The gaming industry has seen record growth in the last few years.
Technology Trends Currently Disrupting the Gaming Industry
Even before COVID-19 became a part of our daily lives, the gaming industry was taking leaps and bounds toward being one of the wealthiest industries on the planet.
Gaming Technology Trends Disrupting the Industry
Of course, as with most industries, the only constant changes. Whether you enjoy the kind of rush found on table games or the kind you get when your team wins a deathmatch, there’s no denying that some of the current trends are really shaking things up in the gaming industry. Let’s take a look at the top trends currently disrupting the gaming industry.
Content Creators and Live Streaming
Arguably one of the biggest shifts or disruptions within the gaming industry has been the massive boom in the number of content creators and live streamers within the gaming industry.
Streamers like Ninja (17 million followers), Shroud (9 million followers), Summit1g (6 million followers), and Riot Games (5 million followers) all use the platform Twitch.
Not only are their followers interested in these streamers for the game content that they share, but followers also become invested in their favorite streamers at an emotional level.
Statistics say that almost 50% of gamers currently watch some form of gaming stream, that number is as high as 75% in younger age groups.
Growing Digital Distribution
Back in the day, the only way to get your hands on your favorite game would be to head down to your nearest store to get a hard copy (in a limited edition if possible) of the game on CD or floppy disk, depending on your age.
Nowadays, buying a physical copy of a game is something you might only do if you are a serious collector, and even then all you will get is a box with a CD key inside it. One day soon this may not even be an option anymore!
Much in the same way that CD stores have been replaced by iTunes or Spotify, physical game stores have been replaced by digital stores like Steam or Battle.net.
With the super-fast internet speeds that gamers now have access to, purchasing their games online is a much more cost-effective and time-efficient way to do things.
Plus you save space and there’s no waste to dispose of should a CD get scratched or a game no longer be wanted!
Marketing teams are changing up the way they do things as well and pouring all of their resources into directing gamers to their online stores.
Gamer Insights and Data
As we already know, the shift towards digital has been a radical one. Although this is, of course, a disruption, it’s one that can offer businesses a real and very practical insight into what gamers do and do not want.
Marketing experts are more able to build closed-loop strategies with the information available to them. What closed-loop marketing actually is, is a process in which the sales team reports to the marketing team about their leads.
This in turn helps the marketing team understand where their best and worst lead sources lie.
Gaming as a Social Forum
These last few years, games have not only been something to while away your free time, but also as a means of socializing.
Virtual meeting points within games are now no longer just focussed on what happens within a given game, but also serve as a spot for players to connect and share about what’s been going on with them of late.
We believe that spaces or events like this within the gaming community will continue to see growth in the very near future.
Not only is socializing taking place within games but also at virtual concerts and events, which have been necessary as lockdown protocols have required that we all stay in our homes and away from the dangers of the outside world.
With virtual events, gamers who might meet for physical LANs can continue to meet up with their friends in a safe and risk-free environment.
Wrap Up
Despite all the disruptive influences in the gaming industry today, we anticipate that it will keep on growing in leaps and bounds. Besides, which industry does not need a shake-up every now and then?
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