Increased cross-pollination of Intellectual Property within the film, TV and music world, as well as sustained mobile gaming growth in rapidly-growing tiger economies in Asia and the Middle East, are some of the reasons why the gaming industry is poised to be a major player in the coming years.
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will all be looking to consolidate their market shares with acquisitions. The big tech companies may need to decide if gaming is a passing fancy or a serious growth driver like Apple Arcade. Major game publishers will need to decide if they are serious about using emerging production and personalisation technologies, or if they will only use mobile gaming.
It should be the year that brands fully commit to gaming as a key pillar in their marketing plans, as the industry matures as a safe, exciting,transformational space for brand building.
Forecasting is problematic but here goes anyway.
This is the first thing. Advertisers can use hybrid game monetisation models.
Increased governmental scrutiny of the wider tech industry has caused hyper- aggressive in-game monetisation models to become unstuck. They are facing the wrath of regulators for exploiting data and marketing practices. There are hybrid monetisation models that combine less aggressive in-game transactions with more ad-funded and bundled subscription content. PC and console platforms will experiment with advertising, and mobile publishers will lean into multi- game subscription products. More areas for brands to advertise will be created by this.
There are two There is greater personalisation of the game experience.
Publishers will try to use technology to create a more personalized game experience for their players. Machine learning, zero code platforms, distributed computing, and centralised 3D asset libraries will be used to create tailored in-game offers, journeys, promotions, and user experiences. The creation of these experiences or enhancing them with added value and benefits can be accomplished with the help of brands. Don't think it will be with NFTs.
There are three. Big ticket acquisitions are still happening.
One way to make money in business is to bundle or unbundle, according to Jim Barksdale.
Major acquisitions will continue to be pursued by established gaming companies. After some concessions to regulators, Microsoft will eventually acquire the company, Sony may make a move to finally acquire Square Enix, and Nintendo may make a move for a major, but disappointing, studio. We don't know if any other big tech firms will invest in long-term gaming content development by acquiring a major studio. Disney might be able to shore up its video streaming business with cross-media game development if it thinks it can get more people to play its games.
The accessibility and intuitiveness of game creation platforms like Unreal Engine is making it easier for brands to create games experiences and content. There is an exciting opportunity for third party creators to help broaden the types of games available to players in an industry that is often clustered around a limited range of game genres.
For those brands, Microsoft's acquisition of Call of Duty and King, publisher of Candy Crush, Bubble Witch and Farm Heroes, is more about King becoming owner of a powerful mobile gaming ad network. Being able toprogrammatically deliver ads to hundreds of millions of mobile gaming users would be a huge step- change in gaming marketing.
There are four. More sophisticated sponsorships are starting to be offered by the organisation.
The industry is yet to demonstrate how it can meaningfully differentiate itself from traditional sports entertainment properties after BMW decided to walk away from its flagship esports sponsorships. In 2023, this should change as more and more organizations start to look at their revenue models in a different way. Fantasy and betting, fan experience, merchandising and hybrid content creation will help to keep the business models stable and give expectant sponsors more than just the same old broadcast signs and ad-space.
There are five. The gaming growth monsters are India and the Middle East.
India has surpassed China as the world's most populated country and with a burgeoning mobile gaming market, it will be a huge year for gaming. There will be a rapid increase in gaming participation.
Reliance Jio is likely to launch its own cloud gaming service on newly rolled out 5G networks that will give millions of people access to high quality gaming experiences on mobile. There is a chance that real-money gambling games will be legalised by the Indian government.
Gambling will become a target for public investment in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Governments will likely invest in more gaming events, destinations, talent and technology in order to establish the region as a destination for major international gaming events. New local offices are likely to be opened by publishers and developers in order to take advantage of the growing interest in and participation in games.
There are six. It's become a go-to social experience for game players.
It Takes Two, OverCooked and A Way Out, and new game modes within powerhouse franchises like Call of Duty, are just some of the wonderful games that have been released in the last few years. Co-op gaming will return to mainstream consciousness thanks to titles like Redfall and Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.
For brands already in the gaming space this is an interesting development as it presents a unique opportunity to create targeted advertising campaigns designed exclusively to talk to couples, families or friendship groups that play together in the same place. Innovative real-time, hyper-personalised activations are designed to enhance the live, in-your-own- living-room gaming experience.
The categories include gaming, sports and leisure.
