Gaming is one of the largest industries on the planet and brings happiness to millions of people every day. Although only starting with a few main companies, indie developers have created a gaming renaissance. There are more games on the market today than you’ll ever have the time to play.
Some of the most popular online game types include multiplayer and competitive, casino, fighting, sports, and mobile. Here are some of the biggest genres and most popular titles in gaming, courtesy of expert Dominic Andreasson.
Casino Games
Slots
The most popular form of Swedish casino gaming on the web is through slot machines. You’ll find a slot machine themed around anything and everything under the sun. The online space also gives developers more freedom for bonus games and modes. You can find an excellent slot selection at Jackpotcity.
Table Games
It should come as no surprise that table games are a dominant form of online gaming today in Sweden. With many land-based casinos being shut down or temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, online gambling providers have been working overtime. These table games include blackjack, poker, and baccarat. Look for 2021 to bring these classics further into the future with the addition of AR, VR, and mobile integration.
Multiplayer & Competitive Gaming
MMOs
MMO stands for Massively Multiplayer Online games, of which there are hundreds. These are the biggest games for competitive play and include the likes of Fortnite, League of Legends, and Valorant.
Additionally, you’ll find a subcategory of these games known as MMORPGs, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. These are oftentimes more story and progression-based than the arena and elimination-style gameplay in traditional MMOs. MMORPGs are insanely popular, the biggest being World of Warcraft. With the re-release of “The Burning Crusade” expansion pack this year, it will surely be atop the best performing (and most fun) new online games.
Sports
Sports-related titles are released every year alongside their real-life counterparts. The most popular sports games include Madden, NBA 2K, and FIFA. They represent professional leagues for American football, basketball, and football.
Each of these games has an accompanying professional esports league. You’ll find prize pools in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, with growing popularity each year. FIFA is, perhaps, the most consistently popular of the three, as recent adjustments in Madden and 2K have caused strife among their player bases.
Fighting
Similar to sporting games, fighting-related titles have been around since the dawn of competitive gaming. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is, perhaps, the most popular fighting game on the planet due to its child-friendliness and overall simplicity. Mortal Kombat is much more adult with similar side-scrolling mechanics.
Gaming-Related Industries
Esports
If you told someone even just a few years ago that the best video gamers could end up going pro and make hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process, they wouldn’t believe you. This isn’t just a pipe dream anymore, either, it’s a reality for hundreds of the top gamers in Sweden and across the world.
The biggest teams in esports, including Team Liquid, Cloud9, and NRG have become household names with generational wealth. These competitions also dictate the popularity of new games.
Often, you’ll see developers move towards a competitive and arena-based play-style because of this.
Streaming
Websites like Twitch. tv has made it both viable and lucrative to pursue gaming as a profession. Outside of prize money from esports tournaments, these streaming sites offer partnerships that open the way to monthly subscribers and sponsorships.
That being said, more people are tuning into what upcoming multiplayer games will be a hit with their favorite personalities. The biggest streaming games in 2021 at the time of writing have been Valorant, Warzone, and Fortnite.
The Future
Mobile Integration
We’re on the go more than ever these days. Because of this, some of the more popular online games are mobile games. The best of those, however, is usually a mobile version of an already popular online game. Among Us, Hearthstone and Runescape 07 are all great examples of titles that began elsewhere and were ported to mobile devices.
VR & AR
As technology grows, so does the gaming industry. Two prime examples of this relationship are VR and AR. VR stands for Virtual Reality, which is the process of porting the human player into an entirely digital space. Popular iterations of VR games include Beat Saber. Alternatively, AR, or Augmented Reality, takes digital elements and brings them to the real world. The most popular AR game by far is Pokemon Go.
Conclusion
The future of gaming is brighter than it’s ever been. The rising popularity of esports competitions and streamers is also raising the pedigree of gaming in general. Millions of players across the globe celebrate the pastime for its attention to detail and ability to bring people together.