5 big things gamers are hoping for next

Each year, gamers get excited all over again for the next wave of hits and innovations. From software sequels to new hardware, there’s something for everyone. But what do gamers want most? What’s on top of their wish list?

Innovation that impresses

Sequels and remakes are often good and they have their place, but they’re not the real center of gaming. Originality is what gamers want the most. They want to be stunned by the unusual, to be taken down pathways that push the medium to its limits or that shapes it anew, or to get something that makes us drop our jaws and marvel at the sheer scale and effort poured into an invented realm.

Just take a look at how the casino gaming industry has developed and innovated over the past few years. It was quick to adapt to a new style of gaming that revolved around live games and real-life dealers, and it was quick to adopt cryptocurrencies as a legitimate form of payment through the creation of Bitcoin casino games. Players are keen to use modern play methods to access the top games, and they expect options that suit their preference. The industry has already innovated in this respect, but there’s clearly more still to come.

All of these innovations are completely in line with what customers want, and one can expect this same innovative strategy to be adopted by a wide range of game developers as they finish off the year’s releases and start working on upcoming games.

Open-world fatigue may exist. Some would say that it certainly does. But it also seems that gamers are crying out for the opportunity to traverse great and immersive environments. They simply need those environments to feel like real, lived-in worlds.

It might translate to populating these worlds with plausible ecosystems, believable weather systems, and NPCs who respond to player actions in a more believable way. A city that flourishes or withers depending on player actions, or a wilderness filled with varied life responding realistically to one’s presence. It’s all about amplifying the sense of immersion in the game.

Stories that resonate

We’ve seen how effective storytelling is in fueling gameplay. Players are increasingly expecting great narratives and stories that speak to them emotionally in their games. They want protagonists they can care about, conflicts that will challenge them, and experiences that will carry long past their final credits. New games hitting the shelves each year must meet these standards.

This is not to say that every game should necessarily be the equivalent of an Oscar-nominated drama, though more of those would be nice. Rather, it’s that stories should be well-built, enjoyable, and stick to topics that haven’t already been beaten to death. Whether it’s a sci-fi odyssey on human dignity or a family-centric coming-of-age story, there has never been a time when the gamer demographic has been more primed to receive engaging, substantive stories.

Seamless online integration

Going online is often such an integral part of gaming, and many players are now hoping for greater and more seamless integration than we’ve typically seen to date. They want rock-solid online frameworks that can support many thousands of simultaneous players while never stuttering, lagging, or dropping connections. They want online modes of play that make sense besides a single-player experience, providing challenges and rewards that are truly unique to multiplayer.

Picture a game where the single-player story seamlessly progressed into a co-op online session, or a competitive multiplayer mode that felt like a natural extension of the core single-player gameplay. Such unified game ecosystems could allow solo players and social players alike to have similarly great experiences.

Respect for time and wallets

Gamers are tenacious shoppers, and they are growing weary of being nickel-and-dimed to death. People want a full game for a full price, and they don’t want to spend their limited spare time fiddling with microtransactions, loot boxes, or harsh grinds.

It doesn’t mean that games can’t have monetization schemes. Rather, it means that whatever these systems may be, they should always be balanced, open, and mindful of players’ time and wallets.