10 Hottest Gaming Trends To Keep An Eye On
2021, the year we all become PC gamers.
If there is one undeniable truth about technology, it is that it is constantly changing at a speed and efficiency we have never seen before.
Every new piece of hardware or software that is released is always trying to innovate and improve upon what the previous model was capable of, while also trying to integrate the latest trends and breakthroughs.
And the gaming industry is no exception to this truth.
In just the last ten years alone, the industry has gone through two new console generations and has overseen the normalisation of many changes to gaming, such as crossplay and the games-as-a-service model. But while some of these changes happened naturally due to developers chasing or creating the latest trends, others came about more drastically or deliberately.
Thanks to the launch of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, gamers are sure to see the major advancements made to the way games are made and how they play over the next few years.
But as this list will demonstrate, next generation hardware is not the only gaming trend you should be keeping an eye on.
10. All-Digital Industry Events
It used to be at big events like E3 and Gamescom that the leading console manufacturers and game developers would show off what they have been working on, attempting to generate hype for upcoming releases.
But despite these events still being fairly popular, a few big players in the industry have found a way to bypass these events and create their own digital events.
Digital events like Nintendo Direct and State of Play offer a more flexible marketing strategy to Nintendo and PlayStation than traditional game conventions. Instead of rushing to complete trailers, or being embarrassed by turning up with very little to show, Nintendo and Playstation can announce a date for their own digital event whenever they are ready and people can watch them online.
This takes advantage of the large amount of people watching content online while also sublimely making them vigilant for the next event, as the dates could be announced at any time.
Nintendo Direct and State of Play have been well received by gamers and we could see similar events from other developers and publishers if they continue to stay popular. Whether they also mean the death of events like E3, remains to be seen.