It's been a great year for video games, with the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur's Gate 3 shocking players. But in the year 2023 also brought several seismic changes to the industry itself, which shook the gaming world in both good and bad ways.
From mass layoffs to Microsoft swallowing Activision Blizzard and the reality of generative AI tools, 2023 has left an impact for years to come. Here are some of the biggest gaming stories this year.
Table of Contents
ToggleMicrosoft adds Activis
A year and a half effort to find the Xbox giant call of duty Publisher Activision Blizzard finally pushed the regulatory barriers and it was It ended this fallMicrosoft offers another great collection to add to its list of studios and gaming IPs.
Through 68.7 billion dollar deal, Microsoft now owns Activision itself, Blizzard Entertainment, mobile studio King, and all of their various groups. Along with Call of Duty, Xbox now controls huge franchises like Diablo, Candy Crush, Warcraft and Overwatch. This is based on IP that Microsoft has recently acquired, including Minecraft and the Elder Scrolls.
Microsoft has agreed to keep Call of Duty on competing consoles for the next 10 years, but the fate of other franchises remains to be seen. Xbox users should benefit as various Activision Blizzard games should hit Xbox Game Pass before long, but other console owners could see fewer releases in the coming years as Microsoft continues to consolidate.
Xbox roadmap leaks
This is good news for Microsoft. The bad news is that confidential documents uploaded as part of the SEC's failed attempt to stop the Activist deal were accidentally released to the public. Ruining Microsoft's Big Xbox Plans For the next several years.
It's no surprise that Microsoft is already thinking ahead to its next Xbox console, but now we have some details on how the tech giant is thinking about the hardware. It's the next-gen Xbox. It is expected to be released in 2028 And feature a hybrid cloud model using local hardware capabilities and cloud computing to produce more powerful experiences. And a slide in the spilled ship He suggested a potential crypto wallet for Xboxin order to That's what he said.It's a surprising twist.
The slides suggest refreshed current-gen Xbox hardware in 2024, including a disc-less Series X model and a more efficient Series S revision. Both will have more storage than on-board models, improved monitors and faster Wi-Fi capabilities.
It puts destructive industry out of business.
Gaming as a phenomenon is not fading. Even so, 2023 turned out to be a difficult year for many people making games, approx 9,000+ developers are out of a job. This year from big and small studios. Almost every major publisher and studio has suffered layoffs this year Epic games and Riot Games to Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard.
Some appear to have been acquired due to ever-changing trends in the industry, while others have been given to “right-sized” teams after over-recruiting following the pandemic lockdown, which has increased demand for games. Broader economic headwinds have also played a role, and almost no tech sector is immune from such shifts—but the industry built around entertainment and entertainment will be woefully underwhelming for many creators in 2023.
AI is coming – and gamers hate it
In the year Another reason for the decline in 2023 could be the rise of generative AI tools, although it is not clear at this time how many jobs will be affected by such developments. In a separate example, Studio Mindark has announced layoffs When he says he accepts AI tools To reduce costs, but there have not yet been many such obvious changes.
Still, there is growing fear in the industry that AI tools will make some current gaming jobs unnecessary and reduce the cost of creating programs for skilled professionals. Major publishers such as Ubisoft, Microsoft and Blizzard They are using AI tools Hoping to help people make better games more efficiently, but cost concerns persist.
Many players complained loudly About games developed using AI toolsAnd Pushed back on companies (such as Microsoft) have announced such plans. What is not clear is the extent to which this defensive posture can affect jobs and creators, and how hostile it is to technological change, as seen in NFTs and crypto tokens. But now it's the disdain surrounding AI in the game.
GTA 6 is finally official.
Grand Theft Auto 5 launched over a decade ago and continues to be one of the best-selling games across three different console generations. of course There was supposed to be another game in the open world series, but Rockstar Games hasn't announced it yet. however, In the year Some major leaks in 2022 He explained in advance what to expect.
Earlier this month, Rockstar finally announced The first official Grand Theft Auto 6 trailerIt features another popular crime game that takes cues from TikTok and streaming culture while increasing immersion (and chaos). And yet again, Rockstar was pre-empted by Licker, who shared the trailer a day earlier Printing “Buy BTC” on it.
We'll see if Rockstar can keep the game under wraps before its 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Apple Vision Pro revealed
After years of speculation and hints, Apple has finally revealed: The tech giant is indeed working on a mixed reality headset. of Apple Vision Pro In the year Set to launch in early 2024, it combines virtual reality and augmented reality into one ultra-high-end headset… with a hefty asking price of $3,499.
Undoubtedly, Apple is targeting early adopters before offering a cheaper and sleeker successor aimed at a wider audience. Surprisingly, Apple did not He has shown his hand so far. When it comes to gaming on the Vision Pro, however, gaming has never been one of Apple's main focuses. Still, we expect developers to be eager to adopt this high-end headset to create new immersive experiences.
Invariant and polygon group together
In a move that will help streamline Web3 gaming in the coming years, crypto gaming startup Immutable has announced a partnership with Ethereum A large-scale network creator Polygon To power a new Ethereum gaming network It is called immutable zkEVM.
Instead of fighting for game developers and users, the two prominent crypto startups are teaming up on Polygon's zkEM-powered gaming network, and we've seen a list of game creators committed to building on the network. Immutable One of the most popular names in the blockchain game, and quickly becoming one of the newest. Passport bag It's designed to simplify onboarding and identity sharing across games. In 2024 we will get a stronger sense of how important this move could ultimately be for the crypto and NFT games.
The problems of sportsmanship only grow
Like the wider gaming industry, the shipping space itself is coming into consideration of late. The industry saw a spike in interest and viewership at the beginning of the pandemic, which saw a decline in live sports, but the buzz eventually died down. On top of that, most of the crypto sponsorship money who entered the industry In the year In 2022 he left after the FTX crash. Now companies are finding ways to cut costs and stay afloat through industry shifts.
“Everyone in esports is at war,” said Marco Mereau, founder and CEO of Team M80. They spoke DecryptThis fall GG. And that war is survival.
Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League, originally one of the most hyped esports startups, has collected hundreds of millions of dollars in team franchise fees. It is effectively dead When the publisher changes the style for the next year. Meanwhile, the popular game org Faze Clan was released in 2015. A $725 million SPAC deal is up for sale in 2022. Only 17 million dollars this fallAfter performing horribly as a publicly traded company.
Can some of the high-profile teams and leagues ship in 2024 after a tough season this year? There's a passionate fan base and top-level pro players, but even after all these years, the space is still figuring out how to make money and be sustainable.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
