If you stop and look around you, almost everywhere you go, people are playing mobile games. Whether they’re tapping away furiously at their screens while on public transportation or thinking through a complex puzzle while sipping a coffee at the local cafe, mobile gaming has become a universal pastime. It’s hard to believe it wasn’t always this way. Not long ago, gaming was a hobby enjoyed by a specific demographic.
Today, it’s gone mainstream, with people of all ages turning to gaming as their preferred form of entertainment. As ubiquitous and convenient as mobile gaming has become, many have wondered if it can get any better. The answer is yes, and we’ve already got a taste of the future with the rollout of 5G and the powerful hardware mobile devices now have. In this article, we take a look at the latest trends in mobile gaming and how they promise to change how we play.
Cloud Gaming on Mobile Devices
Mobile devices are capable of running a variety of high-quality games, something that was unheard of even a decade ago. The internet is what has made all of this possible, and the gaming industry has maximized this technology to create experiences that were once possible only in the physical world. Online casinos are one of the best examples of this phenomenon. Gamers can log onto a virtual platform to play a range of games, including slots. Themed slots like the Book of Dead that take players on a journey with adventurer Rich Wilde in Ancient Egypt are popular among visitors to online casinos.
It’s not just casino games that have benefited from cloud technology. This technology has made it possible to play AAA video game titles on mobile devices. Instead of needing expensive hardware, gamers can steam games directly from powerful servers to their mobile devices, which allows them to play graphically intensive titles without having to invest in a gaming console or PC. Cloud gaming has made gaming accessible to a much larger audience than it was before, who can access the best games for a monthly subscription fee. The libraries cloud gaming services offer is massive and includes the latest games. As the internet infrastructure continues to improve around the world, more players will be able to take advantage of this form of gaming.
Rise of Mobile Esports
The competitive gaming scene has embraced mobile platforms, so it comes as no surprise that the popularity of mobile esports has surged in recent years. PUGB Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile have huge fan bases, hosting tournaments with massive prize pools and attractive viewers from across the globe. One of the biggest reasons for this growth is how accessible mobile devices have become, opening up esports to people from all walks of life.
As one would expect, all of this success has attracted sponsors and advertisers who see esports as an investment opportunity.
Esports has benefited from this increased interest, which has helped legitimize it as a real sport and aided its growth. As mobile games add more competitive features and their audience grows, mobile esports will likely become an even more important part of the larger esports world.
Integration of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
AR and VR have captured the world’s imagination, and as the price of VR and mixed reality headsets has come down, more people have access to this technology. Given that many people do the majority of their gaming on mobile devices, many of them want to be able to use this technology on their preferred platform. Game developers have listened and are making it a reality.
Games like Pokémon Go gave us our first taste of AR and showed the world the potential this technology had for mobile devices. VR is also beginning to carve out a path with devices and accessories, making these experiences more common on smartphones and tablets. Gamers enjoy these technologies because they allow them to become part of the game and interact in ways similar to the real world. AR and VR technologies will continue to improve, and as they do, they’ll likely become more integrated into mobile devices.