By 2025, nearly half of the population will be gamers. Rough estimates put the numbers close to 3.6 billion by 2025, and the revenue will follow. Over $180 billion in revenue was made in 2022, and first estimates indicate a rise, with nearly 10% year-by-year growth, before 2025 end. But what will fuel such staggering expansions? Innovation has always been at the forefront of gaming, and before 2025 ends, gamers will surely see more breathtaking inventions come from the gaming industry. We’ll soon showcase what some of them will be.
1. Expansion of mobile gaming
Gone is the old visage of a gamer strapped to a chair and sitting in front of his TV. Today gamers wish to play at any time and anywhere. From the first GameBoy to the latest mobile phone, the road to making portable gaming a reality has been long, but with the hardware catching up, it will be possible to enjoy high-quality gaming in 2025. Numbers don’t lie, as over 60% of the gaming industry’s revenue comes from mobile, and before 2025 there will be 7.5 billion mobile users.
This trend will fuel competition as some of the best offshore casinos, gaming companies, and developers will compete to optimize and make their games for mobile, as they can attract a wider audience and more revenue. Companies that adopt the switch and capitalize early on the mobile gaming trend are the ones whose names we’ll see come up in 2025.
2. Crypto gaming
We’ve seen crypto change the face of finance, but the trend does not stop there. Crypto gaming is the new frontier, combining tech-savvy gamers who can earn crypto and NFTs while playing games and combining the best of both worlds. Crypto gaming in crypto gambling casinos or games can attract gamers who wish to spend their time in a different way and become part of a growing crypto community. The play-to-earn model is what drives the crypto gaming industry, and as cryptos become commonplace and widely accessible, so too will the popularity of the games behind them.
3. Multiplatform gaming
If mobile gaming is all about gaming any time and anywhere, multiplatform gaming will be the next step, offering playing at anything. In the gaming industry, sectors of gamers take pride in their preferred gaming platform. PC, console, handheld, or mobile. Games and various platform limitations separated all of them. But that could change before 2025. By making cross-platform games that can be enjoyed on multiple gaming platforms, developers could tap into a wider market.
That way, anyone can buy a product and enjoy it on any preferred system, where gamers from other platforms can play together. By giving the players options to focus on games, rather than on platforms, developers could unify more markets under their name, and thus generate more revenue by selling the same game on more fronts. The shift from platform to game products opens up possibilities, and we’ll see which company will be among the first to capitalize on them.
4. Cloud gaming
Games have become more hardware demanding, where the AAA industry requires beefy machines to run them at maximum settings. The best PCs, mobile phones, handhelds, or the latest consoles can be expensive for most gamers, thus restricting reach and potential revenue for developers. But cloud gaming is a new trend that aims to change all of that, as it takes out the hardware requirements and owning your gaming platform out of the equation.
By combining streaming tech, high-capacity servers, and a subscription-based model, cloud gaming offers games the chance to pay a monthly/yearly subscription to access top-of-the-line servers and PCs, where they can stream and play the latest games on the highest quality. That way, gamers can get into the latest AAA games for only a fraction of the price via the subscription model.
The cloud gaming industry was valued at $3.5 billion in 2023, but high predictions put it at over $140 billion before 2033, and we could see this rise in the coming years, namely in 2025. Gaming markets besides first-world countries, where distribution and income are not ideal, can benefit the most from the cloud gaming model, as all it requires is a stable internet connection.
5. Remakes And Reboots
There is no need to reinvent the wheel, as many big gaming hits were made during its golden age. Capitalizing on nostalgia and bringing old classics to a new age with a fresh coat of paint is the current trend of remakes and reboots, which will continue during 2025. There is no shortage of good old games that can be upgraded with high-quality graphics, and enhanced with new content.
For whatever reason, in the past, developers were restrained by tech, money, or time. But today, many of those limitations don’t exist, and remaking old games optimizes them for the current gen of hardware. Gamers who wish to play older games are limited by both the platform and software. But whenever a remake/reboot happens, they and new players can enjoy older games.
The trend of remaking is thriving, as Final Fantasy 7 remake has proven, as the fan base already exists, and brand recognition has survived the test of time. In 2025 and beyond, there won’t be a shortage of games to remake and remaster, keeping the industry in a fresh loop. By adding previously cut content, developers could finally bring their initial vision to the market.
The future of gaming is looking bright, with more than ever features, technology, and potential coming each year! The world’s thirst for gaming is not running dry anytime soon, and gamers worldwide can rejoice in anticipation of the latest development. Whatever the future brings, the excitement won’t lack, and it will all be catered to the gamer’s benefit.
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