It has been a rough year for the games industry, and we’re barely one month in. This year, thousands of industry workers have already been laid off, building on the several thousand lay-offs that were made throughout 2023. It was a tough year, with some studios submitting to financial woes and shutting their doors for good, sending thousands of former workers into an oversaturated and under-financed ecosystem.
In a recent report published by GamesIndustry.biz, several key points were outlined leaning more toward the positive. In the bleak, darkened future of the games industry, there are some shining lights to watch out for and zero in on.
What’s There To Wait For?
In the insightful report written in GamesIndustry.biz, the seven top reasons to ‘be hopeful’ about the future of gaming were outlined. At the top of the pack sat the in-development Nintendo Switch 2 console (name TBC) that’s expected to be a technical turning point for the firm. It was recently suggested that it won’t sell as well as the first Switch console, but there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about Nintendo’s next generation of gaming technology.
There was a nod made to Epic Games’ work around Fortnite and the successful attempt to make it a multi-faceted gaming ecosystem. Late last year, Fortnite smashed concurrent player records, drawing in tens of millions of users at the same time as ‘Fortnite OG’ rolled out – followed by other games in the space such as LEGO Fortnite and Rocket Racing.
Amid developments in mobile hardware and some developing markets around the world, GamesIndustry.biz outlined that the ‘convergence’ between games, television shows, and movies is becoming more powerful than ever before. In the last year or so, we’ve seen crossovers – such as The Last of Us and Super Mario Bros. yield impressive results.
To cap the breakdown off, there was a look forward to the benefits of AI and the ‘next generation’ of gamers, which is breaking into a world that ‘finally’ accepts gaming as a hobby, an interest, and in many cases, a career path.
There are still plenty of concerns out there in the wider gaming market, but lists like this are filling players with hope and excitement about the future – there’s still a long road ahead for the games industry, and we’re just waiting to see what comes next.
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