The gaming industry growth forecast was made with the contribution of Arman Mamyan, Chapter lead of IGDA Yerevan and Co-Founder of Game Conference Armenia.
Recent updates in the Gaming industry
Gaming has so often been painted with the wrong brush — stereotyped as being isolating and unsociable. However, the pandemic has shown this could not be further from the truth. – CEO of online gaming marketplace G2A.com.
The quote above perfectly describes our mission which is why we decided to start this article with it.
If you’re not gaming already, there’s a chance you might be soon. The video game sector is booming and is tipped to keep growing. Microsoft, Tencent, Embracer Group, and Sony are acquiring the big name video game companies, new cloud technologies, new engines, consoles, cross-platform gaming experiences, and E-Sport popularity growth.
According to a study by PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, the sales of video games have been growing steadily since 2015. Many new companies and technologies were founded in the last few years. We’ve seen how the gaming industry has captured (in the good sense of the word), all aspects of our lives.
For the past few years, the latest gaming technologies and engines have been used in the film industry. One of the brightest examples is The Mandalorian series of Disney about a fictional character from the Star Wars franchise, where they used the most popular gaming engine developed by Epic Games and called Unreal Engine. On May 13, 2020, Epic Games revealed the new, more realistic version of its engine under license plate 5, which has many revolutionary integrated parts. One year later, we saw the Metahuman – the high-fidelity digital human creator.
According to a study by Ampere Analysis in 2020, the global video game market shrank 1.2% to $188 billion. from 2019 to 2021, the growth was as much as 26%, reaching its peak at around 195 billion dollars.
However, this year we’re seeing a small financial rebound in the gaming industry because of recession and geopolitical situations, and people in the world have far less money to spend on digital entertainment for different reasons. Despite all this, the year will end significantly better from a financial point of view, and the outlook for the video game industry as a whole remains positive.
The expansion is expected to make the global gaming industry worth more than $300 billion by 2027, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook. Besides, The gaming industry has received a huge boost thanks to lockdowns as people have obviously been spending more time at home. The launch of non-generic consoles from Microsoft and Sony in the same year also bolstered the industry’s success.
Gaming industry developments in Armenia
Okay. As we already know video gaming is one of the biggest industries in the world, which is ahead of the sports and film industries. But what about the Armenian gaming industry?
As mobile gaming makes up almost half (49%) of the total market with a combined smartphone and tablet gaming, here, in Armenia, we have mostly mobile game development companies (not counting relocated companies after the situation in the CIS’s west part).
These companies have successfully created top-rated games for the mobile market and partnered up with such industry giants as VooDoo, Tencent, ZeptoLab, Larian, Gameloft and etc. Some of them are even planning to switch to PC/Console game development in the near future.
Augmented and Virtual reality in Gaming
Talking about AR and VR experiences and how they can transform the gaming industry, we should understand that they’ve already reached the mark of sophistication to really engage its gamer.
Manufacturers have introduced an innovation that is beyond imagination to offer a smooth and engrossing experience with the right equipment to its users. The most important revolutionized technology that they bring and is actively using not only in the gaming industry but also in navy seals and other military training programs from all over the world is captive experience. This experience does not allow its users to differentiate between the real and virtual environments which will act as a key feature for the success of any game in today’s time.
To bring forth a successful gaming situation, developers need to establish an ideal gaming situation in which gamers could play in the user’s avatar too. And, of course, it’s combined with real-time interactions: AR technology is best known to bring together the real and virtual that causing the creation of a dreamlike mid-path for the users.
The capacity to add digital information and real-time in one will turn up to be a game-changer for game manufacturers. Real-time interaction will allow the enhancement of gamers’ perception all across the world and will even boost the creation of better engaging levels.
And that day is not far off when in order to play many games, we will dress up in special costumes and plunge into a completely new game world.
And what about the Metaverse? It’s a kind of new technology, right?
To be honest, no. It has a lot of new technologies such as blockchain, that are or will be integrated into video games, but it’s not a new thing.
Will the metaverse become a driving force in the gaming industry?
Let’s start by defining what the Metaverse really is. If AR and VR are more or less understandable terminologies for everyone, the word Metaverse has a lot of misconceptions.
Metaverse is defined as the network of three-dimensional platforms based on virtual reality (VR). Because of the Futurism movement and the genre of Science Fiction, Metaverse is explained as a new version of the Internet based on the virtual world, created using augmented reality (AR) for an interactive experience for the users.
The term Metaverse initially originated in 1992 in the science fiction novel ‘Snow Crash’ as a blend of concepts to imply the meanings of ‘Meta’ and ‘Universe.’ A popular platform like Second Life is a metaverse where people can find their suitable avatar for an immersive experience of the virtual model. Metaverse has also aided the economic sector by integrating virtual and physical spaces to give platforms for virtual economies. These economic platforms are based on VR technologies to engage in virtual yet immersive and realistic trading.
As it is in its early stage, in the near future we can see how The Metaverse, using AR and VR technologies’ full potential will captivate users and give them the impression that they are truly in the reality they have entered. Instead of a two-dimensional screen, it helps to take those collaborative possibilities to the next level by immersing users in a three-dimensional environment where they may interact more personally with the elements around them. It is a great technique to generate augmented reality when working with games, play-to-earn gaming with NFTs minting and trading, and live game streaming.
About the upcoming Game Conference Armenia
The first thing that we need to do is to answer what gaming is and why such a big noise around the event. Well. First of all, when we’re talking about gaming, we are talking about the work of (more or less) software, hardware and game developers, artists, modelers, producers, testers, product managers, marketing managers, creative directors, directors, and other professionals. And we forgot to mention the hardware and different solution provider companies. (Such as Nvidia as a hardware developer company or AI generation tool for 3D models, etc.)
—It all started with a dream and passion for a very near-to-my-heart industry – game dev.
The Game Conf Armenia and other initiatives that we’re working on are projects of a lifetime, which were long overdue. The idea behind GCA (as it’s the only announced project so far and I can speak about) is to have a platform that will unite game developers, artists, voice actors, sound designers, producers, marketers, newcomers, gamers, and everyone under one roof and around a single idea of fully functional industry. — Arman Mamyan, Chapter lead of IGDA Yerevan and Co-Founder of Game Conference Armenia.
Personally knowing a lot of high qualified Armenians, who are working in the gaming industry I truly believe that Armenia has all chances to become the next epicenter of the gaming industry in CIS.
Game Conference Armenia is scheduled on Summer 2023
To be able to create the videogame, companies spent millions of dollars and years of work to bring us the most extraordinary video game experiences. Gaming is not only about the people who play or stream it. Video Gaming is all about teamwork, collaborations, and of course fun. And that is why The Game Conference Armenia invites everyone, from any part of the IT industry to play together. Because when we play together – we all win.
The Game Conference Armenia (GCA) is a three-day fully offline event in a super dynamic format at the Meridian Expo Center and will held in Q2 of 2023. It’s a massive-scale and first-ever gaming event in the CIS region to unite all gaming enthusiasts and industry professionals under one roof. You can gain knowledge and first-hand experience from industry veterans, get a sneak peek into upcoming projects of various scales, meet people behind vastly unique experiences, and hold epic conversations about our biggest passion – gaming.
Here is what to expect from the guide in Game Conference Armenia.
- 2,000 + attendees.
- 30 speakers. Industry veterans and people who’ve worked/ing on such games as Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Diablo, Subway Surfers, The witcher, World War Z, Halo, God of war, Gardenscapes, and other worldwide known games.
- 2 halls for parallel sessions like masterclasses, panel discussions, sp and workshops.
- Scholarship and other giveaway contests
- Networking area for all video game creators;
As the conference will cover almost all aspects of the modern professions, it becomes a must-attend event for everyone. From starters to industry veterans, everyone will find a lot of interesting things and topics during the conference.
As for the team behind Game Conference Armenia, the main goal is to make the gaming industry more transparent and easy to hop on for everyone by continuing to integrate the game development courses in universities, organizing offline events, and online sessions with qualified professionals from all over the world.
Featured image credit: Photo by Luis Villasmil
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