When we look at gaming in 2024, it is clear that it has been a weaker year than the last couple. In 2023 we had multiple games that could have won Game Of The Year and we will be seeing 2023’s influence on gaming for years to come. Unfortunately, this year has been weaker overall, not just for great games, good games are hard to come by this year too.
The gaming industry as a whole seems to be facing issues. But, why is that? What has happened in this year alone that has made gaming regress so much?
Well, it felt like most people who are interested in gaming knew this year would be a tough one for gaming purely because of how good 2023 was. However, this isn’t an excuse, we used to get consistently strong games year by year but the industry itself is losing steam and why is that?
The Jobs
I think something that is going under the radar in the gaming industry is the layoffs and jobs themselves. For the more avid gaming fans you may be aware of the issue, but for those who are more casual gamers, you may not know about the plethora of issues behind the scenes.
In 2022, the gaming industry saw a record amount of sackings with 8500 in the year. In 2023 this was increased by over 25% and now in 2024, we are seeing newer highs. In 2022 we could excuse the layoffs because COVID was still an issue. But now still, 2 years after 2022 and 4 after the initial start of the lockdowns, this excuse has run its course and questions need to be asked.
Why Is This An Issue?
You need to look at the gaming industry and realize that games are always in development and if you have a job in the industry, you will be needed for some reason. The constantly increasing sackings mean workers are being overrun with work and the workload is becoming too much, as well as this you have the issue of people not wanting to go into game development because of the lack of job security.
As of June 2024, we have seen 11 thousand workers lose their jobs, this is not sustainable for the gaming industry or a good look for the workers or the fans who love gaming.
Companies That Are Doing Well
An area of gaming that is still thriving and actually growing exponentially is the online casino industry. Particularly, the new niche of sweepstake casinos.
For those of you unaware, sweepstake casinos offer a sort of loophole for gambling in America because technically you aren’t wagering to win money, but in fact, virtual currency, which is later turned into cryptocurrency or fiat currency for you to be able to withdraw.
Future Coins
Sweepstakes are popping up everywhere these days, it’s really not difficult to find a new one that has so many exciting wagering options and games. In particular, we looked into Fortune Coins Casino at US review site WSN.com. They are having massive success in the industry right now with daily bonuses, sign-up bonuses and over 800 games for players new and old to enjoy which is attracting a huge amount of players to the site.
We have mentioned the stresses of working on multiple gaming titles today but employee-wise, there are no complaints about Future Coins and the fans love the game variation too. Starting with players who use Fortune Coins, we have briefly mentioned the Sweepstakes but these are a major success for Future Coins and a massive reason for their success.
So if a casino can work in harmony and keep players and employees happy, why can’t some major game developers do the same? I think the obvious difference here is the project size, casino games and video games are obviously different in size and outreach, but the amount of games that are being created adds another dimension to this.
A reason for the success is the lack of sackings in the betting industry compared to the gaming industry. The gaming industry seems to be slowly crumbling from the inside whereas betting as a whole is on the up and the more money being pumped into the betting industry, the better the user experience and the developers will also improve and have more money to make the games even stronger.
Naughty Dog
As well as Fortune Coins, you have Naughty Dog who is a leader in the gaming development industry. According to the site Glassdoor, over 83% of employees would recommend it to their friends and family which is a massive percentage considering the industry they are in. While a lot of people love working for Naughty Dog, there are obvious challenges that come with working there, like the long hours and the overtime which may prove difficult for people with kids.
The Game That Is Having Success
As I said earlier, one game that has been doing really well this year is Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. This new Elden Ring game has been the main game that has been loved this year, receiving 10s from multiple publications and having great success among players. But, it isn’t even a new game in itself.
The main negative of Shadow Of The Erdtree is the fact that it isn’t a standalone game in itself. It is an expansion of the already-loved Elden Ring game but it still adds new things, like final bosses.
When a DLC expansion is the best game of the year, you know for a fact that they are doing something right. If you are looking for a game and you are inexperienced in the Elden Ring series, we suggest playing it and experiencing one of the best of the last few years.
