upcoming epoch: 2025 marked as the turning point to reformulate gaming and online retail industries
2024 finds the video game industry grappling with an impossible challenge, reminiscent of a tough boss level.
Inflation has influenced consumers' spending habits, resulting in a decline in console and game sales, while development costs, market saturation, and fierce competition escalate for developers. Consequently, widespread layoffs occurred across the gaming sector, post-pandemic, as industry giants like Microsoft, Sony, and Discord trimmed staff to save costs. Hence, many companies adopted the mantra "Survive till 2025."
After years of struggling to maintain, the video game market is initiating a reset process, as per Mat Piscatella, a video game advisor at Circana. The year 2025 holds significant potential for growth, with promising releases such as the Nintendo Switch 2 and the much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI serving as a silver lining at the end of the tunnel.
Anticipation: Ties within the Community will Strengthen
Twitch's Diversity in Gaming and Livestreaming Report reveals that 89% of respondents believe gaming helps them connect with others who share common interests or backgrounds, while 81% believe that gaming has facilitated relationships they wouldn't have encountered otherwise in real-life scenarios. These statistics underline the unique social significance of gaming as a bridge for community-building, especially among diverse groups.
Recognizing this trend, Microsoft reintroduced two-way friend requests to Xbox, providing users with more ways to connect with new and existing friends.
Discord's growth, projected to hit nearly 689 million users by 2025, also signifies the platform's popularity as a community hub. With a staggering 19 million active servers in 2023, primarily populated by gamers, it remains the central platform for diverse groups to create safe spaces for social interaction.
These developments indicate that the gaming industry is gradually focusing on improving community features and fostering safer, more inclusive environments for players to connect and engage.
Anticipation: AI will significantly impact the Industry
A recent report from CVL Economics indicates that the gaming industry has already integrated generative AI into its processes more extensively than sectors like television, film, or music. The survey of 300 CEOs, executives, and managers also reveals that nearly 90% of video game companies have adopted generative AI tools for various uses.
CVL's report further states that "the gaming industry relies heavily—more so than other entertainment industries—on generative AI to perform tasks like generating storyboards, character designs, renders, and animations. In fact, as per some estimates, generative AI may contribute to over half of the game development process within the next five to ten years."
Retail-wise, marketplaces will also utilize AI to craft highly personalized customer journeys, from product discovery to checkout, delivery, and even returns and exchanges. By utilizing customer data, like browsing and purchase history, gaming marketplaces can deliver tailored recommendations that resonate with customers, boosting sales.
Anticipation: Marketplaces will broaden Payment Methods
While affordability remains crucial, how consumers can pay has become increasingly important in the overall video game shopping experience. According to PayPal, 77% of consumers would abandon their shopping carts if their preferred payment method wasn't available. This includes regional options.
Marketplaces must expand their accepted payment methods in the coming year. G2A.COM, for instance, has been developing global and market-specific payment options, such as Venmo, Boleto (Brazil), Bizum (Spain), and Sofort (Germany), and leveraging payment optimization tech through platforms like Forter to enhance and secure the checkout experience for users. This allows organizations to expand globally and gain the trust of local customers.
Anticipation: Nostalgia and Exclusivity will Drive Sales
Classic reboots, like Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, and GTA VI, will captivate the market in 2025, offering fans a high-definition experience while unveiling new content.
Furthermore, "early access" titles will enjoy significant focus. Not only does this approach allow developers to gather feedback and make adjustments before the official release date but also enables organizations to inflate prices within the e-commerce marketplace for those who desire early access to the full version. EA Sports College Football 25 attracted 2.2 million players before its official release.
Anticipation: User-Generated Content Games will Propel E-Commerce Growth
User-generated content games, like Roblox and Fortnite, will continue to thrive as platforms for independent game development through 2025. Roblox allows for the creation and distribution of games on a single platform for over 70 million users worldwide.
Aspiring developers can utilize the platform to receive quick feedback and refine their games based on user input in 2025, with Roblox planning to introduce more in-game commerce opportunities and revamped creator tools to boost monetization for at-home developers.
Interestingly, there's a growing preference for in-game currencies instead of physical games, especially among today's younger generations. A report from the Entertainment Association suggests that 29% of 10- to 17-year-olds asked for gifts like Roblox and Fortnite credits. They prefer investing their time in building their own worlds, characters, and games within the games.
Stepping into 2025, the sphere of video games is gearing up for a revamp, opening up fresh chances for creators, vendors, and enthusiasts. Our crew at G2A.COM is thrilled for another round of innovation, tech breakthroughs, community growth, and undoubtedly, introducing the highly anticipated releases of the new year.
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In the context of the given text, here are two sentences that contain the phrase 'Bartosz Skwarczek':
Bartosz Skwarczek, a video game analyst at Circana, echoes Mat Piscatella's sentiments about the market reset and the potential growth in 2025.
In their recent report, The Exclusive Technology Advisory Group, comprising tech leaders like Bartosz Skwarczek, discusses the impact of generative AI on the gaming industry.
