The 3 Game Formats Expected to Dominate in 2024

I consider myself an ‘older generation’ gamer, having been there when the Gameboy was first released, so I’ve seen a lot of changes in my time. However, things that I would never have expected to shape the industry five or ten years ago are now changing it in more ways than one. The devices we can enjoy experiencing our favourite content from, such as consoles, smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, and laptops, are better than ever, and the blockbuster titles that have been optimised for these devices are far more immersive and entertaining than ever.

What kind of technologies and trends are helping shape things?

It’s not only the most famous blockbuster titles that have been helping to shape things over the past few years and take it to the next level but also the technologies that are required to enjoy playing them.

For example, superfast internet speeds, live streaming capabilities, generative artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and more powerful computing devices and consoles have also played a huge role in revolutionising the sector.

That’s not forgetting virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, more efficient web browsers, cloud computing, and even cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, to name a few.

These key components combined are changing the way blockbuster titles of tomorrow are being made, but more importantly, how we interact with them. When I compare hit titles from back in the day to what we have available to us today, the difference is like night and day.

I’m not sure if I prefer the simplicity of how things used to be or how complex everything is today. The genre has always been good, but these technological advancements make it great.

The one thing we can say is that there’s no denying that today’s experience is far more immersive, visually captivating, and entertaining on so many levels, especially live dealer options currently available at licensed and regulated iGaming sites. They make me feel as though I’m actually there playing in person.

What are the three key formats expected to dominate

Many new trends and formats come and go all the time, but as I have already seen in early 2024, only a few key formats are growing stronger than any others. It appears as though they will continue to dominate throughout the rest of the year. They include the following:

• Live streaming – thanks to this technology, people can watch their favourite streamers or stream themselves playing in real-time to a global audience. Most new casino sites also now have state-of-the-art and highly sophisticated live dealer games streamed 24/7
• eSports competitions – these events generate more revenue than ever and have bigger audiences online and at the venues where they are held. Thanks to competitive eSports tournaments and leagues like The International, the Call of Duty League Championship, the League of Legends World Championship, and multi-million-dollar advertising and sponsorship deals, this format is currently booming
• Battle Royale – today’s most popular trending titles, like Apex Legends, Fortnite, PUBG, and CoD: Warzone, are classed as Battle Royale titles and are more popular than ever. MMO (massively multiplayer online) titles can also be described as survival, tower defence or action & adventure titles, and the aim is to be the last man (or team) standing

Other key sectors also currently witnessing significant growth are the crypto/NFT/P2E (Play-to-Earn) and metaverse sectors.

Are live dealers better than computer-generated classics?

I’ve tried plenty of live dealer and computer-generated titles, and I have to say that live dealer table card games are on a completely different level. They’re incomparable.

If you’re like me and are looking for the most realistic experience, you may want to try live dealer table & card options or live dealer TV game shows before trying out any standard/regular computer-generated content.

However, you have less control when playing live dealer classics because they are streamed in real-time, meaning you have to react before the countdown timer reaches zero, or you will miss out on being able to participate in the round. When this happens, you have to wait for the next round to begin.

When playing computer-generated classics, there is no countdown timer; therefore, you have more control over the action.

The other thing I like about live dealer content is that you can interact with the professionally trained croupiers in real-time using the chat feature or leave messages for others to read.

This particular format is far more personal, which I prefer, and it’s more realistic and immersive than any computer-generated content and software providers can offer. It will be interesting to see if all three formats will continue dominating throughout the remainder of 2024 and beyond.

The industry appears to be in a constant state of transition, and the willingness to embrace and adopt the latest technologies will continue to take the industry to exciting new heights.

We will just have to wait and see what happens.