Gone are the days when online gaming was restricted to playing multiplayer versions of the titles many of us played on our PCs and consoles at home. Today, online gaming in Canada is about being able to do more, experience new things, and connect with other players in a way that feels increasingly natural. At a time when many of us are turning to the online world for evening entertainment, it’s safe to say that the companies that focus their efforts on research and development are going to become the driving forces in the online gaming industry.
What is Driving Innovation?
Innovation is primarily driven by two things: intrigue and economics. Creative developers who want to push the boundaries purely to see what is possible are those who continually drive technology and software forward. They have a vision that they want to bring to life, and they are not shy about chasing it and going after it in a way that few without their drive can follow. It’s these innovators who often fail fast and break things, allowing them to figure out the best path to take.
The other factor is the economic side of the coin, and this is because game developers are businesses that have to make money. Because of the increasingly interconnected nature of daily life, a title that was viral yesterday can become stale and outdated by the end of tomorrow. The point here is that developers who want to remain in business in Canada have to continually reinvest and reimagine, especially if they want to continue to grow quarter on quarter. Perhaps the clearest example of this is the shift in how we all connect to the online world.
Mobile Formats Are King
We are a nation of phone lovers, and there’s simply no use in denying it. Just as shopping and social media are now almost exclusively done on a smartphone, so too is gaming making the switch. Yes, there will always be a market for very high CPU usage titles that require a desktop PC and dedicated setup, but for many new titles and formats, mobile games are the perfect choice.
Fortnite is a great example of this, not least of all because it is one of the biggest franchises in the world right now. Their mobile version allows players to dive in and out of the high-octane world of battles and challenges in a way that makes the game truly portable. Not only that, but it exists as a natural extension of the main game, not in parallel with it. This opens up the gameplay to a whole new variety of time-based formats and social engagements, allowing players to immerse themselves in the game in a truly hybrid way.
Integrated Gaming Experiences Matter
It’s important to note that online gaming in Canada isn’t limited to the titles you will find on the Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Players are increasingly looking at odds-based games as a way to enrich other forms of entertainment, most notably live sports.
Platforms such as Sportsbet provide access to different ways to bet on live sports, including using cryptocurrencies as stakes. The interesting thing about these types of platforms is that they are increasingly used as part of the live sporting experience, as well as to provide additional touchpoints for fans watching at home.
Leagues such as the UFC routinely post live odds and in-play ratings so that viewers and fans can decide whether or not they want to place a wager. The idea here is to take a multi-media approach to entertainment, whereby online gaming forms one of the core pillars.
The apps that are developed by the gaming companies are designed to be swipe-based, streamlined, and highly intuitive. That way, sports fans can feel like they are still immersed in the action and not going to miss something due to trying to wrestle with a clunky or confusing interface. Speed has never mattered more in the online world.
Faster Play Maintains Engagement
Online play certainly no longer has to be about expansive and lengthy strategy games if you don’t want it to be, with more and more titles designed to satisfy the demand for fast and furious action. Titles that evolve in real time and continually change have shown themselves to be increasingly popular as we enter the second half of the decade. A prime example of this is the emerging genre of crash gambling, where players attempt to beat the odds by predicting when an ever-increasing multiplier will crash and wipe out their position.
The ability to play multiple games in quick succession means that players are able to try out a wide range of tactics and approaches, as well as to dip in and out of the gameplay throughout the day. The point here is that players have the freedom to play at their leisure without having to feel like they need to artificially speed things up. Rapid-fire gaming formats have been shown to consistently boost engagement by offering high degrees of playability and the potential for strategy evolution.
Immersive Gaming is Beginning
Augmented Reality (AR) is already beginning to come to the fore in the Canadian gaming world, and we can certainly expect big things from it in the next 5 years. Movement sensors, interactive headsets, and the ability to make sight-based moves and selections are all improving as we speak. Not only that, but innovative developers have come to see that the more they can blur the boundaries between the physical world and the online world, the more they can hook their next wave of players.
Pokémon GO was the first example of a viral AR title that allowed players to break through the divide between the physical and digital worlds, and Canadians certainly want more. The Canadian AR industry is predicted to achieve a compound annual growth rate of over 25% from 2025 to 2033, which itself paints a bright picture for the future.
Where Will Online Gaming Go Next?
AI and truly immersive experiences, such as the metaverse and AR, promise much for the gaming world, but many of the platforms and features are still very much in their infancy. Jump ahead to the start of the next decade, and we may well see a truly personalised approach to gaming where each player sees their own online landscape. If we are each followed online by a personal AI bot that assists us and learns all about us, could this information then be used to inform the way we play games? Imagine a future in which turn-based games begin to reflect events in our own everyday lives and in which RPGs take us to places we have visited that day.
As an economic powerhouse with a liberal outlook and a commitment to secure and private access, Canada can be expected to lead the way as we move towards 2030. Innovative companies and high-energy startups will be increasingly looking to carve out potentially lucrative niches for themselves, and the Canadian market presents an ideal testbed. High-speed connections, ubiquitous smart device adoption, and a democratic approach to the way data is shared and consumed all set the country up to become a real hotbed for innovation.
