Gaming is undoubtedly the modern cornerstone of entertainment. Over the last decade, the industry has taken off in a variety of ways. Streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube let gamers connect with millions of subscribers; eSports leagues like ESL and teams like Fnatic now have global followings; top eSports players are drafted and trained on par with traditional athletes—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Throw in the advent of VR and mobile gaming, the availability of more inclusive controllers like voice control and hand controllers, and the rise of handheld consoles, and it’s clear that gaming will continue to evolve at top speed. Or, at least, as much as technology allows.
The crux of the modern gaming craze is the tech that it runs on. From hardware to software, developers and gaming blue-bloods are hamstrung by the latest advancements. To bring gamers and their fans the next latest hit in gaming, companies must push the frontiers of technology, bridging exciting new ideas with functional hardware.
As 2024 approaches, some analysts already have their eye on developing markets and trends. Looking back at the past year, here are a few of the top frontiers that will continue to expand in the coming decade.
A Data-First Approach to Competitive Gaming
As outlined above, eSports and traditional professional sports aren’t totally unrelated. In fact, eSports has borrowed quite a bit from leagues like the NFL and Premier League, to name but a few. Most of the inspiration boils down to infrastructure; most leagues, teams, and players can expect a career in gaming that loosely mirrors a career in a pro sports league.
More recently, comparisons have been made between how eSports players train and how athletes do. Thanks to a book called Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (2003), which covered using stats to effectively recruit players in the MLB, more and more pro sports teams turned toward data to help them gain an edge on the competition.
It seems this data-first approach has now seeped into eSports leagues, as many include data analytics consultants or groups. Even beyond traditional eSports, this trend has taken hold. For example, poker fans can even use a poker odds calculator to help them gauge how a table game is unfolding and what their chance of winning is.
Though poker isn’t an official eSport, it’s been around for a lot longer than League of Legends or Call of Duty—and its players are interested in using the same data-centric approach as pros in similar industries.
Move Over VR—XR is Here
VR was expected to be one of the top influencers in the gaming market heading into 2020. Unfortunately, steep prices and buggy sensors have led to many waiting out the VR boom. In the meantime, augmented reality (AR) has seen its heyday—but it may soon be replaced with experiments in Extended Reality (XR). XR includes all the hallmarks of VR, AR, and even Mixed Reality (MR) projects. This simply means that rather than focus on augmented or virtual worlds, developers can mix and match as they need.
At the moment, most XR projects are focused on non-gaming industries, including engineering and safety training. However, names like Meta, Nvidia, and Vive are also zeroing in on XR as a way to offset the hardware and software demands of creating fully virtual games and worlds. With the advent of the Unreal Engine 5, projects from these brands are expected to come into greater focus over the next year.
OTT Streaming: A Future of Cloud-Based Games
Unreal Engine 5 will help take new gaming projects to the next level—but it’s not the only roll-out expected to change this industry. Worldwide, many gamers (particularly mobile gamers) have benefitted from the availability of 5G networks. In places like India and the UAE, for example, these networks are still being finished.
That means that the world’s most populous country (India) can expect to see gamers join a network of global players thanks to a more advanced and secure 5G connection. One way that 5G could affect local gamers is through the availability of cloud-based titles. Similar to streaming sites like Netflix, a cloud-based streaming service would allow gamers to ‘stream’ a title rather than purchase it.
This idea is nothing new in gaming—but, much like VR, it has faced ample roadblocks that have made it unviable. However, that’s all slated to change. In India, the country’s largest smartphone provider, Reliance Jio, is already pivoting toward cloud gaming.
Enter the Era of the Advertiser
Many gamers will be happy to hear that one of the latest developments in gaming revolves around microtransactions. These types of mini-purchases have been part of dozens of top-level gaming models—but the general public and watchdog groups alike have seemingly had enough.
Going forward, gaming analysts expect that the vast majority of free-to-play models will start to switch toward advertising and sponsorships in order to minimize the number of in-game purchases necessary. This should lead to an improved gaming experience for players, while also allowing companies to expand their revenue reach through targeted contracts and deals.