9 Gaming Predictions for 2022 From Experts Across the Internet

By Harry Guinness

2021 was a great year for the video game industry, with games like “Deathloop,” “Forza Horizon 5” and “Metroid Dread” dropping—even though the latest consoles are still hard to get your hands on. 2022, though, looks set to be even better.

1. Gaming will continue to grow

This year, the games console turns 50—the Magnavox Odyssey was released in 1972—but, according to the analysts at Deloitte, we shouldn’t expect any “midlife slump.”

As supply issues get ironed out, it’s likely that millions more people will be able to buy a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S without having to deal with stock problems, digital queues and scalpers. It’s going to be an exciting time to be a gamer.

2. There will be lots of new great games

It always takes a few years for game developers to take advantage of a new generation of consoles, so 2022 looks set to be a year where we’ll see a lot of great games coming out for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Nintendo Switch.

GamesRadar+ has a full roundup of trending video games we can look forward to, but I’m particularly excited for:

• “Rainbow Six Extraction”
• “Elden Ring”
• “Saints Row”

Screenrant even goes so far as to say it could be the best year for video gaming since 2011.

3. And more exclusives

We’ll also start to see more exclusive games, which always define a games console generation. Sony is a little further ahead of things than Microsoft at the moment, but it remains to be seen how the Xbox manufacturer buying a host of popular studios like Bethesda (“The Elder Scrolls” series), Arkane (“Dishonored” series) and Id Software (“Quake” and “Doom” series) plays out.

Nintendo, of course, always absolutely kills it with exclusives featuring its popular franchises like Zelda, Mario and Pokémon.

Some of the exclusives you can look forward to are:

For PlayStation 5:

• “Gran Turismo 7”
• “Horizon Forbidden West”
• “God of War Ragnarök”

For Xbox Series X and Series S:

• “Starfield”

For Nintendo Switch:

• “Pokémon Legends: Arceus”
• “Kirby and the Forgotten Land”
• “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2”

4. And more classic games

Remasters of classic games have been a trend for a few years now, and it shows no signs of stopping. Some of the old games we’re likely to see re-released for the latest consoles are:

• “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic”
• “Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection” (it includes “Uncharted 4: A Thieves End” and “Uncharted: Lost Legacy”)
• “Dead Space”
• “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”

5. The metaverse will be a thing

As poorly defined as “the metaverse” is, it has its roots in gaming. Persistent 3D worlds where avatars wander around, attend concerts and hang out with their friends? Are we talking about “Minecraft,” “Fortnite” or Facebook’s take on the metaverse?

Many insiders, like Activision executive Jonathan Stringfield, think this overlap is going to continue into 2022 with marketers and technologists embracing gaming concepts.

6. And so will NFTs and crypto games

We’re also likely to hear a lot about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in games and even “crypto games,” including play-to-earn crypto games where you’re awarded tokens just for playing. This, however, is most likely to be an abstract conversation, rather than something that affects regular gamers.

As Jason Schreier at Bloomberg explains, most blockchain or NFT-based ideas for games can already be done with existing technology. Fans have already pushed back at NFT announcements from studios like Ubisoft when they don’t feel they add to the gaming experience.

Stringfield reckons 2022 will be the year when crypto fans have to prove the technology can help gamers, rather than just be a marketing buzzword.

7. E-sports will keep going mainstream

2022 is going to be a huge year for e-sports, and it’s going to keep growing in popularity, at least according to Tyler Gallagher, founder and CEO of Team 33. More companies like Amazon, NASCAR and Doritos are sponsoring teams, and it’s just getting bigger around the world.

Gallagher says, “Like pro wrestling in the 1980s, rap music in the 1990s and online gaming in the 2000s, e-sports have finally gone from an underground movement to mainstream pop culture adoption over the past decade.” It’s really exciting.

8. And it will be easier to game anywhere on any device

Gaming is also going to get less device dependent.

Stringfield figures that the lines between mobile gaming and traditional gaming will continue to blur as smartphones get more capable and cloud gaming takes off. This will allow you to subscribe to a game subscription service and play graphically intense console or PC games from anywhere on any device—as long as you have a strong internet connection. This means you’ll be able to start a game on your TV at home, keep playing on your smartphone when you’re out and about, then pick it up again on your laptop! It’s really the future of gaming.

9. The internet gets more important

Gaming is incredibly dependent on the internet, and it’s only going to get more so.

Not only are many of the best games online, multiplayer only (which require a strong internet connection like fiber to make the most of) but games are increasingly being downloaded instead of bought in shops.

If you’ve got a slow or data-capped connection, you’re going to miss out in 2022. Plan accordingly!

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