When looking at the figures and huge numbers of players that tune in to the biggest games of, they year, it can be easy to forget just how young esports as a major option really is, only really being available in its current form for the past decade or so. But in that short time, esports have had to adapt to a number of big changes in the market, whilst at the same time leading big changes in the gaming industry too – but what are some of these big changes, and how is esports shaping the future of gaming as a whole?
Broadcasting has become a huge factor in gaming – The rise of esports and streaming have gone hand in hand, and modern gaming has had this as a consideration as newer titles must be well equipped to handle the streaming side of gaming too. As esports continue to grow, this will only become more important, and the ability to integrate streaming and gameplay will continue to be a driving factor behind different game popularity.
(Image from britishesports.org)
Betting is emerging too – Much like traditional sporting, betting has become a huge part of modern gaming particularly within esports, and with systems across many games for microtransactions and loot boxes and other similar mechanisms, it has become important that there is some support here too – many of the biggest operators can be found on https://esportsbetting.site/ for example but as the gaming industry changes there may need to be the same levels of support within betting and gambling as an important facet of the industry.
Multiplayer is key – Esports has shown just how important having multiplayer or online features are, whilst single player games will of course remain popular moving forward for many, the real progress will continue to be found in multiplayer and online options as the social side of gaming is just as important as the gameplay itself – it has been why many recent indie titles have been so successful as social activity have been core to the gameplay, and continues to be why team based esports games remain more popular than the solo esports games.
As esports continues to evolve and experience change, gaming as a whole will have to follow suit in order to find similar successes in the same space, as the former will certainly influence the direction developers choose to take – and as esports continues to grow, it is also impacting markets away from gaming as traditional sporting has started to follow in a similar path.
