eGaming Meets Social Gaming: The Latest Industry Trend

It’s an exciting time for the gaming industry. Simply put, there’s a lot going on. PC gaming is huge: everybody knows this. The same applies to mobile gaming, with there currently being 2.2 billion mobile gamers around the world. But one of the biggest trends of them all has been the rise of social gaming, a new trend that has been shaking up the industry since 2020. Back when the global COVID-19 pandemic was raging, millions of people around the world embraced social gaming and have stuck with it ever since. If you’re wondering what it’s all about and how social gaming actually works, this guide is going to give you a complete rundown.

Social Gaming: How It Works

Social gaming refers to online games that are heavily focused on social interaction. These types of games will typically feature multiplayer modes, chat options, leaderboards, and community-building elements. Ultimately, it creates a ‘shared’ gaming experience where players feel part of something genuinely worthwhile.

Why Social Gaming Has Become So Popular

The Growing Number Social Casinos

The incredible increase in the number of players using social casinos has helped social gaming grow beyond belief. In a nutshell, these are just like regular online casinos. The twist is that they encourage players to interact with each other, climb casino game leaderboards, and try to win prizes. Think of it more as a ‘party’ type experience compared to what regular casinos offer people. Impressively, the likes of Chumba Casino, Stake.us, and WOW Vegas have all been able to attract millions of users each off the back of this, so it’s proving to be a concept that players genuinely enjoy.

Here’s what Jon from industry leading site sweepskings.com had to say about it:

“Social and sweepstakes casinos have skyrocketed over the past few years. They’re seriously popular now and it’s created a whole new type of dynamic in the wider gaming industry. Instead of playing traditional video games all the time, people are now more interested in signing up with social casinos and similar sites. All of the games on there are free and there’s a genuine chance to win real prizes whenever you play. From a player’s perspective, it’s no-brainer, especially if you’re someone who enjoys games like slots and roulette.”

Moving forward, the social casino trend is set to continue throughout the rest of the decade. During this time, it’s going to be a huge driving force behind social gaming as a whole, so watch this space if you’ve yet to join one. If you haven’t already, you’ll probably be encouraged to join one in the near future.

Cross-Platform Play

Cross-platform play is key to the current success of social gaming. For years, people had been complaining about the lack of cross-platform games on the market. PlayStation, Xbox, and PC users were all becoming increasingly annoyed that they couldn’t play against each other, so it was inevitable that cross-platform play would finally start to materialize in the mid-2010s. Rocket League, Minecraft, FIFA, and lots of other popular franchises started to incorporate cross-play features into their games. Flash forward to today and cross-platform is now standard across most major gaming platforms, affording players the opportunity to mix and match with players using different devices than them.

The Free-to-Play Model

Most of today’s social games are free, especially on mobile. What this done is knock down entry barriers and make games easily accessible for the average player. They can hit the download button for free, start playing in a matter of minutes, and don’t have to worry about splashing cash. For them, it’s a win-win, which is why social game player numbers are currently through the ceiling. Pokemon Go, Clash of Clans, CS2, League of Legends, Apex Legends — these are just some of the big-hitters that don’t require a single penny to play. And when you factor in the cost-of-living crisis, it makes perfect sense why players are jumping at the opportunity to play them.

Social Media Integration

Social gaming is extremely popular on platforms like Facebook, where games like Candy Crush Saga are free to play. These games are integrated with the platforms themselves, so it’s easy for players to invite their friends, play against strangers, and climb up leaderboards. Compared to playing by yourself, it’s much more entertaining for the average player. This is why the likes of Facebook are expected to keep adding new games to their sites over the coming years as more and more people start to take part in the social gaming movement.

Streaming and Influencer Culture

The rise of streaming platforms like Kick and Twitch have had a positive impact on the wider social gaming market. Viewers all around the world tune into these streaming sites, see the games that the streamers are playing, and then download them themselves. Whenever a big streamer like xQc or KaiCenat play a social video game, it has a huge influence on the audience and typically gets them to go and try it. If you were to remove streamers and influencers from the internet entirely, then the social gaming scene would be nowhere near as strong as it is today, highlighting just how important these internet figures are.

The Bottom Line

Nobody ever knows for certain what the future will be when it comes to gaming. However, one thing we can say for sure is that social gaming is here to stay. Over the next decade, free-to-play social games will continue to dominate the charts, from mobile app stores to PC and console. There’s also going to be a growing number of people who use games exclusively for the social interaction elements, whether it’s chatting with random players or competing in the race up different leaderboards.