These days, online gaming is one of the biggest profit-makers in the world. Research states that the global annual revenue for this sector exceeds $26.4 billion. Not only that, but experts state that its annual growth rate is around 6% and the number of players will reach 1.2 billion by 2027.
There are plenty of games that come to mind when we talk about online gaming. However, instead of focusing on what’s trendy at the moment, we decided to give you a small history lesson. We will talk about how online games hit the market and what were the factors that contributed to their growth.
1970s – Atari and the Rise of RPG
The benchmark for online gaming began with the creation of Atari. This company was the one that set the standards for multiplayer games. However, one of its biggest issues was the fact that the Internet was still not around during this time and hence, playing with people from all around the world was not available.
However, the concept of multiplayer gaming was born as Atari enabled playing with other people using gaming consoles. The impact of this company is massive as it has led to the creation of more than a dozen game development companies within a decade.
1983 – The Internet Hits the Market and Expands the Possibilities
Arguably the biggest breakthrough in the industry begins with the invention of the Internet in 1983. This comes a year after Time Magazine declares 1982 as the year of the computer. Up until this point, technology enabled up to 12 people to enjoy multiplayer games on a console. Now, the Internet made it possible to widen that spectre and unlock a whole new level.
1990s – Rise of Online Poker
In the period between 1960 and 1990, one of the most popular PvP games was poker. The prize pools here were great, poker itself was based on a lot of skill and not just luck and its “equipment” was easy to come by.
Developers now pitched the idea of playing online poker and connecting with people from all around the world. This proved to be a huge success. In the late 1990s, sites like Planet Poker allowed players to play poker online for the first time and the reception was fantastic.
2000s – Tipping Point for the Online Gaming Industry
The early 2000s marked yet another major revolution for the online gaming industry. This is when consoles such as the PlayStation and Xbox became available to the public. Not only that, but computers were becoming way more advanced and people slowly started seeing the potential of online gaming via their desktop devices.
Macintosh and Windows desktop devices had a major potential. The only problem during this time was that both computers and gaming consoles were a bit expensive and not everyone could afford them.
2010s – Smartphones Are Now Available
By 2010, almost every household owned at least one computer. During this period, laptops also started breaking through and that allowed people to play on the go. Playing on the go became quite a popular thing to do and that led to yet another creation – smartphone gaming.
With the rise of smartphones, people were now capable of playing online games at any time and place. Many mobile phone games that took place online had scoreboards and you could compete with people from every part of the world.
2015 – Online Casinos are the New Trend
During this timeframe, mobile gaming experienced a massive boom. Experts even started predicting that smartphone games will soon become the biggest money-makers and overtake console gaming. Interesting titles such as Angry Birds and Pokemon GO proved to be major hits.
One additional form of gaming was an extension of the rise of online poker during the 1990s. Internet casinos which featured various games such as online slots, blackjack, roulette, game shows, instant win games, etc., became the new face of the sector. In 2019 alone, online gambling alone recorded $45.7 billion in revenue.
2020s – Vast Number of Online Mobile and Desktop Games
The modern era is all about online gaming. Player vs. Player games are by far the most desired thing. Both mobile and console industries are at their peak and there’s something for every taste. Let’s start with mobile games. These days, you can enjoy the likes of PUBG, Call of Duty: Mobile, Clash of Clans, Hearthstone and League of Legends: Wild Rift.
A few of the most popular desktop games are League of Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, DOTA 2, FC 2024 (formerly FIFA), Elden Ring, Mortal Kombat, etc. An impressive fact is that a majority of the games that are being created as single-player/campaign mode also have a multiplayer version.
The industry knows the fact that this type of playing is now the present and the future of not just online gaming, but gaming in general.
What the Future Holds for Online Gaming?
There’s no denying the fact that it is hard to predict what the future will bring to online gaming. At the moment, one concept that is proving to be attractive is VR/AR gaming. This type of gaming equipment allows players to see the visuals in 3D via their special oculus.
As a result, you get the feeling like you are in the game itself and hence, you enjoy a more realistic experience. The first concepts of VR games have already been released and their reception is pretty positive.