If there’s one thing certain about the gaming industry in 2023, it’s that it will be an exciting year. The global games market underwent impressively – and highly unprecedented – growth during 2020 and 2021.
However, 2022 was a hectic year that saw corrective trends impacting the industry in a significant way.
According to Newzoo, 2022 saw a year-on-year decline of 4% in the games market, which marked the first decline in industry revenues since 2012 (when the market research specialists first began tracking gaming developments). Although not a huge paradigm shift, it’s a trend worth monitoring.
Nonetheless, optimism remains high for the future of gaming. 2023 will see the release of highly anticipated titles for new consoles while exciting developments are in the works in the cloud gaming arena.
Virtual Reality remains a prevalent topic, and even the mobile gaming sector will experience a shift here in the post-ATT era.
But what are the most impactful gaming trends to watch out for in 2023? Let’s take a look.
Blockchain’s Greater Impact
Blockchain gaming is one of the strongest trends to have emerged in the past few years, and throughout 2023, it’s set to have a greater impact on the global gaming industry.
We’ve already seen the rise of play-to-earn games, which itself is a progression of the classic real money gaming genre characterized by brands like PokerStars Casino — which offers a full spectrum of online casino games — so what’s next for blockchain gaming?
Throughout 2022, there was a proliferation of partnerships between blockchain gaming and the metaverse; the NFL partnered with Mythical Games, FIFA partnered with Upland, and the Sandbox partnered with multiple household names.
Blockchain gaming is set to take Web3 adoption to the next level this year and will play a key role in popularising the metaverse in the process.
AI Game Design
Artificial Intelligence is currently a hot topic thanks to the emergence of language model chatbots like ChatGPT.
While AI has been used in gaming since the early days of home games – even as far back as the Pac-Man era – until now, it’s been largely kept within the realms of non-player character creation. A new trend is emerging for 2023 that could see AI becoming a game production tool.
The potential of AI as a way to design and develop games is already being realized. One notable example is EA’s use of machine learning to improve the real-time animation in the latest FIFA games.
In the coming year, we can expect to see more developers utilizing AI tools like Midjourney, a generative art program, and Chat GPT to aid in the generation of design ideas.
Gaming Goes Retro
Retro gaming is by no means a new trend – there’s been a market for retro gaming consoles and video games for decades – but today’s developers seem to be experiencing a great deal of nostalgia surrounding the cult science fiction and horror franchises of the video rental era.
The ongoing success of existing IP like Stranger Things has no doubt contributed to this phenomenon, but it may also be down to the fact that the individuals who grew up with these franchises in the 1980s and 90s are now occupying positions as game developers, video game studio heads, and, of course, super-nostalgic consumers.
We’ve already witnessed the return of Ghostbusters, Friday the 13th, and Evil Dead on our consoles, and this year will see the likes of Starship Troopers: Extermination and Aliens: Dark Descent hit the shelves. That’s not all, as RoboCop: Rogue City (featuring Peter Weller reprising his leading role), Tron Identity, and even Texas Chainsaw Massacre are earmarked for the 2023 release.
We can expect publishers to continue delving into their old VHS collections for more enticing retro licenses as the year progresses.
Gamers Become Makers
Video games have always attracted dedicated fan communities who contribute to the narrative universe of their beloved titles – whether that’s with artwork, fan fiction, and even fan-made spin-off games.
In 2023, this collaborative relationship will take center stage as more games hit the market that takes the sandbox genre to the next level. Meet Your Maker is one such game. This first-person game asks players to design levels and missions for others to explore and conquer.