Top Gaming Trends of 2023 & 2022
Our hand-picked collection of the top gaming trends of 2023 & 2022. The topics in this report on today’s emerging gaming trends are selected for their high growth across sites including Google, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and Amazon. Read more about how we track global trends.
Kaiju Paradise
Kaiju Paradise is a Roblox game created by T Z B Studio in 2021 as a prototype for the studio's upcoming game called The Final Experiment. The game features a multiplayer fighting experience and has received over 60 million visits since its launch. … Read more
Betano
Betano is a fast-growing European online betting or digital sports betting company with headquarters in Greece. It is known for its seamless user experience in both sports betting and a wide range of casino games. … Read more
Blockpost
Blockpost is a 3D shooting game that features Minecraft-inspired cubic graphics. The game allows for real-time matches between players and customize their characters and arsenal. … Read more
Cloud Gaming
Cloud gaming is a term used for a type of gaming that allows users to play video games without the need for a traditional video game console or without having to download or install the games themselves. Games are instead run on remote servers, and users can access them through a web browser or a dedicated app. … Read more
Ayn Odin
Ayn Odin is a handheld gaming console for Android. The device features an ergonomic grip for a more immersive gaming experience, custom analog trigger buttons, high-speed active cooling fans and passive cooling heatsink. … Read more
Blox Fruits
Blox Fruits is a popular One Piece-themed Roblox game that was released in January 2019. The game primarily revolves around obtaining Blox Fruits which are 3D objects used for combat and grinding. The fruits can be used to deal damage or impart unique abilities to players. … Read more
Leetify
Leetify is a software designed to help improve CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) gamers improve their performance. The software uses AI to analyze matches to compare performance and provide feedback on how to win. … Read more
Romspure
Romspure is a site that allows users to download ROMs of popular games like Pokemon, Super Mario, and others from different consoles (e.g. Nintendo, Sony Playstation, etc.), so that they can be played on their computer or mobile phone. ROMs are deprecated game files on consoles that can be played on another device using an emulator. … Read more
GamerSupps
GamerSupps is a website that specializes in selling supplements that are meant to improve gaming performance. The website offers a variety of supplements, including caffeine pills, pre-workout powders, and post-workout recovery drinks. … Read more
Prime Gaming
Prime Gaming is a subscription service for gamers offered by Amazon. For a monthly fee, users get subscriptions for Amazon Prime and Twitch plus free games and in-game rewards. … Read more
Sorare
Sorare is a digital card game for football based on the Ethereum blockchain technology. Players buy, trade, or collect cards within the soccer NFT platform. … Read more
Skinport
Skinport is an online marketplace for buying and selling CS:GO skins using real money. The virtual items are not bound to the user's Steam account so it can be traded with other players. … Read more
Blockbench
Blockbench is a free, open-source 3D modeling web app and animation editor for low poly and pixel art. The application is known for its native support for many Minecraft 3D model formats and low-poly modeling tools to easily create Minecraft models or complex pixel art. With its animation editor, Blockbench animations can also be exported to Minecraft: Bedrock Edition or rendered on Blender, Maya, or Sketchfab. … Read more
PriceCharting
PriceCharting is a website and app that allows users to track the prices of video games and consoles over time. The site also includes a forum where users can discuss game prices and trade games and consoles. … Read more
AI Gaming
AI gaming is a form of gaming that involves the use of artificial intelligence or interactions with AI-controlled characters. AI gaming can be used to create games that are more challenging and realistic, or to create new gameplay experiences that are not possible with traditional gaming methods. … Read more
WeMod
WeMod is a platform that connects creators with gamers to use their Mods, which are tweaks that change how things look or behave in games. The platform is known to offer thousands of free cheats and trainers for games that players love. … Read more
Razer Kaira
The Razer Kaira is a wireless gaming headset that is designed for Xbox Series X|S. The wireless headset has a battery life of up to 15 hours and offers an excellent audio immersion experience. … Read more
Backbone Controller
The Backbone Controller is a gaming device that allows you to slot in your iPhone and turn it into a gaming console for a better mobile gaming experience. Android phones can also be hooked up using a Lightning-to-USB cable. … Read more
Wired Earphones
Wired earphones are headphones that are connected to a device by a cable. The earphones are often favored for their better sound quality and noise-cancelling abilities when compared to their wireless counterparts. … Read more
CDRomance
CDRomance is a gaming site where users can download ROMs and ISOs of retro games from mostly abandonware and 8-bit games up to the 6th generation of consoles (128-bit). The site also features romhacks, translations, emulators, and game guides. … Read more
Mecabricks
Mecabricks is a web-based 3D modeling platform that allows users to create, share, and customize 3D LEGO models. The platform is designed to be easy to use, with a simple interface and a wide variety of models to choose from. … Read more
Townstar
Townstar is a play-to-earn (P2E) NFT game developed by Gala Games and built on the Ethereum blockchain. The game is based on competitive farming similar to Farmville. … Read more
Toca Boca
Toca Boca is a company that creates digital toys and games for children. The company’s games and apps are designed to be open-ended, allowing for children to explore and create without being restricted by rules. … Read more
Gaming Earbuds
Gaming earbuds are earbuds that are designed specifically for gaming. The earbuds typically have a more spacious soundstage to create an immersive gaming experience and may also have features such as noise cancellation and surround sound. … Read more
Eneba
Eneba is an online marketplace for buying and selling digital games. The platform also allows users to buy game keys, prepaid gift cards, and game points at a cheaper price. … Read more
Earning Game
An earning game is a game where players can earn real money or in-game rewards by completing tasks or challenges. The rewards can be in the form of real money, virtual currencies, or exclusive in-game items. Earning games are designed to incentivize players to continue playing the game and to promote social interaction between players. … Read more
Rec Room Game
Rec Room Game is a cross-platform social game that allows users to build and play games together in player-created rooms. The game allows users to create and customize their avatars, meet with their friends, and explore games created by other players or creators. … Read more
Merge Game
A merge game is a game in which players are given a set of objects and must combine them to create or unlock a new item. Merging may result into acquiring bonuses, new characters, items, coins, or special treasures. … Read more
Fire Kirin
Fire Kirin is a fish shooting game that features an online sweepstakes and allows players to earn real money by winning. The overall gameplay is based on shooting as many fishes one can in order to earn coins. … Read more
Wireless Neckband
A wireless neckband is a device that is worn around the neck to provide wireless audio. The band is typically adjustable to fit different head sizes and can be used to play music, answer phone calls, and listen to audio books. … Read more
Royal Kludge
Royal Kludge is a brand known for making high-quality wireless mechanical keyboards. The company is based in China and has a wide range of wireless gaming mechanical keyboards and other gaming accessories. … Read more
Honkai
Honkai is a 3D action RPG game by miHoYo and was originally released in China in 2016. The game combines a variety of genres and features gacha mechanics. It has gained popularity in the United States and Europe in recent years. … Read more
Foam Keyboard
A foam keyboard refers to a keyboard modification wherein a thin layer of foam, usually polyethylene (PE) foam, is placed between the keyboard's plate and PCB. This is meant to reduce the vibration or dampen the sound that the keyboard makes when typing. … Read more
VRoid Studio
VRoid Studio is a 3D character creator and animation app. It allows users to create and animate 3D characters, and then share them online. The app is free to download and use, and includes a variety of features for character creation and animation. … Read more
Winbet
Winbet is a platform that allows users to bet on a variety of sports and other events. The site offers betting options for a variety of sports, including football, basketball, and cricket, as well as other events, such as the Oscars and the Eurovision Song Contest. … Read more
Mod Pass
Mod Pass is a type of subscription service for video games that allows users ongoing access to MODS (Macros On Demand) to their existing Strike Pack controller device. The MODS achieve results that are typically too difficult to do by hand in the game. … Read more
Gasket Mount Keyboard
A Gasket Mount Keyboard is a keyboard that uses gasket material between the plate or PCB and the keypad housing. The gasket material is placed both on the top and bottom sides of the keyboard to give it a more cushioned feel and make it quieter when typing. … Read more
Xbox Storage Expansion
An Xbox storage expansion is a storage device that is designed to be used with the Xbox One gaming console. The expansion allows gamers to add more storage to the console, which can be used to store games, videos, and other media. … Read more
GMMK Keyboard
The GMMK keyboard is a modular mechanical keyboard that is designed for gaming. The keyboard has a number of features that are meant to improve the gaming experience, such as backlighting, programmable keys, macros, and media controls. … Read more
Signulous
Signulous is a cloud-based SaaS platform that allows users to install custom apps on their iOS device. The platform offers an easy way to install apps like iPoGo that are not available on the App Store. … Read more
Gacha Game
Gacha games are video games where players can earn random rewards by playing. The games are often free to play, but include microtransactions in order to get better rewards. The games have become popular in mobile gaming, and often have anime-inspired art styles. … Read more
Gaming Leaks
Gaming leaks are information or footage that is leaked from an upcoming video game. The leaks can come in the form of screenshots, videos, or game code. They often provide a sneak peak or spoilers at the game's content and storyline or reveal new features that were not announced before. … Read more
Reworld
Reworld is an open-world game and mobile creation platform that allows users to build and play 3D games and interactive content without coding using its advanced 3D engine (Reworld Engine). The platform also allows users to interact with other players through text or voice chats while in the game doing missions, fighting enemies, or completing team tasks. … Read more
Blockman GO
Blockman GO is a mobile game that allows users to create and interact with 3D worlds. The game is designed for players of all ages and encourages creativity, exploration, and social interaction. It allows users to socialize and play with others online. … Read more
Trend Highlight – The Growth of Video Game Playbacks
Consumers report that photo anxiety increasingly interferes with many memorable events since people are constantly wondering if they should be taking a picture rather than enjoying the experience. But as cameras and wearables get more common, it will be more and more practical to just record everything and then go back and select the best moments after the fact.
Part of the issue is that it's hard to snap a photo at the perfect second. A recent change in how iPhones take pictures solves some of this: the photo is actually a 3-second video (with the 3-second window starting just before the button press), so it's possible to go back frame-by-frame and capture the perfect moment. This idea is now extending to online games, where a new service, Gif Your Game, lets players convert perfectly-timed gameplay videos into easily shareable GIFs that they can then post on Discord, Reddit, and Twitter.
Sharable snippets have been an increasingly important driver of cultural awareness in the last few years; an apt reaction GIFs play the same kind of linguistic role today that a well-chosen Bible verse might have played in the 19th century. And media companies know that GIFs are a powerful marketing tool, a low-cost means of raising awareness, and of promoting peer endorsement.
For games, traditional GIF generation was challenging, because recording the screen could introduce performance issues during gameplay. Gif Your Game uses a different approach: it's really recording the changes in game state, not the video itself, which means that there isn't a performance hit and also that the replay can be viewed from different angles. The product can be configured to automatically record specific in-game events, so someone playing a first-person shooter can know that there will be a video of every kill, or a sports gamer will know that they can review every goal.
This doesn’t just improve performance for computer hardware, but for the gamer, too; they want to be thinking about playing the game, not about whether they should be recording. It’s a tool for gamers to never lose their best moments.
This is especially interesting because anxiety about when to enjoy the moment and when to start recording is common in the real world, too; ironically, the digital world is coming up with solutions for living in the moment faster than the analog world can. While recording everything then going back for what you want is currently restricted to gaming, cheaper cameras, storage, and connectivity mean that it will spread to other parts of life, too.
Many online media sites put substantial effort into optimizing their sharing process. For example, when a TikTok video is being viewed in a browser, ⌘-L, the hotkey for selecting the URL, gets hijacked to show a sharing dialogue instead, with prompts to post the link to various social media sites. Sharing is especially important in gaming since so many games are multiplayer; sharing a gameplay GIF is practically inviting someone to buy the game and try it out themselves.
Many image- or GIF-creating sites add a watermark to raise brand awareness, but Gif Your Game does not. Instead, the service operates on the assumption that there's wide awareness of its brand in the gamer community, and that if anyone asks how the video was recorded, someone else will chime in and say it was through Gif Your Game. This is much more organic than merely including the watermark; it’s a peer endorsement, rather than an ad.
Trend Highlight – The Rise of Gaming Earbuds
Gaming earbuds represent the divergence of two separate trends: some people game to relax, and some people game to win.
Sites like Twitch have made it possible for gamers to earn a full-time living by playing video games and chatting with their audience. While some of these players are skilled, their role is not just to demonstrate elite gameplay; it's also to keep the audience engaged and entertained, whether or not the game itself is interesting. For these players, an important part of their work is their physical appearance, and they often opt for gaming earbuds, as opposed to more bulky over-ear headphones, as a way to look better while staying engaged with the game.
This also affects more than just professional streamers, as gaming is increasingly used as a way to socialize and how you look when you socialize—even when gaming—is sometimes important to gamers. Consumers even say they favor earbuds to over-ear headphones when going on pandemic Zoom dates, as they report the over-ear variety can look bulky and distracting.
Earbuds are a category that has rapidly grown in popularity in the last few years, and as demand rises, there’s often pull from the market to offer niche-focused variants. In addition to gaming earbuds, there are earbuds designed for swimming, earbuds for sleep, even earbuds designed for pets. Since each of these products is optimized for one specific use case, it’s often suboptimal for others—a great set of noise-cancelling earbuds, for example, is dangerous while driving. Meanwhile, this same proliferation makes users more sensitive to price and features; no one wants to overpay for elements that don't benefit them, and gamers in particular are sensitive to the "gamer tax"—the fact that some high-performance products have a higher price point when targeting gamers.
Trend Highlight – Gaming Coaches are Becoming More Common
If there's a large skill gap between trained and untrained players, it can be demotivating to get an accurate assessment of one's play. So Leetify, which tracks players' actions automatically and summarizes them after games, uses a different kind of metric: it calculates players' relative abilities, showing where they're stronger or weaker. In other words, Leetify tells players that someone who is as good as they are at aiming should be much better at dodging. This is a way to simultaneously provide both guidance and encouragement and, in some cases, is an alternative to a leaderboard. If you’re 99th percentile at one thing, Leetify implies, there’s no reason you can’t work up to being 99th percentile at everything. Since people develop unevenly, Leetify is always giving users something new to work on.
The rise of competitive gaming, more broadly, has created a two-tiered gaming culture. Some players just want to relax and have a good time, while others want to excel competitively. As games get more challenging, and players refine their techniques, it gets harder and harder to leave the first group and join the second.
Even for casual players, the required skill level is rising. Gen Y treats video games the way an older generation treated golf: as a way to socialize while also competing. This has led to a profusion of companies that offer training and analytics to help players build up their skills. Leetify is popular in this space, focusing on improving players' skills in a specific version of Counterstrike. Counterstrike is one game of many, and far less popular than games like Fortnite, indicating that this is a large market with room for more participants.
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