Online Gaming Trends You Might Never Have Heard Of

The world of online gaming is continually evolving—it seems like each week there is some new trend or something new to do. So you can keep track, we’ll discuss six online gaming trends currently sweeping this industry, including sweepstakes casinos, Gacha games, and cooking games!

Sweepstakes Casinos are Becoming Increasingly Popular
In the world of iGaming, a new breed of online platform has exploded onto the scene—sweepstakes casinos. Sweepstakes, or social, casinos are a combination of mobile gaming and casino gaming. You get access to hundreds of casino-style games like blackjack, roulette, and video slots, but instead of real money, you play with virtual currency.

The virtual currency is usually called something like gold coins. You earn these for free, and sites like Sweepstakes Casino have more info on how this currency works. In short, you earn it via daily login rewards, competitions, or purchasing coin packages—in the same way you would complete microtransactions on a mobile game or Xbox game.

There is usually a premium currency too, called sweeps coins. This cannot be purchased outright, but it comes as a bonus with your coin packages. It can also be earned in other ways, like sending postal orders. This currency can be redeemed for real money prizes, including cash and gift cards.

Sweepstakes casinos are a fantastic option if you don’t fancy spending money at online casinos, and you still get the benefit of playing some fantastic casino games.

Gacha Games are Dominating Mobile Gaming
You must have seen adverts for games like Genshin Impact, Raid: Shadow Legends, Granblue Fantasy, Azur Lane, and Honkai Star Rail? You can’t open YouTube without seeing one of these titles promoted. And they are incredibly popular. The broad category of these games is known as Gacha and it’s a Japanese name. 

Gacha effectively means a vending machine mechanic, for example, where you receive a random item from a preset loot pool when you open a chest. It’s a type of lootbox mechanic and a core feature of these games.

But that’s just one aspect. The gameplay, graphics, storylines, and RPG character progression are what make Gacha games so much fun. Typically, in games like Genshin Impact and Raid: Shadow Legends, you collect a team of characters—each with a set of abilities, armor, and stats. You then fight battles and complete missions with these characters to upgrade them.

Usually, there is an underlying storyline that you can progress through, plus world bosses and special events where you can team up with other players from around the world to smash the AI enemies (or each other!).

TCG Games Continue to Shine
TGC (trading card games) remain incredibly popular, and you only have to look at game reviews or search the Google Play Store to see the variety available. But they are popular for both PC and mobile gaming, with titles like Hearthstone available on both platforms.

Examples of popular TCG games include

• Hearthstone
• Magic: The Gathering
• Yu-Gi-Og! Master Duel
• Gwent
• Kards: 1939
• Legends of Runeterra

Surprisingly, Pokémon doesn’t have any top entries in the online TCG market yet—Niantic has tried, but they haven’t been able to recreate the formula for success that games like Hearthstone and Magic have seen. 

The premise of TCG games is simple—you collect cards, build decks, and battle against other players for supremacy! The cards have different stats and abilities, and part of the fun is trying to craft decks using cards that synergize well with each other.

YouTubers are Helping Popularize Indie Games
Indie games have seen a huge surge in popularity in the last five years, and this can largely be attributed to streamers and YouTubers. An indie game is one that’s produced by a lesser-known software developer and doesn’t typically have the financial backing of AAA software developers.

We love it when an indie game has a boost in popularity, some classics include

• Among Us
• Plate it Up
• Terraria
• Fall Guys
• Phasmophobia
• Hollow Knight
• Only Up

You will usually find a knock-on effect where one popular streamer starts playing the game and gets huge views from the content. Other streamers follow suit and things snowball quickly and for weeks the game will be the talk of the online gaming sphere.

Phasmophobia is one of our favorites and this is played regularly by many Minecraft Youtubers. In this game, you work with a team of friends to investigate paranormal happenings at a range of properties. You are equipped with a range of ghost-seeking equipment and have to identify the ghoul before it kills you!

Multiplayer Cooking Games are a Thing
We never expected to spend our time playing online cooking games, but this is a thing in the world of online gaming! Plate It Up is one of the best-known examples. From the outside, it looks like a basic game that children might play, but believe us, once you get into the action, it’s addictive!

You work with a team of up to four friends and have to run a restaurant! Each person has to be responsible for different tasks, such as taking orders, washing plates, cooking food, and waiting on. It gets especially hectic, and everyone has to be on their top game to keep up with the pace.

As you progress, you can upgrade your restaurant, for example, by adding more tables, upgrading cookers, and adding more ingredients to your meals for greater profit. If you are looking for a break from FPS games or mindless killing, we urge you to give cooking games a try!

Live Casino Games are Trending at Online Casinos
Going back to the iGaming industry, the latest trend at online casinos is the addition of live dealer games. These have been around for a few years now, but they are steadily becoming more popular than traditional slots and table games.

These games connect you to a human dealer in a real studio, complete with a physical casino table. The studios are usually elaborately decorated and themed. You connect in real time and can speak to other players and the dealer using the in-game message system.

Examples of popular live casino games include blackjack and roulette, plus some epic game shows like Crazy Time, Mega Ball, and Monopoly Live.

Get Involved With These Gaming Trends and Expand Your Horizons
We hope you have found this trend analysis useful. If you are looking for something new to try, or are bored of killing thousands of demons on Diablo 4, why not jump onto one or more of these trends to see what all the fuss is about?