The Network Impact of Explosive Explosive Gaming Growth
The popularity of digital gaming has surged globally during the last decade. The gaming industry continues to grow at a rate that is beyond anyone’s comprehension. The gaming market is projected to increase [1] at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.32% from 2024 to 2029, from an estimated $272.86bn in 2024 to $426.02bn by 2029. But what has fuelled this growth?
Multiple factors, such as the advent of e-sports, the popularity of live-streaming platforms, and the growth of mobile gaming, can be attributed to the boom in digital gaming. Access to digital games is on the rise, fuelling the demand for reliable and fast internet infrastructure.
It has resulted in an intensified focus on the demand and need for enhanced, reliable, and stable network connectivity. With digital gaming fundamentally about the player experience, connectivity is everything – with any lag in latency a disaster for user experience and enjoyable gameplay.
Telecom and cloud providers have the ideal opportunity to enter the gaming industry allowing organisations providing cloud gaming services to take advantage of the gaming market to expand their business offerings.
But what has the true impact of this explosive growth in gaming been on networks? This article will explore the current major gaming trends and look to the future to predict what we can expect to see next.
Global market trends and projections for gaming
- The global video game market is projected to expand [2] at a compound annual growth rate of 13.4%, from 2023 to 2030, reaching $583.69bn.
- By the end of 2024, it is estimated [3] that there will be 3.320 billion gamers globally. Asia leads the world with 1.48 billion gamers, followed by Europe with 715 million.
- Approximately 50% of Saudi Arabia’s internet population identifies as regular gamers. As part of its Vision 2030 plan [4], by 2031, Saudi Arabia hopes to have 250 gaming firms and produce over 30 titles that rank in the top 300 worldwide.
- The market for AR and VR gaming is projected to increase [5] at a compound annual growth rate of 35.4%, from $1,210 million in 2022 to $10,110 million in 2029.
- In 2021, the market for in-app purchases was estimated to be worth $110bn worldwide [6]. At a 20% compound annual growth rate, it is predicted to reach $567.58bn by 2030.
What’s next? Major trends shaping the gaming industry
While maintaining all the great aspects of current gaming trends, we can also expect the arrival of some new trends. Here’s a list of all the upcoming and present gaming trends that will win over gamers in 2024 and beyond.
1. AR and VR in gaming
There’s no doubt that developments in Augmented and Virtual Reality have helped provide far superior gaming experiences than ever before. The popular game Pokémon Go led to the sudden rise in AR gaming. It is anticipated that augmented reality adaptations would be made for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games, such as Leagues of Legends and Dota 2, raising the bar for MOBA gaming yet further.
Also, integrating virtual reality would greatly help the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) genre. Imagine stepping into a completely virtual reality setting that transports you to a different world, like the Warcraft universe. The development of this genre will be aided by the integration of augmented and virtual reality solutions into mobile and wearable devices, as well as consumer demand for immersive gaming experiences.
2. Esports
NFT video games and Esports are taking the world by storm, helping businesses and individuals make money. Esports is expanding into a growing global industry where skilled gamers play competitively.
Companies worldwide are starting to explore the Esports gaming market due to the industry’s extraordinary rise in popularity. Similar to traditional sports competitions like basketball, cricket, and football, Esports involves competitions in a range of video games.
3. Metaverse gaming trends
With several game studios starting to carve out their first and best shot in metaverse gaming, the release of video games in the metaverse is already creating a buzz. Compared to traditional games, the metaverse delivers a more captivating and immersive gaming experience. Players can design their own avatars, explore vast virtual environments, and communicate with other players in real time. In comparison with typical games, this fosters a sense of social engagement and community.
Metaverse gaming is anticipated to be one of the biggest gaming trends in the coming years. The market for the gaming metaverse in the United States was estimated to be worth [7] $5.33bn in 2023 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 40.50% from 2024 to 2033, roughly $159.31bn. Metaverse video games, whether decentralised or centralised, are getting popular among players, and market forecasts indicate that this trend will continue for a very long time.
4. Blockchain-based gaming trends
Blockchain-enabled video games have rewritten the rules by providing many explorative opportunities in gaming. The business potential for video games on blockchain is enormous. Integrating blockchain technology into businesses assists them in addressing real-world issues. Blockchains will provide gamers with more flexibility to switch from play-to-win to play-to-earn experiences, in addition to providing developers with safer and more accessible areas to work in. Blockchain is also a ground-breaking tool for creating and storing in-game content. Blockchain has been one of the major gaming trends over the past few years and it will mark the turning point for the gaming industry in the future.
5. Generative AI in gaming
Generative AI has the ability to transform players’ experience during gameplay, by creating lifelike characters who can interact without reading from scripts or generate entirely new content based on the players’ actions. Generative AI uses exclusive language models to create a dynamic and responsive environment that enables real-time player interactions.
Generative AI games can produce material based on the players’ explicit and implicit actions. Examples of this content creation include in-game characters engaging in conversations similar to those of humans and creating new elements and levels to the game. Generative AI brings about a novel way of interacting with the game and personalises it for the user, which is different from anything that has been seen before.
Gaming has immense growth potential and is shifting the landscape of entertainment and economic advancement. Thanks to improved internet connectivity and lower latency provided by 5G, operators can offer a wide range of value-added services to gamers and upsell high-end plans. Nevertheless, there are still a lot of challenges to be overcome like access to high-speed internet connections and affordable devices.. All rights
FastMode
