Reddit, the sacred virtual space for geeks, gossipers, and seekers of answers to literally any question about various niche interests and hobbies, has become home to a gaming community that has been growing since the pandemic. With these words, The Drum magazine introduced readers to the story of key trends in the video game industry according to the platform that recorded a 34% increase in user activity in the video game category this year compared to the same period last year. This category currently has 172 million monthly visitors and over three billion monthly views.
It is particularly interesting that these users rarely just read content on Reddit; they also create it and actively participate in discussions, whether it is about technical issues, games, or the future of the entire industry. Due to the size and number of activities in this category, the Reddit platform knows the desires and needs of passionate gamers and fans and states that the industry will be shaped by four new trends in the near future.
The Huge Virtual Universe
The first is, as reported by The Drum, the metaverse. The concept of the metaverse is not new: the term originates from the science fiction novel ‘Snow Crash’ by Neal Stephenson and is used in popular culture to describe a virtual world where users can ‘live’ in real time. In the gaming industry, the metaverse refers to a place that, as stated by Will Cady, global director of Reddit’s creative strategic agency Karmalab, unites all video game universes in one virtual space.
Large companies like Epic Games have become key drivers of the idea of creating this huge virtual universe for gamers. Epic Games even organized virtual concerts for ‘Fortnite’ players, of which there are estimated to be over 350 million worldwide. This move showed investors that games (and the metaverse) can attract hundreds of millions of users looking for a new way to entertain themselves. Additionally, this parallel metaverse is an excellent opportunity for brands and celebrities to interact with their fans and consumers in real time in a virtual space. Thanks to the success, so to speak, of these metaverse experiments, Epic Games raised one billion dollars from investors and an additional 200 million dollars in investment from Sony.
Nostalgia for the Past
However, gamers are not only interested in the latest technological innovations like the metaverse. They are also eager for old things because, as The Drum writes, the trend of nostalgia has returned to this industry. Users are interested in vintage formats, whether it is vintage magazines or old comics. As noted on Reddit, older games are increasingly mentioned, such as ‘Nintendo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’, and the community of fans of old-school games like ‘RuneScape’ is growing, discussing the style of these games, the gaming experience, and sparking interest among younger generations for games that were once passionately played.
Interest is also growing for video games that have a simpler structure (as opposed to the complex world-building in games like ‘Fortnite’). During the pandemic, such simple games became more popular because they are accessible, fun, and do not require significant engagement, yet allow gamers to interact with other players. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the ‘Nintendo GameCube’ console, as well as the game ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’, which were introduced in 2001 at the world’s largest video game fair ‘E3’. Today, nostalgic players eager for simple old-school games are eagerly awaiting this year’s fair edition as they hope new ‘Smash Bros’ characters and a new version of the ‘Nintendo GameCube’ console will be launched.
