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As we look forward to the 2022 holiday season and the first half of 2023, four trends in particular look set to shape the coming year in the gaming industry.
More Console Availability
Supplies of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series have been severely constrained by supply chain issues and the worldwide chip shortage since they launched at the end of 2020. The Nintendo Switch has also been hit by these problems, causing Nintendo to forecast a 10% drop in sales.
While the chip shortage is expected to last until 2024, the shortage of new consoles should ease in time for Christmas, with Sony projecting 18 million PS5 shipments in the next fiscal year despite the ongoing issues.
More New Titles
2022 has already been a fantastic year for new game launches, including the mega-hit Elden Ring as well as Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. The second half may not be quite as exciting, especially with Starfield, Redfall, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 delayed. But there’s still plenty to look forward to, including Gotham Knights, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Splatoon 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and God of War Ragnarok.
The first half of 2023 should be just as good, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, Redfall, and Starfield finally released, as well as Dead Space and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
More Indie Market Growth
The indie gaming market went from strength to strength during the pandemic, in part because of the rise of free-to-play platform Roblox, which over half of all US children now use to play and socialise. This trend looks set to continue.
The ongoing success of the Switch, which often dominates in terms of sales share of the indie games market, plus the competition between PC and console games, means indie developers have never had more ways to distribute and sell games. The big three consoles are also spotlighting indie releases via Nintendo’s Indie World showcases, Xbox's ID@Xbox scheme, and Sony’s State of Play events.
More Pushback Against Bad Practices
Recent scandals, including accusations of abusive management, harassment, discrimination and threats of violence at high profile game developers and publishers have led to gamers and the media pushing back against some of the industry's most harmful practices, like crunch, harrassment in studios and predatory microtransactions aimed at children. This should motivate other companies to clean up their act.