The gaming industry has been one of the fastest-growing fields in the global economy. The key reasons for this development are its wide appeal (from preschoolers to pensioners), device availability, and affordability.
As the mobile market will keep growing throughout the 2020s, more people will turn into gamers.
Still, various restrictions have been imposed on certain categories of online games.
This article explains why gamers are turning to less restrictive gaming and how it benefits their playing habits.
Players Embarking on Flexibility
Digital natives and Zoomers are less inclined to waste their time in online surroundings. Born and raised in front of various screens, they know exactly what they want from their digital experiences.
Translated to the context of video games, both gamers and iGamers in 2024 are and will be keen on flexible, liberating options.
They want their games available in different places, on various devices, with a multitude of gaming features in front of their eyes.
Game producers follow these desires and build games available on the go, on the sit, and in between. For instance, if you’re a 25-year-old gamer, you’re in a better situation than any other player of video games in history. You can switch on your gaming console or computer in the comfort of your home and play your nights away.
There are also various handheld consoles to feed your gaming hunger.
Then you can indulge in retro games, in brick-and-mortar arcade playrooms, via consoles, or online, on websites.
Speaking of websites, iGamers also enjoy a diversity of options for exciting gaming, being able to choose from the best casinos not on GamStop and slake their playful thirst (yes, we said slake, but stake would be more appropriate).
The fewer restrictions, the happier the players; hence, game producers should go and tear those limits apart.
Cross-platform Gaming Enhancements
Flexible and free gaming doesn’t only mean that players can access their games from multiple devices.
It also refers to the technical compatibility of numerous platforms that gamers come with and the different contexts they come from.
Let’s say you’re based in Kuala Lumpur, and you adore to play Fortnite on your laptop. There’s your gaming buddy in Johannesburg with the same affection for this game. This person plays it on their mobile phone.
And then, there’s another Fortniter, sitting in their living room in Baltimore, playing this game on PS4.
You all can play the multiplayer mode because of the technical upgrades that have advanced the gaming industry in the last decade or so.
Without cross-platform gaming enhancements, which have improved the playing experience of device-diverse global gamers in the last few years, such unique gaming sessions wouldn’t be possible.
In-Game Purchases Affecting User Experience
If pleasant gaming could be summarized in a single syntagm, it would most likely be ease of use.
No matter if a video game is a simple retro arcade or a cutting-edge sequel of a 21st-century bestselling game, players appreciate smooth flow.
That’s why testing is a vital aspect of every game development process. Once the developers, designers, and testers, determine the hierarchy of bugs, they can act accordingly and minimize the risk of launching a buggy game.
But bugs aren’t the only itchy thing about seamless UX experience in (i)games. In-game purchases have become a real nuisance for many players. They have a two-fold (negative) impact on the gaming flow.
On the one hand, they stop you from reaching the next level until you’ve made a payment. On the other hand, they often force you to leave the game and enter your payment card or digital wallet information. As such purchases are most common for mobile games, many players actually abandon such apps, never to come back.
So, game producers are already considering other payment options, especially for mobile gamers (think pre-app purchases, post-play checks, subscriptions, etc.)
Region-Free Games Growing
Not long ago, many websites and video games relied heavily on geolocation, restricting access to their games to potential players from certain locations.
As cybersecurity technology has grown and those brands have opened their branches in various parts of the world, region-free gaming is on the rise.
In those times of yore (a ten-year period in the digital industry might just seem yore), the guys we mentioned above couldn’t possibly play a multiplayer game together legally. Luckily, today we’re witnessing a tremendous shift in region-blocking, as new markets for video and mobile games are swiftly growing.
Of course, some game producers and (i)gaming platforms still use those restrictions for various reasons. But there are various solutions that help gamers jump over the fence and enjoy gaming in the free world with their digital comrades. For instance, gamers utilize the power of VPN to be recognized as a domestic IP, while iGamers turn to restriction-free platforms to try their luck.
Video games and other online games are supposed to be fun and joy. So, only gaming without restrictions is playful gaming. For all the reasons above, players around the world are turning to border-free gaming, keeping their game engines roaring.
