Gaming Trends for 2022

Last year was a tough one for everyone, and the gaming community was not spared. Many games in development were delayed, and tech events such as CES 2021 were forced to go all-virtual. However, we did see some trends on the rise including huge advancements in VR that gaming experts anticipate will only gain traction in 2022 as technology continues to improve.

Virtual Reality

As mentioned, it is expected that Virtual Reality will play an increasingly more important role in not only gaming but in other areas of our lives as well such as healthcare and education. It is even predicted that farther into the future, Augmented Reality (AR) will be completely integrated into VR, making for exciting gaming possibilities. The website FUTUREof.org predicts abandoned areas of real life cities will become VR battlegrounds where players can test their skills with life-like effects and visuals. And, since these VR games of the future will actually require real athleticism, the line between sports and “e-Sports” may just become blurred. Currently, VR requires rather expensive equipment such as bulky headsets, but this technology will only become more accessible this year, and with accessibility comes improvement and development.

Artificial Intelligence

At this point, most people can’t live without Artificial Intelligence (AI) of some sort. We rely on different forms of AI to process large amounts of data for us, speeding up our world, to protect us from financial fraud by tirelessly reviewing streams of information, and to accurately scan medical tests providing lifesaving results much more quickly than any human could do. So how does AI improve video games? Imagine a game that constantly analyzes exactly the way you play in order to learn how to be more challenging for you specifically which adds an extra layer of interactivity. The usefulness of AI in video games extends beyond the surface as well: soon, characters in the games will use AI to produce facial expressions and gestures on the spot, making it so developers don’t have to store this information already in the game. It can also generate backgrounds and textures in real time, extending the limits of what players can interact with. This kind of development frees up space as well to create improved graphics and less lag.

Esports Betting and Online Gambling

According to data from Statista, the market size of online gambling is $59 billion, and this number is expected to nearly double within a few years. With the advancements mentioned above in VR and AI, online gambling has become much more exciting and sophisticated recently. This combined with the fact users can now gamble on pretty much any smart device from the comfort of their home, will cause the popularity of this pastime to continue to increase in 2022. Betting on eSports was a massive trend in 2021 with popular games including League of Legends, DOTA 2, FIFA, and NBA. In large tournaments, players compete for millions of dollars in prize money and are closely watched by thousands of fans via Youtube and Twitch. Fans can bet on who will win a tournament of course, but they can also bet on certain stats such as who gets the most kills, which player scores the first goal, or what the score is at halftime. Cryptocurrency has also fueled the rise of eSports betting due to it's anonymity and therefore data protection.

Overall, there are some very exciting trends to look forward to in 2022 and we at Asus Accessories can’t wait to see what exciting gaming advancements Asus ROG will bring us this year. Thanks for reading and don’t hesitate to explore our site to find the latest ROG products such as gaming mice and keyboards.