Predictions for games in 2023 | The DeanBeat

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Predictions are always so difficult and insane to make. The year 2022 has had a different pace than we expected, following two solid years of game growth in 2020 and 2021. Yet it remained one of the most unpredictable in gaming history. As I learned during the pandemic, I now think of the predictions with both a sense of hope and a sense of dread.

The pandemic has destroyed our ability to predict what's going to happen in life, and so has the video game industry. Gaming companies had a banner year in 2020, and I wondered if this was a one-time bump thanks to the coronavirus forcing lockdowns. People played games to survive, fix their social life and have fun.

And yet, while it was tough to top 2020, the video game industry grew in 2021, according to market researcher Newzoo. But for the first time since it started making predictions, Newzoo now says the gaming industry will shrink 4.3% in 2022 to $184 billion, thanks to weakness in mobile games. The invasion of Ukraine wreaked havoc on the markets, followed by a crypto crash, high inflation, and global economic weakness. It all took its toll.

Some of this is easy to explain in hindsight. Consoles were rare. Big games have been delayed. The global economic downturn and privacy initiatives have hurt mobile gaming, while virtual reality has gained traction. And people started to focus on other pursuits again as they regained the ability to travel and go out in public as the pandemic entered a new phase.

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And while we've seen a huge increase in game deals in 2021, we've seen even more activity in 2022, with Drake Star Partners reporting that game deals hit $123 billion over the past nine first months of the year - due to pending Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, compared to $71 billion in the first three quarters of 2021.

As I said last year, I know that our compass, informed by past patterns, is broken. But I bet we can expect games to continue to overtake other forms of entertainment. I expect trends such as Hollywood transmedia, metaverse, web3, cloud gaming, esports, mixed reality and other trends to invigorate the gaming industry - along with new games formidable in the core areas of the PC, console, and mobile gaming industries.

For the usual comparison and embarrassment, here are my predictions for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017,