Online gaming is not a new industry as it patiently gathers fans for well over three decades. It had enough time to change and evolve, so now we can clearly identify new norms, trends, and patterns in game design.

According to the report, more than 2.8 billion people are playing online games worldwide. It means that two-thirds of the global population are active gamers who eagerly wait for fresh playing modes and alternative designs. Dozens of new solutions and innovations are flooding the video gaming realm, but only a handful of these will actually remain relevant in the long run.

Our goal is to highlight the top trends and discuss the future of design in online gaming. Let’s take a look!

Mobile gaming is dominant

Number one on our list goes to mobile gaming, a trend that is dominating online video game design for quite some time now. Every user requires a solid smartphone app these days, so all of the top 10 online casinos have their own mobile versions. The same goes for nearly every game you can play on the Internet because people want to be able to access games anywhere and anytime.

Live table games are on the rise

Traditional gamblers enjoy the atmosphere of live table games and it is one of the rare things online gambling platforms cannot emulate realistically. However, online games are getting better and now live table games are incredibly popular among digital gamblers. The reason is simple – developers keep designing better and more realistic versions of live table games.

Cloud-based gaming grows

The demands of online gamers are much greater than they used to be, but game designers react by implementing trends such as cloud-based gaming. What does it mean? Well, it means that you can access the lowest wagering requirements casino or any other video game over the Internet and stop worrying about the processing abilities of your PC or other electronic devices. Online servers will do the hard work, so you don’t have to purchase expensive gaming equipment anymore.

3D slots are more immersive

Online slot machines were one of the first to make a successful shift from the offline to the online realm, but modern users want more. This is how we get to 3D slots, a version that is more immersive thanks to its depth and powerful graphics.

Retro games are cool again

The fact that video games keep getting better and more visually appealing doesn’t mean that players only enjoy cutting-edge titles. On the contrary, retro games are cool again as they have a huge fan base all over the world. Arcade games and other retro-style releases from the 1980s and early 1990s are revitalizing in 2021.

Indie games grab their portion of the market

Who says that the likes of EA, Sony, and Nintendo are the only competitors in the video game market? They might be the largest video game developers in the world, but the fact is that many smaller companies also contribute to the gaming and gambling ecosystem. Indie games are often raw and unpolished, but that’s exactly what some gamers love and look for.

Inclusivity is the name of the game

In case you haven’t noticed, video game developers pay attention to the issue of inclusivity. You can hardly find a new title without characters of different ages, colors, and other personal traits. Video games make a superior communication tool and developers use them to promote diversity and human rights wherever possible.

Augmented Reality is everywhere

Augmented Reality (AR) is the process of adding new layers of information to the existing, realistic image of the world. You can already see the signs of AR almost everywhere, while Pokémon Go made it globally popular. Pokémon Go singlehandedly proved that AR elements can make a huge difference in terms of user experience and interactivity of online video games.

Virtual Reality is the next milestone

AR is just a step we take to Virtual Reality (VR), aka a fully immersive gaming experience. Even though it seems like a distant future, VR is with us already as it only requires a few simple gadgets to engage in virtual actions. Of course, the trend will continue developing and providing us with standout gaming experiences in the years to come.

The Bottom Line

Online games keep getting better and more attractive year after year. This wouldn’t be possible without some major breakthroughs in the field of development and design, so we are indeed blessed to live in an era when gaming technologies are improving exponentially.

In this post, we focused on the top design trends in the field of online gaming. Some of them are not totally new, while others are yet to prove their worth, but they all make video gaming a much more entertaining activity. Which of the abovementioned trends do you appreciate the most?