Some say that 2018 is the year for online gaming development and the experts couldn’t agree more. For instance, Royal Vegas has over 700 online games to choose from and that’s just the beginning. In fact, some of the gaming trends that they expect to see include the continued rise of Esports, an increase in the popularity of virtual reality devices, and much more.
We’ve already seen some of these trends take root right before our eyes. But, things are expected to get even bigger this year. Still unsure? Check out our projections below:
The continued rise of Esports
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Esports is a gaming event where players compete in organized video gaming tournaments, sometimes on an international level. But, experts are expecting to see this pastime become even more popular in 2018. In fact, they are saying that, if things keep going like they are, the Esports Market will be worth approximately 1.5 billion dollars by 2020.
Why is this number so high? For starters, the Esports industry is currently seeing an annual growth rate of 32%. In fact, it’s so popular, that Esports has started to rival traditional, ie physical Sports. As a matter of fact, when Millennials were asked if they preferred traditional Sports more than Esports, the results were equally divided. But, considering that Esports is fairly new, and has managed to become so popular in such a short time, the percentage of young people who prefer this type of gaming will only increase. It may even beat out traditional gaming events this year.
Indie games will continue to make their Mark
As is expected, many of us are on the lookout for the popular gaming blockbusters that will be released by the big-name companies this year. Unfortunately, this may mean that we are ignoring the erupting volcano that is indie games in the process. This is not a good idea, especially when you consider that Indie Developers have an advantage, in terms of fewer restrictions and more creativity, than their more popular counterparts. As you can imagine, these traits make for very interesting games, so you can expect that indie offerings will give the bigger names a run for their money this year.
In fact, there are already several indie games, like The Last Night and Indivisible, that have already been placed on the watch list for this year. But, we can expect even bigger independent games, whether they be new entrants or remakes of existing games, to become more visible in 2018.
Virtual reality will continue to grow in popularity
Virtual reality has had an explosive past couple of years. But you can expect this popularity to grow even more in 2018. In fact, by 2025, the VR gaming Market is expected to exceed 45 billion dollars.
Plus, due to the already large amount of development in this area, even more Innovations are expected. Some of them include new VR gaming headsets, deeper analysis of haptic feedback, and more expansion into the world of cloud-based virtual reality gaming.
AR will gain a stronger foothold in the markets
AR, or Augmented reality, gaming is another development that you should look out for in 2018. These types of games require players to work within the confines of a select area for the best gaming experience, AR has the ability to create an environment within the gamers existing space. Sound confusing? It’s really not that complicated. For instance, Pokemon Go is a popular AR type game.
The success of this game proves one thing, AR is expected to get even bigger in the future. Its success has put a fire in the belly of developers so we can expect an overall Improvement in the technology in 2018.
What do you think of this list? Do you agree? Are you excited about the online gaming developments for the upcoming year? Share your thoughts below.
