3 Upcoming Online Gaming Trends

The gaming industry across the board is extremely competitive and companies need to ensure that they are offering something to keep audiences happy in the saturated market. One way of ensuring this, especially in the online casino industry, is to ensure that the latest developments in the industry are being offered. The ICE online gaming convention in February 2019 showcased a huge range of the next level of online gaming, and three trends seem to stick out. These are live dealers, gamification in slots and gaming narratives.

Live Dealer
The live dealer trend is a way in which the online gaming industry is taking advantage of the social aspects of gaming, which have been seen increasingly with the rise of multiplayer games. As online-casinos-canada.ca shows us, live dealer poker and blackjack have grown with increasing popularity in order to match the latest trends. Players enjoy the aspect, especially in poker, of being able to see the dealer. Despite not being seen, the act of seeing someone looking at you will help you hone the skills needed to play poker.

Gamification
Another way in which online gaming is going to keep customers as we move into 2019 is the gamification of online slots. Gamification refers to the way in which extra elements are added to games, giving them added layers. For instance, video slots sometimes feature video content as an extra prize when completing a reel or a level of the slot game. A slot game developed by Microgaming, Castle Builder, also features gamification, as succeeding in the slot game provides materials to create various castles and other structures, which adds an extra element and an extra level of excitement and competitiveness.

Narratives
Online casino is beginning to develop narratives for the games, especially online slots. Japanese developer Ganapati showcased their new slot which featured anime themed graphics as well as an immersive backstory for the slot game. While some choose to play based on the theme and graphics, some players will be enthralled by the greater overarching narrative. Adding a backstory to a slot game is a bold move and one that will likely increase brand loyalty as players will grow to feel nostalgic and emotive towards the characters and story presented. The stand that Ganapati used to showcase this at ICE was also immersive and gave a taste of what was to come in the online gaming industry.

For an industry to survive and thrive in 2019, it needs to continuously be adding to what it offers. Something as digital as the online casino industry is in a strong position to take advantage of the latest tech developments and implement them at a lower cost than other aspects of gaming such as console or desktop. The industry is able to reflect what players might want to interact with, as well as trial things as the technology makes itself available. As live dealers, gamification and gaming narratives show us.