The Biggest Gaming Trends in 2022

​​The gaming industry is on a tear with no signs of slowing down in the near future. From massively multiplayer online games like Final Fantasy to social games like Animal Crossing, there’s a game for everyone and every taste. We started the year with talk of the metaverse, and 2022 has a lot more surprises in store. Now that we’re a few months into the new year, it’s a good time to look at what will be the biggest trends this year. 

Social Gaming

Social gaming has been one of the biggest trends since online gaming exploded in popularity over a decade ago. If you talk to ten different people, you’ll get ten different definitions of social gaming. One thing is certain: social gaming involves interacting with others while you play games online. For example, social casinos like Chumba Casino, where you can play slots online, are growing in popularity. That’s not all; you can also play table games such as blackjack and roulette online as part of the social experience. Social gaming is also an integral part of popular Facebook games like Words With Friends and Candy Crush Saga. Online gaming can be a social experience wherever you are in the world.

Cloud Gaming

Netflix is one of the newest entrants to cloud gaming, and others will likely follow suit if the streaming platform’s gaming strategy proves successful. The games are free to play on Android and iOS devices, and there are no in-app purchases. If you love Netflix movies and shows, you’re going to love the five gaming titles available at launch: Teeter Up, Shooting Hoops, Cloud Blast, Stranger Things 3: The Game, and Stranger Things: 1984. 

Cloud gaming is so popular because it eliminates the need to upgrade to new consoles or computers every five years to keep up with gaming technology. Instead, subscription services like Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, Sony, and Amazon allow gamers to play the latest games without upgrading their PCs or buying new consoles. All they need is FireTV, Chromecast, or a similar device to access the games they want while everything else is stored in a cloud data center.

Although gaming consoles and PCs won’t disappear in 2022, we can expect to see a push toward cloud gaming over the next year.

The Metaverse

Since Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was rebranding itself as Meta in November 2021, the metaverse has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue. As we move closer to living in an online world, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) gaming will become more and more common. 

The metaverse is a place where people will hang out with friends, play games, visit businesses, and more. We have had a glimpse of what’s to come in games like Second Life and Roblox. So, we can expect games to incorporate more AR and VR technology to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the metaverse in the coming months. 

A Battle Between the Next Generation Consoles

Any discussion of gaming trends in 2022 would be incomplete without looking at the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles. The consoles were released in 2020, and most of the top trending games from week to week are Xbox or PS games. 

While it’s hard to say which console will win the console battle, we can say that both will have a significant impact on gaming trends throughout this year and beyond. That’s not all; the Nintendo Switch continues to have a large impact on gaming. The ability to take console games with you wherever you go has transformed the gaming industry.