TechTheDay

Gaming has been an integral part of the entertainment industry for many years, and much like most digital experiences, its outsized growth has been fueled by the global COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the sector’s giants have thrived because of the conditions created during the coronavirus lockdown. While there’s bound to be some regression with the acceleration of the pandemic’s reopening and people putting in less time on virtual environments, many analysts and experts expect specific secular trends to remain. And for investors, the following developments might be worth keeping an eye out for.

Social-gaming convergence

What was once an activity associated with antisocial stereotypes is now a means to create, build, and strengthen social relationships. After all, industry trends show that video games are famous for nearly all age groups and demographics. And since the pandemic’s beginning, most people have engaged in gaming in one form or another, whether it’s on their mobile device, PC, or console. While entertainment is the primary motivator, they also enable gamers to foster social connections, which is essential in the increasing isolation brought about by the coronavirus.

Moreover, younger gamers generally find gaming’s social aspect necessary. More than the competition, they believe it to be a much better avenue for creating social connections than even social media channels can. And this trend shows that the social aspect is not only a luxury but a necessity in current-generation games.

In-game monetization

The social element of gaming isn’t just a means of attracting players into the fold. It’s also a vital revenue source for the sector: microtransactions. Much like how people purchase automobiles, clothing, jewelry, and other items to confer their status in our real world, gamers also buy in-game items for expressing their personalities while connecting with other people in a virtual environment. Whether it’s mobile, console, or PC gaming, in-game transactions can net power-ups, ad-free subscriptions, extra games, aesthetic enhancements, and more to improve their gameplay and flaunt what they have to others.

The bottomline is that the conventional approach of developing and selling a game will limit its profit potential. Therefore, many companies have begun to adopt in-game monetization as a way of maximizing user engagement and generating long-term revenue.

New gaming platforms

Gaming consoles are regularly being released, giving developers opportunities to create new and ground-breaking titles. They typically come with more advanced processor architectures, greater visual fidelity, and more storage over their predecessors to accommodate modern video games. They also come with other peripherals that support virtual and augmented realities. Moreover, games aren’t limited to a single console. In actuality, developers create them for most available platforms to capture a broader audience and maximize their games’ potential for profit.

Conclusion

No industry will ever be free from risk, especially sectors that have benefited greatly from the unique conditions brought about by the pandemic. However, with its steadily rising social aspect and monetization practices from increasing user engagement alongside the convenience and accessibility that it offers, there’s little doubt that video games are here to stay. And they’re not going away any time soon, making them a sound investment for those looking for a go-forward industry.