Technology and gaming have a symbiotic relationship. Both industries are thriving in the modern world and that is due in part to the way that they work together.
The games industry has benefited enormously from advances in technology. These have led to smoother game-play and superior graphics and can be seen in everything from the best-selling video games to the hottest online casino slots.
Technological developments have also made accessing games easier and more convenient than ever before, thanks to powerful smartphones that are ideal for gaming. It is not a one-way street though, because the games industry has supported the tech one too.
Its demands have helped to drive innovation within the technology sector and contributed to its rise. It is therefore a relationship that will continue and there are new technologies that will be impacting the games industry in the coming year.
Mobile Advances
The mobile segment of the gaming industry is one of the fastest growing. It is forecast to enjoy further rapid expansion this year and the latest mobile technology improvements are something that will help to fuel that.
Models such as the Google Pixel 8 offer the most spectacular visual quality of any phones on the market and this will enable mobile game graphics to become ever more intricate and detailed.
It is not just the graphics of these games that will improve this year thanks to tech though. Mobile gamers will see more titles hit the App Store and Play Store that have stories as complex as those of console and PC games as well as more that can be played by multiple players at one time.
Virtual Reality Rise
One of the most impressive developments in technology is virtual reality and it is one that is really made for gaming. It is viewed by many in both industries as the next great breakthrough and it will be a very exciting one for fans of games.
The headsets that are used for virtual reality gaming provide digital landscapes that are utterly immersive and in 3D; making players feel as if they are really are in these artificial worlds. That will bring the imaginary universes created by games companies to life to a far greater extent than ever before.
Up until now, virtual reality has been held back by the cost of the headsets and issues such as motion sickness during long gaming periods. The Meta Quest 2 solved a lot of those problems though and was a big seller, suggesting it is starting to go mainstream.
Now the tweaked Meta Quest 3 should complete that process in 2024.
Augmented Reality Also Grows
Augmented reality does not attract quite as much media attention as virtual reality, but it is also growing at a steady rate. It is forecast to be worth $43.1 billion within the next four years and that is largely due to its application in games.
It adds digital elements to the real world, rather than creating totally virtual worlds, but that opens up enticing gaming possibilities. Pokemon: Go was the first big augmented reality game back in 2016, but the tech industry has been refining it since then and it will a notable part of the 2024 picture.
Upcoming augmented reality games are likely to come with innovative new haptic systems such as sensors and actuators. This is something that is in development and it will make the mix of actual and virtual feel more immersive.
Alongside better motion tracking and graphics, the next batch of augmented reality games should be the best yet.
Emergence of Netflix Games
One to watch in terms of games streaming this year is Netflix. The company remains better known for film and television production, but it is starting to take the gaming audience seriously as well.
Netflix Games now has an impressive library of titles, including Immortality, which was nominated for a BAFTA. Other top games available on the service are Oxenfree II and Into the Breach and there is an expectation that Hades will be added this year.
Netflix also hopes to be a pioneer of cloud games streaming that would be available to people via their televisions and that is an exciting possibility for the coming year.
PC and Cloud Streaming Takes Over
Some observers within the industry are expecting this year to see a marked decline in console gaming, with PC and streaming replacing it. The cloud streaming plans of Netflix would tie into this and would potentially remove one of the main benefits of console play.
Furthermore, laptop and mobile tech has advanced to the point where they can provide visual quality to match televisions.
This year looks set to bring more VR and AR gaming as well as more streaming.
