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Tech trends driving the future of online gaming

The future of online gaming, it is imperative for game developers to keep in mind that the player will be wanting to get some form of immersive gaming.

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PCQ Bureau
New Update
future of online gaming

The best way to gauge as to what the future may hold for the online gaming industry is to take a look at current trends and ascertain which direction each trend may be headed towards.

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The online gaming industry in India is growing at a rapid pace. Reportedly, the sector is expected to reach a figure of Rs 11,900 crore by FY 2022-23.

The transformation in online gaming has been driven by the penetration of affordable smartphones and high-speed internet. With rapidly declining data prices the growth of the gaming industry is outpacing everyone else and engages serious ‘gamers’. Today’s gamers play fantasy games that are a high investment and high involvement genre for gamers.

Here are some trends contributing to this growth.

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Consumption Patterns

The expected trend is about the younger audience dominating the gaming category. Over half of active game players are today under 25 years and that will not change dramatically. But what it means is that ‘customisation’ will become more important to connect with this audience.

Millions of people across the country play online games for various reasons - from helping you relax to get rid of boredom. The increasing penetration of smartphones in rural and urban areas is particularly contributing to the growth of the gaming industry.

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High purchasing power in tier 1 cities and more free time in tier 2 cities will play a crucial role in getting more paying gamers onboard.

Engaging Users

As we move towards a future of online gaming, it is imperative for game developers to keep in mind that the player will be wanting to get some form of immersive gaming experience from the game being played, which is precisely why ‘personalization’ is fast becoming a thing in the future of online gaming.

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Not only does online gaming offer avid gamers a wide array of titles to choose from, but they also draw more takers by keeping them consistently engaged with little or no lag with new features to make the fantasy experience more engaging to users.

Uninstalled rate is very high in online gaming with users tending to migrate to better apps. Thus to avoid such consequences, game developers are slowly shifting and upgrading to ‘ease to use’ apps which will ease out uninterrupted gameplay for gamers.

It isn’t about having the best tech solution, but the easiest to use. Better engagement rate is expected to ease the journey for gamers and game developers.

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Going Desi

Games in local (desi) languages will thrive. This trend is expected to be more pronounced in tier 2 cities with local Indianised preferences of users. More games will be launched in multiple local languages connected with Indian culture. This “content customization” is expected to drive the domestic gaming industry forward. All major players in Fantasy cricket have kept their apps available in regional languages to reach out to players in Tier 1 to Tier 6 cities.

Cricket and Beyond

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Cricket is celebrated in India as any other major festival and has become traditional game for new generation as they have been playing cricket growing up. Cricket has also grown multifold in the last five years and many formats and leagues are available for playing fantasy cricket.

At present, the fantasy sports scene in India revolves around cricket. But, in 2020, we expect to see the growth of football, kabaddi, hockey, basketball and volleyball too.

5G Transformation

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5G can completely transform the gaming industry. The 5G technology will provide more stable internet connections and allow players to play their favourite games without worrying about dropping out of the game. As 5G goes mainstream, it will significantly improve the user experience as developers realise that more and more gamers are able to play online while on the go.

Fantasy meets AI

Gaming platforms are also set to take a big leap when it comes to leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to make the experience better for its users. User-level behavioural insights are a must and fantasy sports platforms will make use of AI to drive higher app monetization and retention.

Akhil Suhag, Founder & CEO, Fan Fight Akhil Suhag, Founder & CEO, Fan Fight

The technology that powers FanFight is the most advanced and that’s one reason why it is able to send the fastest live point updates to its users along with their potential winnings, while making withdrawals as fast as ever. It has built a system that scales to millions of users and is constantly bringing in new features to make the fantasy experience more engaging to users.

OTT Platforms Boost

Over-the-top (OTT) platforms like MX Player and Hotstar bring users a new flavour of entertainment by adding gaming to its existing offerings. Adding gaming as a feature to the platform is yet another step in that direction to fulfil every entertainment need of users. With this move, OTT platforms engage with the online gamers, while also giving its users an engaging and fresh experience.

With a vast opportunity in the Indian gaming space, OTT platforms will continue to invest in not only building more India specific games but also in building new and innovative platform to make the experience more engaging.

Taking into account the technological advances that will no doubt define the future, one can only expect further innovation in online gaming products. We are surely in for a great ride and is posed to be able to immerse the player in all elements that a particular game has on offer.

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