The global gaming industry is already impressively varied, covering a huge range of digital experiences ranging from leisure to competitive. Over the past two decades, we’ve seen several exciting segments emerge alongside the progress made in video game development — we only have to look at the high quality titles accessible across all devices today to see how far that’s come — such as eSports and online poker. Both sectors introduced revolutionary aspects to the industry; eSports has elevated playing video games to a professional occupation while the online poker sector digitalised a centuries old card game and made it accessible to a wide demographic of players. Today’s gamers can access premium titles on their smartphones and even take part in poker tournaments in the digital realm or enter eSports events.

With so much on offer, it’s hard to imagine just how much further the industry could develop. But, as technologies continue to be ever more innovative, so too will the gaming sectors. 

Let’s check out some of the core trends that will likely dominate the industry over the next 12 months. 

Web3 will go Mainstream

Web3 is a relatively new sector of the industry that integrates blockchain technology and decentralised principles with digital gaming. Web3 has given rise to concepts like play-to-earn gaming, which rewards players with virtual assets for the time they spend engaging in gaming activities. It’s a popular sector among cryptocurrency and blockchain devotees, but it hasn’t quite hit the mainstream in 2023.

2024 may bring about changes in that regard, however. According to the Blockchain Gaming Alliance, 37.8% of blockchain game developers predict that traditional gaming studios will be a key driver in accelerating the Web3 gaming sector in 2024. In 2023, over $2.3 billion in investments were made into Web3 gaming projects, so it has all the makings of being a lucrative sector. Several established gaming companies have already announced moves into the sector, with the likes of EA, Ubisoft, and Sony investing in projects or launching initiatives. We can expect more big names to jump on board during the coming year. 

The Emergence of Extended Reality

Extended reality has been bubbling away on the sidelines for several months now, aided by the launch of Meta’s Quest 3 this October. In 2024 a major Apple launch could see it emerge as a full-fledged gaming sector. 

Extended reality, also known as mixed reality, is a relatively fresh concept that refers to the amalgamation of different immersive technologies that blend physical and digital worlds. By combining virtual reality with augmented reality, XR experiences offer a seamless experience in which users can interact and engage with both real and virtual objects in a shared space. 

With Apple Vision Pro slated for a release in March 2024, we predict that the gaming industry will soon follow en masse into producing XR titles. Apple has already announced that around 100 of its existing Arcade games will be available to play on the headset. While we don’t know yet which game development studios will make XR their next move, there’s no denying the impact that Apple has when it releases new hardware, especially when we take into account the fact that the tech giant has already started factoring gaming technology into its latest range of Macs and MacBooks. 

2024’s Most Anticipated Games

In addition to being an exciting year for gaming tech, 2024 is also going to deliver yet more ground-breaking gaming titles across the full spectrum of platforms. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is one of the first up in February, with Square Enix no doubt continuing its “weird, meta approach” to updating the story of the original game. 

Another gaming staple that will be on the receiving end of a much-needed digital face-lift in 2024 is the original Tomb Raider series. Over the years, the Tomb Raider editions I to III have been increasingly harder to get hold of, and their blocky graphics in no way stand up to the quality of today’s immersive, hyper-real experiences. 

In terms of new VR games hitting the market, Unreal Engine 5 seems to be the go-to engine for new game development. A number of major upcoming VR releases have been developed with UE5, including Avowed, Black Myth, Senua’s Saga, and Tekken 8. 

Photo Credits
Game Controller – PickPik
Woman with VR headset – PxHere

Guest Author Bio
Abby Fox

Abby Fox is a tech writer with a fascination for innovation. With a background in computer science, she delves into the intricate world of technology and gaming, crafting articles that demystify complex concepts. From AI breakthroughs to cybersecurity, Abby’s pieces blend technical depth with a knack for making the latest tech trends accessible to all.

The most amazing fact about online slot machine games is the availability of different types when it comes to gameplay. There are so many genres to choose from in the world of online slot machine games. Do you fancy a slot based on your favourite television show? Fret not, because there are enough television show based slots out there for you to play, namely Vikings. With different kinds of bonus rounds, RTPs, Infinity Reels, Megaways, Cascading Wilds and so on, the world of slot gaming has come a long way from those retro fruity slots that you would always find at the closest arcade. Even though, if you are a fan of nostalgic retro beats and fruit symbols, online slots have those too!

But, it is also going to be an interesting discussion to know exactly where and when these thrilling but absolutely unique slot machine games originated and how they have evolved over time, right? So, what are we waiting for? Scroll through this article, prepared in conjunction with Meta.reviews, and get hooked on the history and evolution of slot machine games.

According to popular lore, slot machine games originated right here in the USA in 1874. They were developed by Charles Fey and were called the Liberty Bell. The device resembles the modern land-based slot machine to a great extent even now. The Liberty Bell had three spinning wheels, one payline and a payout chamber. But, with the introduction of more audacious technology, now even land-based slot machine games have more than 5 reels and at least 40 paylines to boot. In 1907, the now ubiquitous symbols were added to create the first ever fruity slot machine games, with retro beats. Before this, the major symbols that were used included card symbols and suits.

Next came the 1920s where the well known Mills Novelty Company introduced a new feature into the world of slot gaming. This was called the Skill Stop feature where the player could push a button to stop the reels and try to influence a win in the process. The Skill Stop feature became quite the talk of the day in the Illinois VGT market. It actually still is!

After this came Bally with their first original electromagnetic slot machine device quirkily titled Money Honey, in 1963. But it still had a lever attached to it as in the case of older machines which soon made way for the introduction of the button that would replace the lever. It was because of the levers that slot machines came to be famously known as “The One-Armed Bandit”.

It was only in 1976 that online video slot machines came into the competition with the invention of the original video slot machine that came to be the precursor of the Illinois VGT Games. Online casinos started hosting slot machine games digitally on their handles and even though the quality of the graphics was not what it is today, there was a great innovative procedure that led to the inclusion of HD and 3D in the online slot varieties. Later the graphics turned into much better counterparts, with the introduction of HTML 5 and Flash based graphics, so much so that with the soundtrack, the graphics and the luxurious controls including the zoom in and the Autoplay feature, new slot machine games introduced online have almost taken over the market. The sheer number of options and features that software providing giants like Wazdan, Yggdrasil and so on have been able to introduce is a testament to their commitment to innovation and their promise to provide the best to their gamers.

All in all, in the end, it is undoubtedly up to you as to whether you enjoy the thrill of the physical casino slot machines or the ones you get to play online. So, check out the entire variety of fruity or Las Vegas based slot machines available offline or take a shot at the unique and genre based online video slots. What’s more? Well, now there are VR or Virtual Reality based slot games available, even in demo mode where you enjoy without expending any of your own money!

Photo Credit

Slot Machine photo is from Pixabay

Liberty Bell is Wikimedia Creative Commons

Guest Author Bio
Victor Sterling

Victor Sterling is a sports columnist and writer. Among his many hobbies are cooking, long walks and fitness. Between watching a top-tier derby on TV or going to a stadium for some live struggles of a relegation team, he’ll always pick the second one.