We visited the world’s largest video game festival and spotted these 5 trends

It was in over heads again at Gamescom in Cologne. The world’s largest video game festival has once again highlighted the greatness of this medium. We have gone through and spotted these five trends.

1. China is starting to move more and more

The video game market is one of the few creative industries not dominated by the United States. Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom have long been considered creative powers. But China is also on the rise.

Without many realizing it, one of the most popular games in the world has become a free RPG genshin Effect, Made by miHoYo from Shanghai – present at the fair in full formal attire. In addition, the huge Tencent holding company has been injecting many yuan into game giants such as Ubisoft some time ago. (Doctrine killer) and epic games (Fortnite).

And then there was the stock market thing: the mystery Black Legend: Wukong. Curious people lined up for at least three hours to get started with a man-monkey hybrid skilled in martial arts. There has been some buzz around this title for a while now. And since the game won’t be in stores until the summer of next year, it was quite surprising that it was actually being played in Cologne.

The Chinese are here to stay. Ironically, Beijing is very strict about its people when it comes to the Games. But as an export product, there seems to be no problem.

2. The Belgian Games are thriving

Larian Studios from Ghent has recently proven to be a global box office success Baldur’s Gate 3: The sector is doing well in our country, especially in Flanders. By 2022, more than 130 companies were building video games—a record—and nearly 1,100 employees were active in the industry. This has generated no less than 85 million euros.

On the occasion of the fair, the Flemish Toy Association (FLEGA) presented these positive figures and immediately offered a number of projects. Even Flemish Prime Minister Jan Gambon (N-VA) came to subtly emphasize how much importance his government places on this innovative sector.

The Dutch games that have stayed with us the most: smart games You suck at parking From Happy Volcano, where you have to dodge all kinds of wild obstacles while searching for a parking spot; breakers Triangle Factory, a virtual reality tactical shooter; It is beautifully hand drawn Quera (Studio Tolima) and adventure Knight Slim (Frosty Froggs), about a graceful fluffy dress with a sword.

3. Is virtual reality dying?

Fools sometimes claim that virtual reality is “the 3D television of our time”: a flashy new device that will disappear as quickly as it appeared. Remarkably: There were no virtual reality glasses to be seen on the exhibition floor. However, they seem to be changing the sector for a while.

“I never see VR becoming mainstream,” says Jeroen van Rivels, game developer and co-host. game lockera weekly podcast,” or at least not within the industry. We need to see virtual reality as a market in its own right, backed by a small group of hardcore fans.

Much has to do with the high entry price — for example, Sony’s latest headset costs more than the PlayStation 5 itself, which you also need to run. Moreover, the method does not really lend itself to long, large-scale experiments. “Keeping a VR game interesting for a long time is very difficult,” says Van Rivels. “So people quickly go back to what they already know.”

It remains to be seen if Apple will make a new wave with its expensive Vision Pro glasses. “For events and training, the technology remains very interesting, but in terms of gaming, I see it as just a niche.”

4. Cloud gaming is the future

For now, you still have to rely on console or PC to get familiar with the genre Call of duty to play, but this can very well change. Just as streaming services try to push physical carriers of both music and movies/series into oblivion, cloud gaming has the same goal in this industry.

Although Google has only recently discontinued its Stadia cloud service, other major players such as Sony and Microsoft, among others, are fully committed to the technology. Since game streaming seriously eats up some bandwidth, a strong internet connection is a must. This is not ubiquitous yet.

However, concrete steps are being taken. For example, Samsung, the market leader in the world of television, displayed its latest device at the fair. It comes with an Xbox app that allows you to stream games using any Bluetooth controller, provided you have a Game Pass Ultimate subscription – Microsoft’s Netflix, for example. An interesting development to watch.

5. Back to the roots

Although this relatively young sector is constantly evolving and revolutionizing, we have also seen a reverse movement: a return to the roots. Notable characters like Mario and Sonic are getting their latest installment – Super Mario Bros. miracle And Sonic Superstars – Throwback to the 2D days of yesteryear when you simply had to run and jump from left to right, albeit with modern elements.

Publisher Ubisoft is also riding this wave. Be Honest Doctrine killerThe franchise has grown on a larger scale in recent years, and it will be released in October Mirage Back to its slightly more intimate origins. Also new Prince Fares-Game The missing crown It shows more affinity with the 1989 original than with more recent iterations.

Finally makes a war shooter Call of duty modern warfare 3 In multiplayer mode, using environments polished from the old box. Everything returns: a basic rule in fashion and, apparently, also in the gaming sector.