Tech Giants Enter The Gaming World — What’s Next For Game Developers?
Hugely successful companies such as Netflix, TikTok, Amazon, and even Zoom have set their sights on building video games. Many more have expressed an interest in experimenting in this field in the past few months.
Video games, in different forms, are slowly but surely becoming part and parcel of our digital lives. While Zoom offers a round of poker and trivia to its users, Peloton, a fitness equipment brand, recently launched an interactive feature that gamifies riding a stationary bike. With these offerings, companies are not only attempting to increase engagement but are also redefining ‘games’ as we know them.
What does this mean for game developers, and how will these new entrants determine the future of gaming? These are some of the crucial questions doing the rounds in online forums and communities.
The Challenge
Undeniably, these behemoths have a sizable online presence, which gives them a significant boost over small mobile game development companies and independent developers.
Take Netflix, for instance. It has more than 214 million paid subscribers, which means that its player acquisition costs are going to be lower than that of conventional stand-alone mobile gaming apps. For now, its subscription model also ensures that it doesn’t have to fall back upon in-app purchases to generate revenue. Moreover, as we have witnessed, it also uses its games to boost interest around its series offerings.
At first glance, this may seem to be a massive problem for game app developers. However, their entry also opens up windows to opportunities that were, until recently, left untapped.
Game development companies will have to constantly innovate and push the boundaries of creativity to keep users engaged. In addition to this, we may also see exciting collaborations between game development companies and OTT platforms/tech companies to make in-app gamification possible.
Games will witness a major upheaval in terms of their gameplay, design, conceptualization, and overall look. We may also see different monetization strategies come into play in the next few months so that gaming companies can remain profitable.
The future of gaming definitely revolves around collaborations. Netflix, too, has plans to join forces with small studios to expand its library of games. Such companies have access to resources that can help developers bring finesse to their ideas and bring them effortlessly to market. In such a bustling game development environment, we will also see the creation of multiple SDKs that have the potential to make game creation simpler.
Conclusion
For gaming companies, the need of the hour is to stress on coming up with rich gaming experiences and focus on community building. Phonato Studios is doing just that. With mobile gaming apps that have witnessed over 10 million downloads, it has worked with several clients to develop games that engage and entertain. As the landscape witnesses a remarkable revolution, the company has creative innovation as its core mission to stay strong and emerge as a market leader!