2020 is around the corner and gaming was a hit or miss in 2019. Companies like Blizzard were fraught with controversy, Anthem was a complete flop, and Google Stadia released to shaky reception. However, 2020 looks to polish off the industry with mistakes and growing pains with big releases, taking bigger risks with VR technology, and deeper foray into streaming. Let’s take a look at 3 gaming trends in 2020 to look forward to.
More Emphasis On Streaming Games
The release of Google Stadia forced PlayStation’s hand to lower the price of their PlayStation NOW service to just $9.99 US. Gamers who have decent internet can take advantage of the fact that almost every major gaming platform has the option to stream games directly from their servers. Unfortunately, the reception for the Google Stadia was less than stellar. It also went against the likes of Xbox’s Game Pass and PlayStation’s reactionary pricing with NOW. However, with Google Stadia challenging these giants, we’re hoping these streaming products improve based on competition alone.
Reviving Virtual Reality
Gaming giants have dipped their toes into virtual reality over the years and nothing much has come from it. Many have said that virtual reality is dying because no one is doing much with it other than indie titles or bigger titles with a less-than-stellar response. However, in late 2019, one of the bigger developers, Valve, announced they were working on a completely VR addition to their Half-Life series. It’s a huge risk, but we’re hoping their success revives the potential that VR had in the first place.
A Return To Single-Player
Over the years, many developers have only released titles without single-player campaigns. Having multi-player only games forced gamers to purchase loot boxes and other microtransactions to win over other players. However, 2020 looks to take a different approach for gaming with a lot of bigger single-player games such as the remake of the wildly popular Final Fantasy VII title. We’re hoping other developers realize that we need a break from facing each other and can bank on our need to play by ourselves from time to time.
Hopefully, gaming trends in 2020 will be better than what the industry brought us in 2019.
