The year 2022 demonstrated once more how the pandemic period benefited the gaming sector in unique ways. Not only that, but we also saw a lot of fresh phenomena that appeared in 2017—from blockchain gaming to the metaverse.
This year, several of these patterns are expected to persist and perhaps get stronger. The five gaming trends that will emerge in 2022 are listed below.
1. Play-to-earn (P2E) will be a more viable business model
The concept of earning money through gaming is not new. The makers of the games, though, don't appear to like this concept thus far. The fact that developers and publishers seldom directly moderate and control player commerce is evidence enough.
This is expected to change when play-to-earn (P2E) and no-fee (NFT) games become more popular in the future. It is anticipated that success stories from games like Axie Infinity would motivate major game developers to legalize player-to-player commerce.
There is debate about the NFT trend in games. On the one hand, the gaming industry (and its investors) see the enormous market potential. Gamers, on the other hand, had a negative reaction. Presenting NFT-like technology under a different moniker can satisfy both parties.
2. The hype metaverse will drive the VR industry
The Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Sweeney-envisioned metaverse is still a long way from being a reality. It obviously takes a lot of time to provide a linked and integrated virtual environment. However, the seeds will at least start to sprout in 2022.
There is little doubt that the hype metaverse will support the expansion of the VR market. Facebook's decision to change its name to Meta and the metaverse-related techniques it uses have succeeded in considerably boosting interest in VR from both a business and consumer viewpoint.
Although VR headsets like the Meta Quest 2 are doing well in the market, developers are also working on more advanced headgear, as are major businesses like Sony and Apple. For those who don't know, Sony just made the PlayStation VR2 formal announcement, and there are also rumors that Apple is developing its own VR gear.
3. Apple and Google will slowly start opening their app store ecosystems
In general, Apple prevailed in the legal battle between Epic Games and Apple last year. However, judges enforced stronger guidelines to stop anti-direction tactics like Apple's, so Epic's battle wasn't in vain. Although the regulation's implementation is still being delayed, it is apparent that Apple will no longer be allowed to forbid publishers and developers from referring their customers to payment services outside the Apple ecosystem.
It is anticipated that this regulatory change, together with pressure from authorities, publishers, and users, would compel Apple and Google to gradually expand their separate app store ecosystems. Customers, as we all know, want the availability of services like cloud gaming, cross-platform play, and play-to-earn methods; yet, all of that will be challenging to implement given the current restrictions in the App Store and Google Play.
4. Game IP values will soar as cross-media trends become more relevant
The curse that movies made from video games would always be poor was broken by the success of the animated series Arcane last year. At least now we can be more certain that IP video games can also be successful in other media, and we will also see more films adapted from games in the future, starting with the Borderlands movie on the big screen and moving on to the Fallout TV series on Amazon, The Last of Us on HBO. Even Hideo Kojima took part in the founding of a brand-new studio that would focus on the development of music, television, and cinema.
The Arcane series was promoted with Jinx (a League of Legends character) appearing in Fortnite and PUBG Mobile, and Aloy (the main heroine from Horizon Zero Dawn) making appearances in Genshin Impact, Fortnite, and Fall Guys. The latter is intriguing because Genshin, Fortnite, and Fall Guys are all multiplayer live-service games, whereas Horizon is a single-player IP game.
Embracer Group also bought Dark Horse Comics, highlighting the need of having a strong intellectual property (IP) in various mediums. Be prepared to see a game adapted from a successful Dark Horse comic book in the future, or vice versa, a new comic series created from an Embracer IP game.
5. Gamers will have more choices
After a number of games were delayed, 2022 will see the release of a large number of new AAA games, including Elden Ring and Starfield. We will be exposed to a number of intriguing games on mobile in addition to those on PC and consoles, including those from well-known series like Apex Legends and Diablo. In conclusion, 2022 offers a tasty cuisine for all kinds of players.
Not to be overlooked is the Steam Deck, which will make a selection of PC titles available to lovers of portable consoles. This year, it's anticipated that more PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles will hit the market, which is crucial as more next-generation games are released, including upgrades to classics like Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077.