Gaming Trends and News We’re Likely to See Growing in 2024

Each year in the world of gaming seems to offer us something new and exciting. The industry is still reeling from the GTA drama of late 2023 when the trailer for the new game leaked, but we won’t be seeing this huge release until 2025. Gaming enthusiasts will have plenty to keep them going, though, and 2024 will be a huge year for trends and interesting developments.

Some trends in the gaming industry will be a continuation of what we’ve seen in recent years, but there are some new and interesting projects in the pipeline and technology will once again threaten to change everything in the way we play.

Even More Choice

Games are released in their droves nowadays, with independent developers having the chance to make games and release them directly to fans, plus many other development companies releasing on Steam or other platforms. You only have to look at the number of games and online slots offered at online casinos to see the choices players have in 2024. Gamers are no longer content with a few different games to choose between, which has partially come from developers providing thousands of new games each year. 

Quirky games we may never have imagined years ago are now on the market, and with slot games, there are many with ancient themes, nature themes, and even science fiction themes that appeal to a variety of players. Console gaming also sees a wide variety, and you can even play games as a goat in the bizarre Goat Simulator franchise (which is actually a very popular game). 

AI Integration

Artificial Intelligence, and the way it is used in daily life, will be discussed in coffee shops and bars all over the world in 2023. With companies like OpenAI becoming huge, 2023 was a breakthrough year for certain forms of AI, with the expectation being that the tech will grow in 2024, and its uses in gaming are pretty clear.

AI will play a part in the way that games are actually played, and we will see things like NPCs getting smarter in console games, but AI also plays a huge role in the way games are developed, already making it far easier for games to be conceived and developed.

New technology can make games more immersive, more realistic, and even provide a feeling that is more akin to real life. On top of that, it can provide more benefits to the gaming community, and Call of Duty games are launching a feature where an AI-powered bot will check and moderate their chats and keep players safer.

The truth is that we’ve barely scratched the surface of how AI could revolutionize games, and though 2024 will see big steps forward, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll get anywhere near the peak of its powers. 

Switch 2 to Be Announced?

Getting a new gaming console is always pretty exciting, especially since a lot of folks are still into PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, or other consoles. It looks like Nintendo is gearing up to release its next console, possibly called the "Switch 2," sometime in 2024.

Word on the street is that the Bayonetta trilogy will likely be the debut game for this new Switch 2, or whatever they end up naming it. The cool part is, they're promising upgrades in both visuals and audio.

Nintendo consoles tend to create a buzz, mainly because they have some exclusive games that you can't find on other platforms. So, if you're a fan of Zelda or Super Mario, you won't be able to enjoy those on an Xbox.

Unreal Engine Gets an Upgrade

Unreal Engine’s upgrade was technically last year, but this powerful game engine has now started to bear fruit in the world of gaming as we see releases such as Robocop: Rogue City running on the game engine.

2024 is when we’ll really see a lot of the new launches showcased, with Tom Raider’s reboot and a new The Witcher game being made and released on Unreal Engine 5.

UE also ties in nicely with another potential trend, which sees VR gaming on the rise, Unreal Engine 5 is quickly becoming the first choice for developers making games for VR and AR, and with the Apple Vision Pro and PSVR 2 looking to battle it out to become the top consoles for Virtual Reality fans, Unreal Engine has a huge role to play. Expect to see plenty more games coming out with the UE5 credit at the start.

Conclusion

Expecting the unexpected is always a good idea when it comes to games and the gaming world, as there are always things happening that could quickly become sensations. Often, it is games we least expect that can take the world by storm, but undeniably there will be even more games released than ever before and plenty of new and modern options for players throughout 2024. Gaming continues to be at the cutting edge of technology and the multi-billion dollar industry is driving continuous change.