As every year, game industry news site GamesIndustry.biz asked several analysts for predictions about the global gaming market in 2023.
Here is a repost from my contribution to their article:
Prices will continue to rise
Not all studios have hiked prices to keep up with the rise of production and other costs in game development so far, but gamers are likely to see prices go up across the board in 2023. I believe this trend will not only affect individual AAA titles but also subscriptions and hardware, especially from Microsoft. If Nintendo doesn’t release new hardware, I expect Switch prices to remain stable this year, however.
Crypto will see actual games using top IP
Yes, Konami and Capcom have already sold NFTs based on Castlevania and Street Fighter, respectively. In 2022, I believe at least one big company will ignore the current crypto winter and try to finally marry NFTs or other crypto elements with a top IP in an actual game. Ubisoft failed to make NFTs palatable for fans of Ghost Recon early last year and there are big studios in Korea that have tried similar things with locally known titles, but I mean globally recognized IPs in this context. For that, I think prime candidates are some of the big Japanese video game studios.
Crypto might get another Axie Infinity moment
At its peak, digital pet simulation Axie Infinity had millions of active users, making it the first truly scaled blockchain game in history. There are thousands and thousands of creators worldwide working on new titles right now to prove crypto skeptics wrong. In 2023, we should see the first wave of next-generation blockchain-based games that boast a whole different level of quality and accessibility – one of which might become the “next Axie.” If not, I believe this will happen in 2024.
Recession will have little effect on gaming
Sure, the gaming industry in 2022 saw slightly smaller numbers when compared with 2021. However, I believe this is largely due to weakening corona effects and a smaller number of blockbusters last year – and not really because of a softer economy. In 2023, the gaming industry should continue to see relatively little effect on growth from a possible recession. I generally think there is only a small correlation between an economic downturn and the size of the gaming market in a given year. 2023 will likely be no different.
Bonus blockbuster prediction: It will all start with apples.
