Online gaming has been popular ever since its debut in the late 20th century, and it’s definitely evolved over the years to become the wonder that it is today.
Online gaming can mean anything from playing casino games where you play your favourite slots online, or it could be something like streaming your favourite Final Fantasy game onto your PC.
This type of gaming has opened the door for thousands of different games to emerge and gain popularity. So, let’s take a look at the online gaming trends of 2022 and see what’s been doing the best this year.
Battle Royale
The term battle royale comes from the Japanese book and movie of the same name which features a class of teenagers being forced to fight to the death on an island. There can only be one winner at the end of it, so hence these types of games follow the same format.
It seems like battle royale online games aren’t going anywhere soon, with their popularity still staying high in 2022. Games like Fortnite and Apex Legends have managed to still capture fans’ attention, new and old, showing that this genre of game is always going to be played.
Whether or not you like to play these with your friends or with strangers online, or as part of a team or solo, there will be a battle royale game out there for you.
Mobile Gaming
As well as playing online via your PC, mobile gaming has taken the world by storm. With smartphones being able to run all sorts of online games with ease thanks to their improved technology, it’s no wonder people are now enjoying this type of gaming in 2022. Games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang are extremely well-loved and have hundreds of thousands of players all over the world.
There are even tournaments for it with real cash prizes to be won! So, don’t feel as though you have to stick to traditional routes of game playing, as mobile gaming has evolved massively this year and can be just as good, if not better.
Streaming
When it comes to playing games online, a lot of people stream their games through platforms like Steam. This site gives you access to all sorts of games that vary in price. It’s also a great place for budding game developers to test out their latest creations too and get feedback from real players.
The rise of Twitch has also led to an increase in games being streamed, as a lot of the time, Twitch streamers are playing online games. It’s not all that common that you’ll see them playing games that have a physical hard copy on a console.
There are even Twitch conventions now where fans can meet up with their favourite streamers too. So, while it may not be brand new, streaming has been gaining in popularity all throughout 2022 at a very steady rate.
Virtual Reality
Thanks to the Oculus Quest 2, virtual reality gaming has become accessible to lots of people. These headsets allow you to connect with players from all over the world and play any type of game you like. You can even connect your Steam account to it and enjoy your favourite games this way too.
These futuristic headsets immerse you into the game that you’re playing, allowing you to completely forget where you are in the real world. You can also connect with other players as well just as you would on a Play Station and enjoy playing online with your friends. With the continuous advancement of technology, we can only imagine what virtual reality headsets are going to be like in the future!
Open World
Whenever people play online games, a lot of the time they have access to the open world of that game. For example, Red Dead Redemption 2 has one of the best open worlds out there, and you can connect with your friends and enjoy playing as outlaws together.
There are countless missions you can complete, and it would take you hours to travel across every single inch of the map. Open-world gaming aims to give the player the ability to really immerse themselves into the created world of the game and choose their character’s fate.
Having more autonomy about where you go and what you do in a game seems to be a very popular choice among online gamers, as it makes each gaming experience unique. It also means you can play the game again and again without getting bored!
Gaming trends change very often, and there will most likely be something brand new in 2023 that takes the gaming community by storm. But these trends do seem like they have the potential to stick around for a while yet. So, who knows what 2023 will look like for gamers? We can only hope that it’s half as good as 2022 has been!
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