Gaming and digital media as a whole have made a giant shift over the last decade, so much so that it’s sometimes hard to keep up with it. Esports is a huge example of this. Once only popular in South Korea, eSports is now a worldwide phenomenon with multiple young gamers finding longstanding careers by playing competitive games. Technology and consumer trends won’t just expand in eSports. These other trends are sure to evolve in the next century.

Live Streaming and Creator Tools

Capturing video games wasn’t easy 20 years ago, and it’s amazing how far this technology has developed since taking then. To prove that a high score was met, or a speedrun time was achieved, we used to take pictures of the screen with disposable cameras. The early 2000s weren’t much better, because most of us still could afford thousands of dollars worth of capturing equipment and upload it to computers that couldn’t sustain the files. Now, live game streaming can be done with a click of a button, and we can spend hours watching and uploading endless footage from any video game. It’s easier than ever to prove when a score has been reached, or a play was made. It’s likely that in the next decade, video sharing will be effortless.

Mobile Gaming

Although mobile gaming is still in its infancy, taking gaming on the go has been a thing since the late ’80s with the GameBoy, Atari LINX, and Sega Game Gear. The graphics weren’t great, but the idea of taking a computer game with us was revolutionary. Now the Nintendo Switch, which is the perfect combination between handheld and console gaming, has such superior graphics and frame rate that you could mistake it for a mid-level PC title. Mobile gaming is slowly being seen as a viable way to play games, as well. You can discover more games like casino games from Casumo casino, traditional RPGs from Square Enix, and puzzle games like Candy Crush.

Gaming as a Service

Renting movies and games, just like games-on-the-go, isn’t a new concept. Renting a movie has been a thing since the VCRs invention, and seeing a movie in the theatre is an even older concept. It wasn’t until Blockbuster that videos or games as a service really kicked off because it made it easy to watch multiple movies without buying any. Gaming as a service recently saw an explosion in popularity since Xbox created the GAME PASS subscription service, which grants users a catalog of games for a low price. Playstation Now is looking to compete with GAME PASS but falls short as of writing this. It’s likely that gamers aren’t looking to collect games anymore, but are more interested in the experience of playing them.

Creation and Involvement 

Consumers aren’t usually involved with the products they buy, nor do they have any opinion on its process. With the advent of crowdfunding and social media, gamers are able to communicate with developers easier. Along with developers having easier access to their consumers, they also have other means of finding popularity. Many developers have become interested in gaming because of platforms like YouTube and Twitch, and they have found a community by uploading to these platforms. With the scope of these social media websites, they are about to see industry trends and create games that better suit their market. In the future, it’s likely that more game developers will arise from the easy access to consumers, their likes and dislikes, and what they prefer to do in games.

Gaming and Social Events

One of the most surprising trends is eSports, not because they aren’t entertaining, but because the sports community was reluctant to call gaming a “sport.” However, ESPN has competitive games like Poker among other card games, as well as sporting events that don’t require teams, or putting our feet on the ground, like horse racing. ESports in the future may become huge events like watching the SuperBowl because unlike football, gaming is a skill that anyone can develop, at any time, and is cost-effective to start when compared to other sports. Not only will we see more gaming celebrities, but we’ll also see more events on television.