As we head towards a bright new year many people are getting out their crystal balls to see what it may hold in store for us. One group particularly eager to look ahead is the world’s 3 billion gamers. After all, gaming is driven by innovation and development so it’s quite understandable that its devotees want to know what’s coming next.

Some things are obvious. For example, it will continue to grow and grow. It already generates around three times more revenue each year than the music and movie industries combined and by 2028 this figure is set to break through the $250 billion barrier for the first time. Also, the drift towards mobile gaming is sure to increase. It’s a long time since console and PC gaming was eclipsed. 

But what else can we expect to find as we move forward? Here are four areas to look out for.

The Cloud Will Reach New Heights

It may have been around for a while already, but 2025 is the year when cloud gaming could take off like never before. There are a number of reasons for this, and they’re all good news for gamers. The first is that, as games grow ever more complex, they not only take a long time to download but also use up a great deal of memory. In turn, this can lead to glitches and general poor performance as they’re played. But this isn’t an issue with cloud-based games.

Secondly, you can play the games on virtually any hardware, which is great if you’re one of the many who have switched to mobile gaming, as mentioned already. Thirdly, the subscription model used by many cloud gaming services means that you can have access to a huge library of games for a simple monthly payment.

Competition Heats Up For Steam

Valve’s Steam platform has been all dominant for some time now and has owed its position to being the first platform of its kind. Before it came on the scene, there was nowhere else that gamers could check out PC games, buy them, and play them all in one place. It was also one of the first forums to build up a community of bug fixers, mod builders, and game players. But two contenders are set to knock it off its position. The first is GOG, which now offers a range of games, both old and new, along with plenty of big-name titles like The Witcher 3. The other challenge is set to come from Epic, and the key feature they have to boost their popularity is that they are the only PC platform that features all-conquering Fortnite.

An Increasing Number of Payment Methods

Fintech companies have seen the obvious value in extending their reach into the online gaming sphere. As well as moving into the crypto sphere, Casino shows that PayPal also moved into the online casino industry as a way to further corner the payments market. PayPal earned itself the reputation as being one of the securest payment methods available, but it faces increased competition on a regular basis. As we rely on online transactions more and more, there is increased demand, resulting in more methods being available. 

Operators must accept a range of payment methods and continually add new ones to their site, or they run the risk of being left behind by their competitors. The payment methods on offer must provide players with rapid transaction speeds and security while also being approved by the gaming boards.

Artificial Intelligence Goes To A Whole New Level

AI has been one of the big topics of the last couple of years with some welcoming it and others fearing where it may lead us. But for the gaming community, it’s set to play an even more important role in how games are both created and played. Expect to see many more NPCs in games, but ones that are smarter and more active in the narrative of the game. Replayability should be enhanced as AI has the ability to generate new content in games even if they are played multiple times.

For developers AI will also be doing much of the heavy lifting when it comes to debugging games, so fewer glitches will make it through to the finished versions. 

Above all, AI is set to make games more immersive, more reactive, and more personalized to suit players’ abilities and tastes.

Esports For All

Can the juggernaut of Esports carry on gathering speed? Yes, it can, according to observers of gaming and gaming culture. It’s going to do this by drawing in not just more spectators but more players too. One way it will do this is by expanding mobile tournaments. There have already been PIBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile competitions, and there are surely more to follow. This could also lead to cross-platform play enabling more gamers to compete directly with each other, regardless of their preferred platform. 

Casual players could also find themselves playing in tournaments hosted by Twitch and YouTube Gaming, to name just two. To see how fast gaming moves on, one only has to look at how these predictions have changed since the ones made in 2023. And no doubt by 2026 they will be different again. But for now, let’s just concentrate on 2025 and look forward to an exciting new year of gaming changes.

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