The Impact of Emerging Technologies on the Gaming Industry
Over the past two decades, the gaming industry has captured the world’s imagination, experiencing exponential growth and proving its ability to reach audiences that haven’t traditionally been gamers. Tech has driven the industry’s growth, with mobile devices helping change the general perception of gaming. Today, people from all walks of life consider gaming a hobby, and the number of casual gamers is growing daily. As the gaming industry strives to stay at the forefront of technology, emerging tech is playing a big role in shaping gaming’s future. Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI) are just a few of the technologies promising to shake up how games are developed, experienced, and played. In this article, we look at how emerging technologies are set to drive the next wave of growth in the gaming industry.
Enhanced Gaming Experiences
Two of the most talked about emerging technologies in gaming are VR and AR. These technologies are so exciting because they make it possible for people to step into the games they’re playing and experience them as if they were living out the experiences in real life. AR works a little differently from VR in that it overlays digital elements onto the real world while the player stays in their regular environment.
As the price of VR, AR, and mixed reality headsets has continued to drop, developers have made more games based entirely on this technology. Games like Beat Saber and Pokémon Go are household names and have given us a glimpse of what the future might hold for these technologies. Online casinos are likely the next destination for VR and AR technologies. Virtual platforms like PokerStars Casino have already made online casino games like blackjack an experience that rivals what can be found in brick-and-mortar establishments. Players can choose from different blackjack variants with realistic graphics and interactive features. In the future, VR and AR could take this realism to an entirely new level, with fully virtual casinos where players can walk around a 3D environment and interact with slots and table games the same way they would in a physical casino.
Artificial Intelligence
AI has been making headlines since ChatGPT took the world by storm when OpenAI released it in November of 2022. Many have hypothesized about how AI could change the way we work, but there hasn’t been as much focus on how the technology impacts the games we play. If you’ve played a game with non-player characters (NPCs), you know that they often leave a lot to be desired. Luckily, AI is changing how NPCs work, making them smarter and giving them the ability to adjust to a player’s skill level, which has made gaming a more personalized experience. Procedural content generation (PCG) is another place AI is having an impact, making it possible for developers to create huge, complex game worlds that are unique and capable of change every time a gamer plays. If you’ve played games like Minecraft or No Man’s Sky, you’ve seen PCG at work.
Advanced Graphics and Processing Power
Today’s games are graphics-driven, and players expect the titles they pick to deliver stunning, lifelike visuals that are comparable to what we’d see in the movies. Developers have been able to meet these expectations thanks to advancements in graphics and processing power that make it possible for them to create titles with these characteristics. Advanced GPUs power real-time ray tracing, which has allowed modern video games to set new standards for realism, including accurate simulation of light, shadows, and reflections.
The finished products are immersive games that take place in environments that almost feel lifelike, something that wasn’t possible even a decade ago. What’s most impressive is that there’s still room for improvement, and these technologies are continuing to improve. Not far into the future, developers will be able to create larger game worlds that have even more detail than they do today. These games will feature complex physics and AI behaviors that will make the gaming experience even more realistic, allowing them to achieve cinematic quality.
