The gaming industry continued to bloom in 2021. The industry at large was expected to generate $138.4 billion in revenue by the end of the financial year. It managed to clock over $156 billion by September.
Of course, the ongoing surge of the mobile games market is the largest contributor here but the consoles aren't slacking either. It is estimated that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo - the big three of the game console market - will grow at least 13% to hit $36.1 billion in revenue by the end of the year.
Sony's expected to do 13% better with a YoY growth to $17 billion revenue by the end of 2022.
Microsoft saw an impressive 22% jump in revenue and is projected to clock $7.7 billion by the end of 2022.
Nintendo, still selling hardware that was initially released in 2017, is also set to hit $11.3 billion in revenue by 2022.
Clearly, the companies aren't short of money. However, if we look at the past figures, it shows a different story. A roller coaster ride of highs and lows through 2021.
Early access will become the new norm
The early access model for games continued to grow in 2021. In fact, it accounted for 15% of the online marketplace Steam's library.
Early access games are pre-release titles that are released on the storefront to usually get more funding for the project. Gamers can pay and download these early release games and play them through various phases of completion until it is final, polished product.
The danger in this, of course, is that the developer can just choose to take the money and run like what happened with a game like The War Z. On the flip side, it can also lead to something like the Hugo award-winning Hades, which was first released as an early access title.
This model of funding gives the developers some flexibility and the ability to gather direct feedback from the players, which they can use to tweak and polish a game before the final release.
It works for consumers, too, as it gives them a tangible product to invest in and help fund, one that they can directly improve by giving feedback. Not to mention, they also get to play the game, sometimes months or years in advance.
This also helps smaller, independent studios to get funding for a project they are working on.
More storefront alternatives on the PC
Steam has firmly entrenched itself into the culture of PC gaming and has become a mainstay in many gamers' minds.
Now, other companies are competing for a slice of that mind space. It was estimated that 47% of major gaming publishers put their games on Steam but we have already seen them trying to move away to their own storefronts like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Rockstar, and Activision/Blizzard.
Epic Games Store has already started to chip away at that lead, with exclusive titles, free game giveaways, and better deals to entice gamers over to their new platform.
The public perception is still strongly with Valve software and Steam but how long before the others begin clawing in?
Even more remakes or reboots
Taking a hint from the Hollywood remake craze, the gaming industry has been churning out remakes and reboots en masse because they sell well.
According to NPD, the Crash Bandicoot remake - The N.Sane Trilogy - which remasters and bundles the first three Crash PlayStation 1 games was the top-selling game of 2020.
There is clearly a market for nostalgia, and the publishers are more than happy to sell you that for a price.
This year alone we had announcements and releases such as Mass Effect: Legendary Edition which is a remaster of the original Mass Effect trilogy, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, Nier Replicant which is a remake of the first Nier game, Life is Strange remastered collection, Prince of Persia remake. This is all without counting old-school remasters such as Sin Reloaded, Kingpin Reloaded, System Shock remake...and the list goes on.
Unfinished games
Whether it's COVID that has forced studios into a new working environment or some other issue, but major triple-A gaming titles are releasing unfinished.
Games like Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 2042, Diablo 2: Resurrected, Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, and worryingly, many more. Worse, some games had threadbare content, outright missed features but still charged consumers full price.
Cloud Gaming will rise
Cloud Gaming is the one alternative that publishers and consumers both seem to be on board with.
For gamers, it presents a solution to the space problem. Games have been ballooning in size over the last few years, making downloads slower and occupying substantial space on your hard drive.
Cloud Gaming allows for an easy solution to the problem, creating an environment where gamers can just jump in and play, without having to worry about anything else.
It is still not perfect as we have seen with Google's Stadia but offering it as an extra with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, makes it a lucrative alternative... one that will improve over time.
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