The past couple of years has seen tremendous growth in activity online thanks in no small part to the pandemic which saw people spending more time in their own homes alone. Work was conducted online with meetings and education taking place on Zoom or Microsoft Teams. People had more time on their hands, unable to pursue their usual leisure activities. This has seen a huge uptake in social media usage, online gaming, gambling, and TV streaming services.

While the world has slowly but surely opened up again, online gaming has continued to go from strength to strength. People found that they enjoyed the experience and are now playing online out of choice and including gaming as part of their overall social life alongside events and gigs as well as pubs, clubs and restaurants. The lure of online gaming is largely due to the incredible technological advancements of recent years, advancements that are set to continue apace in 2022.

Gaming was estimated to be worth US $180 billion by the end of 2021 and this is forecast to rise to US $314 by 2026. Currently, there are 2.5 billion gamers worldwide, of whom 70% are over 18. A third of the world’s population now participates in the gaming industry via console, pc, or mobile phone. This is a huge industry, and it is no longer child’s play.

Cloud-based gaming

The likes of Google and Sony will continue to develop gaming streaming services (known as cloud-based gaming) which means that the ability to play technologically advanced games is no longer dictated by the storage capacity of the device that the game is being played on. 2022 will see games that are no longer tied to a particular device and friends will be able to play with each other across PlayStation, PC, tablet or phone. The rollout of 5G as a data transfer standard will make cloud gaming a priority trend this year.

Online gambling

A large subset of online gaming is online gambling. This market continues to grow exponentially. Worth around US $44 in 2019 by 2026 it will be US $67 billion. Much of the future growth will be due to improvement in casino streaming via cloud-based services. Operating companies will be able to use multi-platform, cutting edge technology to provide players with an immersive and hyper-real experience. Top casino deals will be a continuing trend this year, bringing all the fun and excitement of a bricks and mortar casino home.

Artificial Intelligence

AI is also known as machine-based learning. The idea is that the characters in the games appear to be thinking for themselves. Through a system of trial and error, the game evolves and changes how it acts and reacts. When a player in the real-world logs on their previous activity is remembered by other characters who might come to their assistance if they helped a comrade in the past, effectively mimicking human behaviour. Historically, much gaming has operated in zones of conflict, but current trends see developers keen to use AI to increase cooperation within games. What will happen is that the gameplay and story will continue to develop beyond what was imagined and programmed into the original experience. Processing language in a natural way with player modelling and machine learning allows the development of realistic, reactive characters.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has been with us for many years but until recently had not lived up to the expectations. However, new wearable technologies and improved headset experiences mean that the virtual will be more real in 2022. Facebook is strongly invested in the idea of us spending more of our time in the Metaverse be that for pleasure or work. A fully immersive world where we interact with others through realistic avatars across platforms and across games. How far we step into the Metaverse this year remains to be seen but it is a trend to keep a watchful eye on.