The Near Future of Online Gaming Design

The online gaming industry will continue to get bigger and stronger in the coming years. Players from around the world are increasingly reaching for game controllers and logging into online gambling sites instead of turning on the television.

Guest author Jacek Michałski looks at the immediate future of online gaming design. To find out more about Jacek Michałski, click here.

According to existing statistics, the gaming industry generated revenue of $120 billion in 2019. This number is expected to touch $200 billion by next year. About one-third of the world’s population or roughly around 2.7 billion people are expected to become gamers by 2021.

Half the total amount spent on gambling last year was on mobile games. Augmented reality games and virtual reality games are also becoming popular and raking in more revenue.

You can look forward to the following video game developments in the immediate future.

NPC and Artificial Intelligence in Video Games

Non-player characters (NPC) have always been trends of game development, but game developers have now started programming NPCs with behaviour trees, giving them the ability to make complex decisions.

For example, the enemy aliens of Halo 2 can attack in a coordinated manner. However, NPCs can perform only those tasks that are embedded in their codes, nothing more and nothing less. Game designers determine their behaviour in advance.

The future may witness the appearance of advanced artificial intelligence. Game developers may attempt to build comprehensive AP systems, which allow NPCs to behave in unpredictable ways.

Also, the danger of giving NPCs autonomy may result in disaster. For example, we may see NPCs refusing to do their duties or leading players on a wild goose chase. Permitting NPCs to behave as they wish may, therefore, create a chaotic gaming environment.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Tech

We started seeing more AR and VR games in 2020 but these games have yet to come to the forefront. Industry experts from Poland have already predicted great things for VR and AR in the coming months.

Expect most of the top online casinos in Poland to stop offering AR and VR as separate categories. Instead, these technologies will be incorporated into existing games. Game developers will make the gaming experience as realistic as possible to keep up with player demands for the same.

Polish players not only love playing online casino games at top sites like 22bet but they are also constantly on the lookout for casinos that are experimenting with new AR and VR games. While you don’t have a lot of Polish casinos offering AR and VR games, we expect things to change as we come to the close of 2021.

Impacts of 5G on Gaming

5G is also expected to have a major impact on the video game developments of the future in Poland, especially as it enables the streaming of console-quality games on smartphones and tablets. Existing technologies already allow players to play at any time from anywhere in the world, but 5G is expected to take the mobile gaming experience to an entirely new level.

The speed and enhanced performance of 5G will transform the way mobile games are developed. As a result, we will see mobile games that are as good as console games.

Rising Popularity of Online Gambling

The popularity of online gambling sites in Poland is going to increase next year. They may even overtake land-based casinos especially as they easier and less expensive to maintain. Also, they may appeal to younger players who prefer playing on their smartphones and tablets instead of visiting brick-and-mortar casinos to physically play a table & card game or slot machine game.

Casino operators may find newer ways to integrate new technologies into land-based gambling environments, leading to the creation of interactive and memorable gaming experiences for young players.

eSports Continues to Be Popular

The Covid-19 pandemic and its disastrous impact on professional sports led to a sudden surge in eSports popularity. Sports fans from different parts of the world turned to eSports to fill the void. They soon realized that eSports is close to real-life sports.

What’s more, the eSports industry was quick to respond to this demand by integrating new technologies into its existing products. For example, the English Premier League recently partnered with EA Sports to simulate crowd noises and chants and create the environment of a live sports event. By 2022, online competitive gaming and eSports are expected to become industries worth $1.8 million.

Conclusion

The above are just a few examples of what we can expect in the future of the gaming industry in Poland and around the world. We may see the rise of hyperreality, which blends physical reality with virtual reality, in the video games and online gambling sites of the future. Also, ultra-realistic graphics, a technology that is still in a stage of infancy, may completely change the way video games are developed.