Future of Gaming Technology: Trends You Need to Follow

The gaming industry is dynamically evolving, with content creators trying to adjust to the ever-changing user demands and emerging technologies. The value of the video game market is currently $65.49 billion, and if you want to get a share of the market, you will need to stay up to date with the latest trends. In order to help you better forecast user demands, we assembled a list of some growing trends that will give you a better understanding of the future gaming technology. Let’s take a look at the first one.

1. We Will Stream Games Instead of Downloading Them

Currently, when you buy a game online, you need to wait for it to download. However, as network infrastructure becomes more advanced, people will be able to purchase a game and start playing it through streaming. This opens the door for things like cloud gaming, where gamers are no longer dependent on their hardware capabilities and can take the gaming experience with them anywhere they go. This also means that people will be able to play their favorite games on mobile devices as mobile broadband speeds become even faster. Just like with Netflix, you can start watching a show on one device and finish on another. The same will be possible with gaming. You can expect streaming to become the main distribution method over the long term. 

2. Virtual Reality Will Be Huge 

In the previous section, we talked about streaming and cloud gaming and this technology can really help the future of VR gaming because this will relieve the user of the burden of having to buy an expensive computer that can stream VR content. Also, gaming headsets will become more user-friendly and affordable, making VR a big component of the future gaming tech. Think about all of the possibilities offered by VR. This includes things like expanded control possibilities, life-like experiences, amazing graphics, and many other benefits offered by VR. There are still many hurdles that VR gaming needs to overcome, including the hardware issues mentioned earlier and the audio and visual communication with other players. However, the benefits offered by VR are simply too much to pass up. 

3. Merging the Real With the Virtual With AR and MR

As we have learned from the success of games like Pokemon Go, the users are looking for new gaming technology that combines both the physical and the virtual worlds. With the development of wearable AR technology such as glasses and contact lenses, we can expect to see a lot more augmented reality gaming in the future. Basically, we will no longer need to rely on controllers or our phones to play games, but rather we will be able to play them with our bodily movements. Photorealism will reach a point where it will be almost indistinguishable from the real world. AR/VR games development will reach a point where they can create things that were previously impossible, like playing football with dragons and other creative ideas. 

4. The Console Wars Will Be Over 

Today Xbox, Playstation, and other gaming consoles have their own dedicated fan bases, and they get very excited when a new version of the console comes out. However, even if today’s particular gaming console has better hardware allowing it to create better graphics, this will no longer be an issue in the future. As we previously talked about cloud gaming, the users will no longer be stuck with controllers, and they will be able to play their favorite games on whatever device they want. This trend will be slow to evolve, and you will see gaming giants like Nintendo coming out with new consoles, but this is because all of these companies will need some time to figure out how they will adjust to the new emerging technologies in gaming. 

On that same note, you can expect home gaming hardware to become obsolete as well. Thanks to the rise of gigabit and faster internet speeds, all of this hardware will be replaced with high-res screens and various input devices that make it possible to stream games with almost no latency.

5. A Smarter Way to Create Games 

When we look at some of the most popular games of the past couple of years, they were created by large teams consisting of hundreds or even thousands of people. This is simply unsustainable because as the technology gets more advanced, we can’t have teams consisting of tens of thousands of people. This is why the development environments will need to become smarter. Even nowadays, you can easily outsource parts or even entire projects of video game development, making it easy to work with talented people remotely on any given project. This should also benefit indie developers who will be able to use modular development to create bigger games. 

We also need to keep in mind the potential role of AI in the development process and how it can replace human developers. For example, a lot of research is currently being done on how AI can take some of the burdens off of human designers in creating intuitive content at greater speeds. Also, there will not be a need to hand key every animation or craft every single blade of grass. Therefore, AI can offer substantial cost and time savings in the future development of video games. 

Trust Skywell Software to Help You Take Advantage of These Growing Trends

We looked at what is the future of gaming and what the implications might be for both the consumers and game creators. These trends provide substantial benefits, but in order to take advantage of them, you will need to partner with a trusted service provider like Skywell Software. We are developers of custom games and can make even the most daring and creative vision a reality. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.