2021 was one of the biggest years for the gaming industry, thanks to the wonderful revenue that the gaming industry managed to fetch. The hopes of the gaming industry in 2022 are due to the benchmark that was set by it in the previous year. Technology has played a huge role in making the gaming industry extremely popular amongst both gamers and non-gamers. Games are no longer a hobby or a means to pass time, in fact, it has entered the mainstream as a source of entertainment and has also opened a wide arena for professional gamers. It is estimated that by 2024, there will be 3.5 billion gamers across the globe, which is nearly half the population of the planet. In fact, the gaming industry is currently earning revenue that is more than the combined revenue of the movie and music industries. Further, the gaming industry is seeing a change along with an interesting change in the demography of the gamers too.
Gaming Industry Trends In 2022
The gaming industry is increasingly using augmented and virtual reality gaming to provide gamers with an immersive gaming experience. The role of AR and VR in the gaming industry will be $11 billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 18.5%. Along with the VR gaming devices like hand controllers and VR headsets will be popular in the coming days. Another trend that is emerging in the gaming industry is that of cross-platform gaming. With cross-platforming, the players can play a game on multiple consoles and systems which is essential for seamless gameplay.
Competitive multiplayer mobile gaming is witnessing an extremely competitive environment. Mobile gaming has set itself as the leader of the gaming industry. With the easy accessibility of smartphones and improved internet penetration, mobile gaming is becoming popular. To be specific, casual and hyper-casual games that have a huge gamer base are extremely popular. Hyper-casual and clicker games that can be played with TapTap in a relaxed manner while having fun will rule the gaming industry. Cloud gaming services are expected to grow in the future. In fact, over the past five years, the interest in cloud gaming has increased by 105%. With cloud gaming, the user can eliminate the need of buying and downloading a game and can go for streaming a game in real-time. With the ease of playing a game, right-away eliminates the pain of waiting for a game to download. This is also extremely beneficial for the publishers who can now use cloud gaming to monetize even the old games.
How Is The Demography Of The Gamers Changing?
Currently, there are more than 3.24 billion gamers across the world. The average age of video game players across the globe is 35. In addition to that, female gamers are also rising. 59% of the PlayStation 4 and 5 are men and 41% of the owners are women. The women are also becoming tech-savvy and are using Auto Clicker to simplify a game whenever possible. Also, a report by Niko Partners has revealed that 40% of females prefer to use computers for playing games. Most of the gamers lie in the age bracket of 18 to 34. According to the current stat, two out of every five people is a gamer. Most of the revenues of the gaming industry come from China, the United States and Japan.
Interestingly, 6% of gamers are above 65 years. Most of the players are into games for mental stimulation, relief from stress and relaxation and to connect with friends. Most people became gamers due to the pandemic where people relied on games for passing time during the lockdown. The gender split is also getting blurred for most gamers across the globe. In fact, in the USA, there are older female gamers in the USA in comparison to males. Also, the most preferred games are casual games, action games and shooter games. The male gamers who lie in the age bracket 18-34 prefer to play games on their console, while the female gamers prefer to play games on smartphones. Action games are popular among males and casual games are more popular among females. 2022 will be more about AI and AR in the gaming industry. Further, it will become more inclusive in nature.
