Gaming Evolution: Trends and Innovations on the Steam Platform
Where is the best place to follow video game evolution? If you say Steam platform, you will be right. This is the largest platform for video games and an excellent opportunity to analyze gaming trends. It stands at the forefront of showcasing innovations such as virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), blockchain, and notably, the trending concept of the metaverse.
Top Gaming Innovations and Trends
#1 VR/AR
In recent years, VR has gained significant traction, and Steam has played a leading role in driving this revolution. With the success of devices like the Oculus Rift and Valve’s VR headset, the Valve Index, you can expect Steam to keep pushing the boundaries of VR gaming. The future will bring more VR-centric games, upgraded VR hardware, and seamless integration to offer you an even more immersive gaming experience.
#2 Esports
You can think of esports as video games that have transformed to include elements commonly found in traditional sports, such as live audiences, tournaments, leagues, sponsorships, and paid players. The 2022 Asian Games will mark the official debut of esports as part of a major international multi-sport event. During the COVID-19 pandemic, esports gained immense popularity, generating more than $1 billion in revenue in 2021, primarily from media rights and sponsorships. This revenue is predicted to reach nearly $1.87 billion in 2025.
#3 Regional Restrictions
This trend in PC gaming is one of the most depressing and unpleasant, but it is required by the rules of digital distribution. Steam and other platforms have to restrict access to games for people in certain regions by the requirements of copyright holders. The good news is that you have a chance to bypass this limitation. You just need to figure out how to change the Steam region and do it. The key to changing the region is VeePN, as well as multi-currency payment systems. Any means of payment will do, the main thing is that it must have the currency of the country to which you are changing your region.
#4 Cloud Gaming
Nowadays, major players in the gaming industry, such as Microsoft, Sony, Google, Nvidia, Tencent, and Amazon, offer their games through cloud-based subscription services. With this new model, there’s no longer a need for you to constantly purchase and upgrade expensive hardware like consoles or PC GPUs. All you need are smart TVs or lightweight streaming devices like Chromecast or FireTV.
Everything happens in the cloud data center, and the streaming video is delivered to your home. Moreover, the expansion of high-speed networks like 5G will make this new way of gaming accessible to more people than ever before. While it’s uncertain whether dedicated home gaming systems will disappear completely, 2023-2024 will be years when industry leaders invest more resources in their vision of a streaming, cloud-based future.
#5 Blockchain and NFTs
Blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have revolutionized the digital world, captivating even the gaming industry. Steam might consider integrating blockchain technology to establish secure and verifiable ownership of virtual in-game items. This integration grants you, as a player, greater control over your digital assets and unlocks new trading and opportunities for collecting in-game items. Just remember about security while trading, it is better to use the VPN Chrome extension while surfing in the browser and the PC application. This will prevent phishing attacks, and viruses and will not allow you to be tracked by your IP address.
#6 The Metaverse
You already know that Facebook and Microsoft boast about their plans to create immersive online worlds for work and leisure. But here’s the thing: millions of gamers are already congregating in virtual universes, enjoying various forms of entertainment, from chess and bridge to intense battles with homing missiles.
Brace yourself for 2024 because in-game worlds will expand even further, embracing different forms of entertainment like music concerts in Fortnite or branded marketing “pop-ups” in the massively popular Roblox universe. Get this: the biggest games and franchises will transform themselves into “platforms,” offering users a vast range of experiences.
Sure, some people will stick to logging into the latest Call of Duty to wreak havoc with their friends, but others will find opportunities for socializing, chatting, and other shared interactions in these worlds.
Conclusion
These are not all the trends, but they are the key ones that will continue to develop in 2024, and most likely beyond. The world is moving towards the point where we will be immersed in metaverses to communicate and have fun with VR headsets on our heads. Are there any of you who are willing to argue with this? How do you assess these trends: do they improve gameplay or not?
