Gaming is a pastime that crosses all demographics, with breathtaking scenes in multimillion-dollar console productions all the way down to free-to-play puzzle apps on your mobile phone. All of these experiences rely on the innovations that have gone before. Nothing exemplifies the value technology adds to our entertainment quite as purely as online gaming.
Improvements in the industry still advance at a startling rate, but even more so than before, online gamers demand an immersive and seamless experience, and the kind of interactivity that can only be drawn from truly groundbreaking technologies. This article will explore five key technologies that are shaping the future of online gaming as we know it, from the rise of virtual reality to advancements in internet connectivity.
1. Cloud gaming and streaming technology
Cloud gaming is changing how people play, making high-quality gaming more accessible than ever. Unlike so many other innovations on this list, cloud gaming is perhaps the most important advancement for truly making gaming an equal-access experience for all.
It’s a simple concept – rather than building your powerhouse PC or dropping hundreds of dollars on the newest gaming console, cloud gaming instead runs all your favorite games on a remote server and streams the footage directly to your screen. Any inputs from the player are instantly relayed back to the servers, so you can play entirely remotely. This technology removes the need for powerful local hardware, allowing more people to enjoy high-end games through a simple subscription service.
Despite its somewhat underground presence, most of the big players in video gaming have a stake in cloud gaming. Services such as Xbox Cloud Gaming and PlayStation Now come from the console giants. Even graphics producers NVIDIA have their NVIDIA GeForce Now system. Each has its own cult following.
Unfortunately, cloud gaming does come with its drawbacks. By its nature, it is dependent on numerous other technological advancements, chiefly the quality of internet connectivity with the end user. Poor connectivity leads to high latency, which can make many competitive or fast-paced games unplayable. Further, while having a centralized unit does remove the waste element of languishing, outdated game consoles, it does require a very large local land footprint to store all the disparate servers required.
2. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) truly is a thing of the future. It’s almost unthinkable that this advanced, sci-fi technology is on the verge of becoming commonplace, even in our games. Simpler forms of machine learning and AI are already present in online gaming. Personalization is a big area – AI-driven recommendations and difficulty levels that adjust to your playstyle create a truly tailored gaming experience, while new fair play movements use AI to detect cheating patterns, so no one has an unfair edge in competitive games.
However, there’s scope for AI to move much further than simple pattern recognition. AI can be used to procedurally generate content, create bigger maps and more levels, and give you far more value in your game than ever before. Many big studios are working on using AI to inform smarter NPC behaviors to give truly immersive sim and RPG games. Discussions around possible future trends in AI even go as far as AI-assisted game development and automated QA testing. If this technology were to succeed, there’d be no more waiting years for the sequel to your favorite game – studios would have considerably more freedom to streamline the creation process and avoid nitpicky bugs by leaving the computer to sort out the faults.
3. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
Nothing else in gaming technology quite matches the people-pleasing abilities of VR and AR systems. A truly immersive software, VR creates lifelike, interactive experiences that are unlike anything that players have experienced before. The technology has come on in leaps and bounds since its first appearance and is becoming an increasingly commonplace way to experience simulation games and MMORPGs.
AR is more prominent as an accessory to mobile and console gaming. Pokémon GO is the game we all know, where AR merges reality and fiction in an immersive gaming experience that gripped nations.
More and more companies are putting their money into VR, but the most well-known remain Meta Quest, PlayStation VR, and Apple Vision Pro. These companies are still exploring the potential for what is possible with VR, and in the wake of groundbreaking innovations, smaller players in the industry can pick up the increasingly accessible technologies. AR is becoming more and more commonplace in mobile gaming and many businesses are picking up VR to create immersive meeting spaces to safely experience real-world situations.
4. Blockchain and crypto in gaming
Blockchain and crypto are the buzzwords in technological innovation these days. It’s no wonder they’ve found their way into the online gaming sphere. A huge benefit offered by blockchain is the increased security and transparency inherent to the nature of the tech, and it’s no wonder it’s most widespread in industries where money is at stake. Online casino gaming is a huge proponent of blockchain, both to secure monetary transactions and to ensure fairness and transparency in where money goes and how the games work. This is important even in areas where players can enjoy casino games without any real money in play, because if you understand sweepstakes offers, you still have a chance to win.
Many online gaming spheres have taken blockchain a step further and created entirely blockchain-based economies in-game, such as Axie Infinity and Decentraland. These play-to-earn models use blockchain tech to accurately track player activity and ensure rewards are fairly and accurately distributed.
Understandably, there are concerns around the regulation of these wild-west blockchain economies, much like the decentralized crypto-banking systems, due to how quickly the uptake has outstripped the movement of bureaucracy.
5. 5G and edge computing
We’ve already touched on the importance of high-speed connectivity in cloud gaming, but this also comes into play with any kind of regular online gaming, especially in the competitive sphere. Where every micro-second counts, the staggering innovations we’ve seen in 5G connectivity over the last few years are providing faster speeds, lower latencies and vastly improved gaming experiences, especially when it comes to mobile gaming. Better connectivity improves real-time responsiveness to create a truly seamless gaming experience, and allows high-quality streaming of high-spec games even to mobile devices.