Many aspects of gaming are changing now that people are spending more time at home. In Norway, the online gambling industry has grown over the past years, with more people visiting online Norske casinos.

Today, our expert, Alexandra Nereng, will be covering what we can expect as the gaming industry continues to expand. She has many years of knowledge and experience behind her name to give us an accurate and reliable overview on what the future holds for the gaming industry.

VR Gaming

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have had a massive boom in the last year and have refined the history of gaming. Already, multiple brands are selling and/or developing hardware from Norway, to America and the rest of the world.

The problem with VR at the moment is the price and amount of hardware needed. Heavy, awkward headsets can put you back quite a lot and don’t appeal to gamers who prefer to stay still when playing.

VR is also a very solitary experience, and most consumers are looking for social games. However, a few casinos have opened interactive, social floors. So VR might very well be the future of gambling.

There’s promise in this niche, and it might become quite extensive. The current difficulties make it hard to tell how the future of AR and VR will look.

Increased Mobile and Cloud Gaming

Many people thought that VR would be the future of gaming until cloud and mobile gaming services became more and more popular. Some have turned to their mobile devices for entertainment in the last few months, and the growth in users across Norway and Scandinavia hasn’t stopped. Mobile games are easy to download and play, and often, you can interact with other people from around the world.

The cloud gaming market has recently become popular but is expected to expand tenfold in the next three years. Cloud gaming runs video games on a remote server and allows you to control them from your device. You don’t need to buy new computer parts whenever a new game comes out.

The Rise of Streaming and Social Games

In a new age of social isolation, game streams and social games have become one of the most popular entertainment media. Games like Among Us, Pokémon, and Fortnite allow you to compete against or play with your friends online from anywhere in the world.

Entertainers such as Youtubers stream these games on platforms for entertainment. A new niche of streamers might even enjoy the same benefits as a professional Youtuber in the future. Faster networks and better hardware are quickly making this dream a reality.

Competitive Gaming

Competitive video gaming or esports have become extremely popular since their humble beginnings. The industry is already worth millions and is growing and developing daily. Esports have live audiences that stream or join live games in numbers that traditional sports stadiums would envy.

The difficulty with predicting the future of esports is that popular games cycle in and out, and there isn’t a predictable pattern. Games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends are classics that have been played in this industry for years. Still, seasonal games like Fortnite appear and disappear quicker than we can generate accurate statistics.

AI in Gaming and Development

Developers use artificial intelligence (AI) to help develop games and make Non-player Characters (NPCs) more believable and realistic. For example, NPCs in many new games now work on a behaviour tree instead of following a set script. You can get different reactions and results from them depending on your choices. This makes games more immersive and gives a lot more diversity and replayability.

The process of procedural content generation has revolutionized the gaming industry. Developers no longer need to sit and painstakingly animate every tree leaf and pebble; there are AI programmes that help. This frees up time and money for better development in other aspects of the game, like the storyline. It is also used to generate levels randomly as well as to load and create game assets. 

Diversity and Commentary

The gaming industry, much like many others, is starting to speak out on social issues. The image of a “gamer” is no longer assumed to be the “typical white male”. More developers are trying to relate to their entire audiences by making games including people of all genders, colours, identities, and abilities.

Video games are now complete, Hollywood-scale productions and include intriguing and relatable stories and characters, huge areas to explore, and more free-roam options. They closely rival the movie industry for entertainment.

Conclusion

The gaming industry is looking like it might overtake the film industry in revenue and popularity. In fact, the former head of strategy at Amazon Studios, Matthew Ball, believes video games will “take over” in the next few years. No one truly knows what the future of gaming holds, but it’s looking bright.