming industry is ready for significant changes in 2021 by launching both Xbox Series X and PS5. The latest gaming hardware is not the only big gaming trend. There are many other gigantic gaming trends for gamers to keep track of.
What are the current trends in the gaming industry?
Now we will discuss the ten gigantic gaming trends for 2021 to lead the gaming community. These gaming trends will cover different gaming aspects like gaming hardware, the latest game designs, e.t.c. This list is based on the latest tech and gaming industry development. Here are the top 10 gaming trends that will change the face of the gaming industry in 2021:
- New PC Gaming Platforms
- Development And Growth Of Cloud Gaming Services
- Next Generation Gaming Consoles
- Revenue From Streams
- Remakes and Remastered Versions Of Old Games
- Growth Of Social Aspects In Gaming
- High Graphic Games For Mobiles
- High Fidelity Gaming
- Early Access To Games
- Online Gambling
New PC Gaming Platforms
According to different market reports, the PC gaming market is worth $27 million. This market was controlled by a single PC gaming platform called Steam. About 47% of the game publishers used to sell their games through Steam. It was the first platform that allowed gamers to search, buy, download and play games.
Steam also developed communities for gamers to discuss gaming problems, bugs, and game modes. But this dominance of Steam is now challenged by GOG.com and Epic Games.
GOG.com started to gain fame by providing access to old games unavailable on Steam. Also, GOG is on the list of platforms that combine old and new games, like Witcher 3 and Heroes Of Might and Magic. This platform also claimed to offer DRM-free games.
On the other hand, Epic Games is the biggest challenge for Steam. This platform has a sound library of games like Steam. Epic Games offers a variety of paid games for free every week. They also provide Fortnite for free, which makes it a unique platform.
Development And Growth Of Cloud Gaming Services
Cloud gaming, or gaming as a service, is transforming the gaming industry. According to tech experts, cloud gaming can overcome conventional video gaming within a few years. This non-conventional gaming gained a lot of success in 2020 and is expected to steal more in 2021.
Cloud gaming aims to break the barrier of expensive hardware to play the latest games. Cloud gaming services allow gamers to play their favorite game on any low-end device with high-speed internet. Many big tech and gaming companies have developed their cloud gaming services. Some of them are Google (Stadia), Nvidia (GeForce Now), Microsoft (ProjectX Cloud), e.t.c.
The total value of cloud gaming was $1 million in 2018, but experts predict that this value will grow to $8 million by 2025. The interest of gamers is tremendously increasing in 2021. The total size of the latest games has increased rapidly, but high-speed internet is not available everywhere. Also, it takes dozens of hours to download games.
But cloud gaming is here to save your precious time. You just need to buy a game if it is a paid one. Then you can play it online without wasting your time downloading it. This new trend is making gaming much cheaper than ever. Streamers are earning decent revenue from streaming services of cloud gaming services.
Next Generation Gaming Consoles
Trends in the gaming industry are incomplete without next-gen gaming consoles. We all know about the cold war between PC and mobile gaming. The same battle of glory has been going on between gaming consoles for over a decade. Console developers are introducing new technologies (like advanced graphics) to their gaming consoles.
This rapid development makes it one of the gigantic trends among gamers of all ages. PS5 and Xbox Series X are recently launched and hit the market with a huge bang. These next-gen giant consoles promise to support native and next-generation 4k Virtual Reality (VR).
We will see more enhanced graphics in upcoming gaming titles on these consoles. Xbox Series X uses dedicated audio chips to enhance the audio quality. Also, PS5 offers 3D audio for its gamers. It is a perfect opportunity for upcoming triple-A VR games to outperform in 2021.
Some other new features of these consoles are extra toppings for gamers. PS5 console comes with a high-speed SSD, so the loading time of games is reduced slightly compared to PS4. Xbox Series X carries a new (intelligent delivery) feature that allows you to play your bought games of Xbox One on Xbox Series X. So, you don’t have to rebuy them to play them on Xbox Series X.
Revenue From Streams
Gamers are earning revenue by streaming their gameplay on multiple platforms. This trend was found in 2011 when Twitch was introduced as a game streaming service. It gains a lot of fame as a platform where gamers can stream their daily gameplay and other content, just like on Youtube.
But nowadays, Twitch has become a streaming platform for professional gamers. Earning revenue from streaming games is the number one gaming trend in 2021. This platform gained two billion-plus viewers per hour from the live streaming of video games.
With the addition of PS5 and Xbox Series X in the gaming industry, the annual revenue from streaming is to increasing ultimately. Advanced graphics and VR technology are attracting more and more viewers toward video game streaming.
Remakes and Remastered Versions Of Old Games
The remakes and remastered versions of old legend games are gaining an overpowered hipe from gamers. Many remakes and remastered versions were released in 2020, including Resident Evil 3, Warcraft 3, Final Fantasy VII, and XIII, e.t.c.
The remakes and remastered games are not only better in terms of graphics but also provide better performance. Their developers add new features to their remakes to make them fit and compete with the latest games in 2020.
These remade and remastered games are mostly liked by those gamers who grew up playing them. But the new generation of gamers also shows great interest in remakes of old legendary games.
Many remastered and remakes of games are expected to launch in 2021, including the GTA trilogy, 30th Anniversary Edition of Mega Man, Street Fighter, Prince of Persia Sands Of Time, and Gothic. Game developers are giving double time and effort in making remakes of old games, as it has become a massive trend in 2021.
Growth Of Social Aspects In Gaming
In the last decade, game developers allowed gamers to socialize within the game. This fantastic feature proves to be more beneficial for people during Covid-19. Because people can play games, thanks to this feature, they can satisfy their social needs.
This trend was still rising even in 2021, and upcoming games are guaranteed to have this feature for socializing. It allows you to make friends within the game, so you will spend more time playing it. Also, you can communicate with other players through different communities to discuss the problems during gameplay.
This socializing feature also creates communication between gamers and developers. It helps in solving the errors in the game and improves its performance.
High Graphic Games For Mobiles
According to research, the total worth of the mobile market is about $151.9 billion worldwide. According to experts, this value reached above $165.9 billion in 2020 and will increase by 59% in 2021. The global mobile gaming market contributed about $64.4 billion to the overall gaming market, about 58.8% of its annual revenue.
Most of the world’s population cannot afford High-end PCs and gaming consoles. But they can afford mobiles, so the number of mobile gamers is increasing yearly. So mobile gaming is gaining a lot of fire and hype. The total mobile gaming revenue was $5.7 billion in 2020, which was a 15% increase from last year.
Mobile game developers are creating highly graphic games every year. High-graphic FPS (First Person Shooting) games are the most famous category in mobile gaming. Some legendary mobile games are Pubg, Clash Of Clans, andy Crush, Honor of Kings, Minecraft, e.t.c. Mobile gaming has become a considerable gaming trend in the last few years. New high-graphic mobile games were coming to the gaming market in 2021.
High-Fidelity Gaming
The most dominant reason for video games’ fame is their enhanced graphics quality. Realistic graphics are the fundamentals for games nowadays. So, game developers are focussing on providing ultra-quality graphics in their games. This trend has pushed the PC and console gaming industry to another level.
But recently, high-fidelity games have been creating their way into the mobile gaming market since 2016. All high-fidelity games have high-quality 3D graphics. As these games have high graphics, their GPU requirement is high.
Many mobile manufacturing companies are racing to provide the best performance for high-fidelity video games. The game development companies of China currently rule high-fidelity video games. It is also becoming a trend in western countries because of its success in the gaming market. The competition for High-fidelity video games is still high in 2021.
Early Access To Games
Empirical Software Engineering published a report which concluded that 15% of the games on Steam are Early Access games. We all know that Steam is the leading platform for developers to publish their games. The early access feature of Steam allows the game developer to provide the game to users while it is still under development.
This trend was not very popular in its early days, but since 2019, it has been working as a jackpot for game developers. This gaming trend not only allows gamers to play their favorite games even before their full release. But also helps the developers to understand the interest of the gamers. With this technique, the developers can easily fix all the bugs in the game and make it a masterpiece for gamers.
Gamers and game developers are working shoulder to shoulder to make games that have dominated the gaming market for a long, long tie. Moreover, this is an easy way to get gamers’ feedback even before the game’s official launch. The trend of early access games ultimately saves them from being unsuccessful. In 2021 many games have gained popularity even in their early access, including Valheim, King’s Bounty, EverSpace 2, Medieval Dynasty, Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, e.t.c.
Online Gambling
Gambling is a hobby of many people around the world. Early people used to gamble in games like dice and cards game. But nowadays, gamblers can play globally, thanks to advanced tech. According to experts’ predictions, the revenue from online gambling will reach $565.4 billion in 2021. The online gambling market will hit $1270.3 billion by 2028.
Hundreds of video games are used for online gambling and are a huge trend within the gaming industry. During Covid-19, the revenue of this market grew even more significant because people can still gamble online from their houses. This trend of online gambling will undoubtedly grow even more in 2021.
More Gaming Trend Questions Answered
Is there any future in gaming?
Now things are coming in games with the advancement in tech. Gaming features and technology is evolving toward realism. Moreover, there are dozens of gaming trends that are changing the face of the gaming industry.
People from different countries and casts love to play games and welcome tech advancement. The poison of gaming is now running in our veins.
Gaming has become a go-to source of entertainment and self-exceptions, which cannot be stopped anytime soon. The future of gaming is indeed very successful and bright.
How big is the PC gaming market?
The PC gaming market gained an approximate revenue of 123.54 Billion US Dollars in 2019. This vast gaming market reached a revenue of 131.23 US Dollars in 2020 and gained a lot of success. But in 2021, this PC gaming market is predicted to get an approximate revenue of 140.4 US Dollars. The gaming console market threatens PC gaming because PS5 and Xbox Series X will be released this year. The PC gaming market has to overdeliver to beat the console gaming market in 2021.
What will gaming be like in 2030?
In 2021, gaming reached the next level of excellence in advanced technology. Gamers still have to download complete games to play them, but cloud gaming is progressing by leaps and bounds.
We can expect some new genres of video games in 2030 with graphic quality approximately equal to reality. PC ad Console gaming is seemed to rule the gaming market even in 2030.
Maybe in 2030, gamers can use their body parts instead of controllers during games. Also, gamers might be able to use faster internet than 5G. 2030 is unpredictable for gaming.
Is gaming the next big thing?
The gaming market has been the only market not affected by Covid-19 during the last couple of years. Instead, the gaming market is snowballing during the pandemic.
Game developers are advancing in this market, and the numbers are increasing yearly. This business is growing in terms of tech and revenue. So, gaming can be the next big thing as its value will rise annually.
What’s the biggest thing coming in the gaming industry?
The gaming industry has grown unexpectedly over the last decade. Many big things are under development, and developers are eager to launch them in the gaming market.
The games are making progress in providing high graphics along with smooth performance. VR technology for gaming is still under development and is the next big thing for the gaming industry.
The FPS and Battle Royale games are ruling the minds of gamers, and many of them are under development. Gaming companies like Sony and Microsoft are trying to create customizable controllers. So, gamers can change their settings according to their preferences. It will be the next big thing for gamers and improve their gameplay.
