The gaming market is a very interesting place—while there seems to always be new games on the market vying for people’s attention, people are very loyal to their favorite games, and it takes a lot for them to move on and spend their precious spare time on a different game.
Nevertheless, the gaming landscape is changing all the time, with technology continuing to improve and allowing for more advanced gaming engines, as well as a more accessible market for higher-spec gaming devices.
For the last few decades, gaming consoles such as the PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo devices have dominated the market, establishing games consoles as a familiar presence within the homes of millions—but with the world and society continuing to evolve, and move at an ever-increasing pace, the demand for a more mobile form of gaming has continued to grow.
As well as this, gaming is no longer a “niche” market and forms an immovable pillar in the entertainment industry complex—with the latest generations having grown up side-by-side with games, there is a greater affinity and understanding population-wide.
Read on to find out more about the hottest trends in the gaming industry in 2022.
Mobile Gaming
As mentioned previously, emerging consumer markets have led to a huge explosion in the world of mobile gaming, as people look for a more mobile and accessible way to spend time playing games.
For one, they don’t have to spend their money on an additional device—most people have a smartphone to hand, and can avoid paying hundreds if not thousands on another product.
Gaming titles on consoles almost always come at a significant price, but thanks to microtransactions, the vast majority of mobile games are free to play, with the user being able to pay money to the development team at their own discretion for in-game items.
Integration with social media platforms and contact lists also makes for an easily accessible, social gaming experience.
Laptop GPUs
Historically, installing a graphics card into a laptop has been a difficult task—while not impossible, it has come with many drawbacks, such as large, bulky casings that make it difficult to move the laptop around, as well as disappointingly short battery lives considering the purpose of the device.
However, recent innovations have led to products such as the Intel Arc, which are lightweight, powerful, and resource-efficient laptop GPUs that unlock the potential of having a high-performance mobile gaming device.
This marks a change in the playing field, as desktop PCs have always been the more reliable option for high-performance gaming—but technology is getting smaller and more powerful all the time.
E-sports
With competitive sport being one of the foundational pillars of our society, it’s no surprise that e-sports are now making headlines across the entertainment world.