BITES // 10.05.23 // A NEW ERA OF GAMING
Every month we collect six of the best pieces of content published on the web and share them with you because we believe that the most extraordinary thinking is inspired by looking to unexpected places. BITES is a reading list for those who want to bring a little of the outside in.
OVERVIEW -
The gaming industry is thriving. 2023 has shown that it’s not just another year in gaming but instead is serving up the prospect of upending what we even consider games to be, look, and feel like. It’s being fueled by ever-changing trends that push the boundaries of technology and player expectations. Game developers and publishers are increasingly tapping into the potential of the Metaverse, and traditional boundaries are becoming blurred, such as between gaming and other forms of entertainment. We’re seeing a continued evolution of the gaming industry as gaming is gradually beginning to be discussed to a greater extent in mainstream circles.
1. RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA INFILTRATES GAMING
Russian propaganda is appearing in Minecraft and other popular games and discussion groups as the Kremlin tries to win over a new and younger audience. There have been more than a dozen instances of pro-Kremlin propaganda in Minecraft, Roblox, the Russian versions of World of Tanks and World of Warships, Fly Corp, Armored Warfare and War Thunder. In Minecraft, Russian players re-enacted the battle for Soledar, a city in Ukraine that Russian forces captured in January, posting a video of the game on their country’s most popular social media network, VKontakte. A channel on the Russian version of World of Tanks, a multiplayer warfare game, commemorated the 78th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in May with a recreation of the Soviet Union’s parade of tanks in Moscow in 1945. In June, celebrities, musicians and at least one Russian government official staged a concert on Minecraft celebrating Russia Day. On Roblox, a user created an array of Interior Ministry forces in June to celebrate the national holiday, Russia Day. Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, disclosed that the company’s security teams had identified recent Russian efforts “basically to penetrate some of these gaming communities.” The head of Microsoft’s threat analysis team, Clint Watts said that “the propaganda mainly seeks to make Wagner and the Russian military look cool and menacing.” It’s a tactic to get young people in Russia on board with the war and Russia’s political agenda.
2. ROBLOX LEANS INTO EXPERIENCES TO EXPAND INTERACTION
The word “game” has been replaced by “experience” across nearly the entire Roblox website. Roblox is now a massively popular experience creation tool allowing a variety of user-created projects on its platform that were previously grouped under a tab called “Games” on Roblox’s website. Roblox creators could create and manage “games” through an editor, and individual games had a user limit called “max players.” Roblox changed the game and the “Games” tab now reads “Discover”, while still directing users to roblox.com/games. With the new “Discover” tab though, developers can create and manage “experiences,” and experiences have “max people” allowed. Users don’t enter a single virtual world, instead they’re launched into individual experiences created by users that are being led by the popularity of indie games like Among Us and Stardew Valley. Many are looking for not just a game to win but a game that they can interact with on multiple levels to gain the full experience. Roblox has used the term “experience” in place of “game” before, and CEO David Baszucki called Roblox a “metaverse” rather than a gaming platform. Roblox is blurring the line between a large social game and a game engine or sales platform to create that full experience for players.
3. YOUTUBE BEATS TWITCH WITH TWEEN STREAMING
Precise TV and Giraffe Insights surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 13 and 17. According to the Precise Advertiser Report — Teens & Youth (PARTY), 93% of teens play video games. YouTube is the most popular platform for gamers with 82% watching live stream gaming on YouTube. TikTok came into second place with 65% of gamers watching content on the platform and Twitch ranked third on that axis with 34%. YouTube is the most common source for game recommendations among teens, driving 46% of recommendations. One of the reasons that YouTube is dominating is due to their sheer scale of content and technology. Twitch may cater to specific gaming niches, but YouTube has deep coverage of teen and parent-approved titles like Minecraft and Roblox. These young gamers are more likely to remember YouTube ads compared to ads on other platforms. YouTube is letting a select number of users play online games as part of a new experiment the platform is doing. The games will live in a new “Playables” section on YouTube’s home feed that can be accessed on both desktop and mobile. These games will show up alongside other content on the feed. They will appear in a user’s YouTube history, where they can also control your saved game progress.
4. NETFLIX WANTS TO GAMIFY AUDIENCES
Both narrative-focused games and titles based on existing Netflix properties are becoming a major focus. Netflix is rolling out a test of its cloud-gaming operations with a limited number of subscribers. It’s pitched as a test of both the platform’s tech and its recently announced mobile controller. Along with its new cloud-gaming technology Netflix announced a new line of narrative-driven experiences. These new experiences are called Netflix Stories: Love is Blind, a mobile game based on the popular Netflix reality show, where players can take on the role of a new contestant. The game has similar qualities to the existing title Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game, which Netflix says is one of its most popular games. The new series may be trying to solidify the streamer’s gaming strategy around popular IP to boost interactivity on the platform. Netflix says that more of these “Netflix Stories” titles are also in the works, including ones based on Money Heist and Virgin River. Netflix Stories label is a way for the streamer to give a more defined shape to its fledgling game service.
5. DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS BAN AI
D&D Beyond recently told artists that they cannot use artificial intelligence to develop images of magical beings. Fans were looking forward to a new D&D book but noticed an odd-looking giant that they discovered to have been created by a longtime artist using AI. Today’s AI-generated art often shows glitches which is what caught the eye of skeptical D&D fans. Creatives saying their work has been used to train AI systems without their consent. D&D artist Greg Rutkowski, who has made work for Dungeons & Dragons, has taken issue with their names being used as prompts for AI to generate art in their style. This isn’t the first time AI art has caused controversy when it comes to art and creativity. AI-generated artwork has been a cause of contention in the art world. The rise of text-to-image-based programs like DALL-E and Midjourney have caused copyright issues and ethical concerns.
6. THE NEXT BIG THEME IN GAMING, SPACE
Space and out-of-this-world content are what gamers are craving. Starfield, the long-awaited action role-playing game, officially launched on Xbox, Windows, and Steam. Starfield lets gamers explore over 1,000 real and fictional planets in one of the biggest stories ever told. Gamers can complete quests, build outposts, or simply frolic around the universe fighting or interacting with extraterrestrials using 3 million dialogue words. Starfield has such blockbuster potential that Microsoft bought Bethesda for $7.5 billion two years ago to ensure the celestial cacophony was available on its Xbox consoles. Microsoft spent $7.5 billion to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Elder Scrolls and Fallout studio Bethesda Softworks. With Starfield, Bethesda aims to nail the technical challenge of designing an expansive virtual world that’s realistic, engaging, and not glitchy.
TAKEAWAY-
The gaming industry has evolved tremendously since the arcade game days. The gaming industry is expected to continue to grow and evolve in the years to come, driven by new technologies, new games, and an increasing number of players around the world. The most significant impact that the evolution of gaming has had on our culture is its ability to inspire creativity and innovation. Developers are continuing pushing the boundaries of gaming, making it an even more significant and positive force in our culture. Where gamers are playing and interacting with games is showing a blurred line between entertainment and gaming and how the two are merging together.
