With a global market value expected to reach $300 billion by 2029, the gaming industry is one of the biggest and most successful in the world. In fact, gaming itself is one of the most popular pastimes worldwide, and a recent study revealed that around 83% of internet users across the globe also play video games.  

The main reason video games have remained a favourite pastime for generations is their ability to adapt and evolve as time goes on. Gone are the days when video games could only be accessed at arcades, and nowadays, the 2-bit graphics design of old games is almost lost entirely.  

When we look back at where video games started and how advanced they have become since then, it can be difficult to imagine what new wonders and complexities the future might hold. However, countless tech experts and game developers are working hard all over the world to bring the future of gaming to the next generations. In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into some of the ways new tech is completely revolutionising the gaming experience, and what this might mean for future gamers. 

Cryptocurrency 

Digital assets, also known as cryptocurrencies, are gaining popularity across the world at an exponential rate. Already, 28% of American adults own or have owned at least one form of crypto, with many more revealing an intention to invest in the future. Crypto has become so popular that many people view it, with its major security benefits and tendency to rise in value over time, to be the future of finance itself. 

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the gaming industry, and there are a number of different sectors within the industry already capitalizing on the popularity of crypto by incorporating it into their creations. For example, many new online casinos created by US operators accepting crypto come with a variety of benefits for their players that traditional casinos simply cannot match. Crypto casinos typically offer quicker transaction times, higher security, and, of course, allow the gambler to make an additional bet on the volatility of the coin itself. 

In fact, crypto has become so popular that it has led to another form of gaming to emerge, this being crypto play-to-earn games. As their name would suggest, crypto play-to-earn games are games that players can engage with in order to earn cryptocurrency with real-world value. Not only has this allowed many gamers to make an additional income on the side, but it has also opened up the opportunity for gamers to earn a living doing what they love. 

Virtual Reality  

Virtual reality, also known as VR, technology has already completely revolutionized the gaming experience, and this is only expected to continue. Effective VR tech not only allows players to engage with a game but, quite literally, places them in the environment of the game itself. As VR tech continues to evolve and attract new audiences, it is reshaping how games are played at their very core. With VR tech, gaming is no longer something that has to be done sitting down, which could lead to negative health effects if games are played too often. Now, VR games encourage players to be on their feet and moving around, helping them to keep active while engaging with a game. 

Things look especially bright for the future of VR gaming. Already, multiple game development companies, such as Sony, have brought out virtual reality kits, with new and improved versions expected to emerge soon. In the future, VR  in games won’t only place the player in the world, but advanced haptic sensors and body monitoring technology could allow them to feel and be affected by this world as if they were actually there. 

Augmented Reality 

Augmented reality (AR) is similar to VR but with some key differences. Rather than placing the individual in a new reality, AR tech brings aspects of a different reality to the user’s own. For example, new tech like AR glasses can translate text in real time or provide information on what the user is looking at in their own reality. 

In gaming, AR technology is often used to turn the player’s world into an environment for a game. For example, the highly popular mobile game Pokémon Go uses AR to place Pokémon onto the player’s local map in order to encourage them to go out into the world and hunt for these virtual prizes. Like VR, AR tech completely changes the game, encouraging players to engage with their own world, get out and be active, while gaming. 

It’s hard to say what the future holds for AR gaming, but one thing is for certain: more games that incorporate AR are certain to emerge. This is especially the case as AR tech more generally becomes increasingly popular. Game developers will be looking at how to create games for this tech in particular, and a whole new, advanced genre of gaming could emerge. 

Artificial Intelligence 

Artificial intelligence, more commonly referred to as AI, is completely revolutionising countless aspects of our world. Any internet user will know that AI now appears on search engines, giving personalized responses to questions and queries. However, AI isn’t just effective as a tool for answering questions; it can and is doing so much more than that, and one only needs to look to the gaming industry to see this in action. 

Firstly, artificial intelligence is already being used by game developers to take on a portion of the workload. This is not taking away the human touch on game development but rather assigning an artificial intelligence to take over the menial work, thus freeing up the human workers to engage more directly with the creative side of things. 

This sharing of labour amongst AI is almost certain to evolve in the future. As AI becomes more advanced, it will be capable of taking on more roles within the game development world, which will inevitably lead to more complex games. 

Another way that AI is actively reshaping the gaming experience is through the creation of intelligent non-player characters (NPCs). For example, in the critically acclaimed Naughty Dog Game The Last of Us Part Two, NPCs can respond to the actions of the player in real time, helping to further immerse the gamer into the world of the game. On top of this, AI has also been used in games to observe the skill level of the player and the strategies they use, and adjust the difficulty of the game accordingly, meaning games never become too easy or too difficult to be enjoyable. 

This kind of tech is certain to make more of an appearance in newer games, and AI could lead to games that humans alone simply never could have produced, such as infinite games that never end and constantly change for the player. 

Cloud Gaming 

Cloud gaming, sometimes called game streaming, allows gamers to play games without first downloading them. This is done through the internet and has multiple benefits for the gamer. Firstly, it takes away long download times, enabling players to sink their teeth into gaming content as soon as they see a game they want to play.  

Additionally, because cloud gaming doesn’t download content directly onto a console or device and instead uses the internet, it often allows for cross-platform gaming. This means that individuals with one console, such as a PlayStation, can play a game with their friend, even if the friend is using an Xbox, so long as the game allows for cross-platform play, as cloud gaming will place them on the same server. 

A lot of gaming enthusiasts, both players and experts alike, believe that cloud gaming could completely reshape the gaming industry in the future. One only has to look at streaming services such as Netflix and Now TV to see how successful entertainment streaming services have been at reshaping the entertainment industry. Perhaps the future could see similar gaming platforms emerging where, rather than purchasing individual games, players instead enroll in a subscription and are able to stream any game instantly. 

Conclusion 

It is difficult to think that the first-ever video game, Tennis for Two, was created less than seventy years ago. Since then, the constant evolution of technology has reshaped gaming over and over again until it is almost unrecognisable from how it used to be. With such a realisation, it’s hard not to imagine what gaming might look like seventy years from now. 

Technology like virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and cloud gaming, alongside new payment methods like cryptocurrency, are only going to keep evolving and adapting to this changing world, and in order to keep up, the gaming industry will have to change too. Perhaps one day, the technology that powers contemporary games will be looked back on with the same nostalgia we have for the very first arcade games.