Since the Nintendo Entertainment System’s release in 1983, video games have been an ever present part of most people’s lives. With video games being one of the largest industries in the world, it’s hard to imagine that their presence in everyday life will go away anytime soon.

The video game industry is constantly changing, and it’s hard to determine what video games will look like 10 years down the line. However, there have been some recent developments which may serve as a hint to what video gaming will look like.

One of the biggest tells of the future of video games as of late has been Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This purchase has given Microsoft control over some of the biggest franchises in video games. Microsoft now also has control over which games are exclusive to Xbox. Though Microsoft has confirmed that they will allow Call of Duty to be on PlayStation, the future is not so certain for franchises like Overwatch, Tony Hawk, and Crash Bandicoot. 

Which games Microsoft allows on other consoles will be a big decider on which next generation console consumers will buy. This, however, was not the only reason for the acquisition. With this deal, Microsoft also gains access to the many mobile games in Activision Blizzard’s library such as Candy Crush.

Mobile gaming has expanded to become one of the largest parts of the industry, with many studios just like Microsoft attempting to break into the fast growing and highly lucrative market.

According to Statista, mobile gaming made up almost 50% of overall video game revenue worldwide in 2020, with the overall revenue being produced is expected to surpass 100 billion by 2023.

Mobile gaming has shown that it’s not just the consoles and games changing, but also hardware that games are played on. Virtual reality (VR) is one of these new hardware avenues that may change what video games are played on, with major studios looking to develop titles for the new software after the success of games like Beat Saber and Half-Life: Alyx. 

So far, most companies are content to only port their titles to VR as seen in games like Minecraft, Skyrim, and Resident Evil: 4. However, this might be changing as VR technology has made a big leap forward with a new omni-directional treadmill that allows for 360 degree movement.

These treadmills not only allow for VR to be used in smaller spaces as before one would have to make use of large empty spaces in their homes to play, but also gets rid of many peoples problems with the current solutions to movement in VR games. 

Typically, VR games make you point and teleport as having the player move in game while having them stand still would make many people motion sick. Omni-directional treadmills not only get rid of the point and teleport feature, which makes a game less realistic which takes away from the purpose of VR, but also makes it more accessible to the general population.

As video gaming continues to change as a hobby, only time can tell how it will change.