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Online Gaming Trends to Watch in 2019

Online gaming has made great strides over the last five years, with 2018 being the biggest yet. As we enter 2019 it's time to ask where is it likely to come in the coming year? Are there any revolutions expected? Here are our predictions for the hottest trends to watch in 2019.

Mobile Gaming

With 77% of people in America owning a mobile device the coverage is higher than any console or PC. This means that mobile gaming has the potential to reach more people than any other gaming device on the planet. With a revenue that is almost as high as the GDP of Costa Rica, $65 billion is predicted for 2019, mobile gaming is an industry that brings in a lot of money.

So it comes as no surprise that 2018 was the year that gaming giants released mobile spin-offs of their PC mega hits. Epic Games, for example, released iOS and Android versions of Fortnite. The mobile game was so successful it made $15M on the first month after its iOS release.

2019 will surely see more mobile mega hits spin offs. Some examples include Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch and World of Warcraft, the popular racing game Project CARS and the first person shooter game PAYDAY.

Live Streaming

Live streaming has grown to huge levels in 2018 and is one of the major growth drivers of the global gaming industry. Twitch, the leading streaming platform, has more than 15 million daily active users and this number is only expected to grow in 2019. Live streaming platforms will try to use innovation to offer an improved, higher quality user experience in the year to come.

Online Gambling

Online gambling is a huge, lucrative industry. According to Statista it was worth more than $50 Billion in 2018 and is expected to continue growing in 2019. 2018 saw many new players enter the market, especially in regulated countries like the UK. Land based casino giants continue their expansion to the online market. Winstar World Casino, for example, one of the largest casinos in the US, launched an online activity in the UK in 2018. The Winstar Online Casino offers popular casino games, and the innovative live online casino.

2019 will see the online gambling industry leverage the latest technology trends like VR and live streaming to attract new customers and retain existing ones

Augmented Reality

Pokémon GO is possibly the most famous augmented reality game and is expected to launch some new updates to ensure that it will keep going strong for a while yet. Some new AR games will be released later this year, with the hope of duplicating its success. Interesting examples are Zombies Everywhere where you will fight dangerous zombies while walking down the street and Father.io, which is a laser tag MMO.

Virtual Reality

The Oculus Rift virtual reality system came into its own in 2018 with some great titles and it doesn’t look like slowing down in 2019. Stormland is an open world shooter due for release in 2019. It offers some excellent features that use the VR tech in a really innovative way, like reloading and upgrades. It also includes a procedurally generated game area to make sure that every playthrough is different. Lone Echo 2 is another title that takes VR gaming to the next level. With photo realistic graphics, a great story and the promise of exciting gameplay it is one of the most anticipated releases of the year on any platform. Both games should offer the promise of online play which will put you right in the driving seat of an immersive online gaming experience.