Online gaming is massive. According to statistics on the website of consumer and market data company Statista, in 2020, the worldwide online gaming market generated around $21.1 billion, which was 21.9% growth compared to the year before.
There are an estimated 1 billion online gamers worldwide. China, Japan and South Korea have the biggest online gaming audiences. Experts predict that, in 2025, online gaming audiences will shoot past the 1.3 billion mark.
This post is a look at live gaming and game streaming, discussing the popularity of live gaming, some of the best games out there to stream and also some of the best game streaming services.
The popularity of live gaming
You don’t necessarily have to play a video game to enjoy it, as platforms such as Twitch have illustrated. In fact, this niche has exploded. In the first quarter of 2021, a total of 8.8 billion hours of video gaming was watched worldwide, which was up from 3.6 billion hours two years before.
Then in quarter three of 2021, according to Statista, a combined total of more than 5.79 billion hours were watched on Twitch. On YouTube Gaming Live, fans notched up 1,131 billion and, on Facebook, fans contributed some 1,293 billion hours of their time to watching others play video games online.
Part of the reason it’s become so popular is that the personalities who stream the games are brands themselves. These influencers stay on top of the trends in game and help their fans to do the same. The fans want to hear their views and opinions. They trust them. Not only this, but they can pick up gaming tips as well.
Some of the best live games to play
The video gaming and online gaming market is highly competitive, which means there are some fantastic titles out there as companies battle to win players. They work on graphics, gameplay and more to entice fans and retain them. Here are some of the best games to play online:
Live casino games
Casino gaming is highly competitive. One form that has really caught fire has been live casino gaming, as operators strive to recreate the land-based casino experience as closely as possible to attract new players. The live casino experience sets the player up with a live dealer who leads the game from a studio and has become an increasingly popular way of playing casino games online. The operator allows the fan to stream the game into their home so that they can play in real time. With there being a large number of live casino operators online, many casino providers offer promotions to help attract the players to play at their site rather than a competitor. The best online providers will also offer a range of live casino games, roulette and blackjack are just some of the many options available.
Dead by Daylight
“Dead by Daylight” has a Friday the 13th-esque feel about it. One player is the killer, and their task is to sacrifice as many victims as possible. The other players are the Survivors, and their job is to evade the killer’s clutches. Straightforward really, but whereas Friday the 13th focuses on Jason Vorhees, “Dead by Daylight” mixes things up by featuring a variety of murderers.
PlayersUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBS)
PUBS is one of the games that really kickstarted the battle royale genre. Whereas other battle royale games have gone for a more cartoonish aesthetic, however, PUBS has stayed closed to reality. The shrinking safe zone, the large map and the option for 100 players all to be out there at once fighting until they’re the last man standing have made this game a huge hit. It’s a timeless classic.
Tetris 99
This game is basically a Tetris battle royale. Every time you clear two lines, these are sent to a player that is close to death in the game, close to victory or to players who are attacking you. It’s a unique take on the original game, which in itself was highly entertaining when it came out.
Best streaming services
Streaming has become so popular and that means that there are lots of different streaming services out there now. Below are some of the best:
Nvidia Ge Force Now
If you already game on a PC, this is one of the best game streaming services around. The service is different to Sony’s PlayStation Now, which provides a library of curated games to play. Ge Force allows you to stream games you already own across different platforms such as Steam, Epic Games, Uplay and other stores.
A library of games comes pre-installed on Nvidia’s servers. You can stream them instantly, not only on PC, but Mac, mobile, Chromebook and Nvidia’s Shield TV alongside iOS and Android devices. Nvidia’s own GeForce GPUs render the games remotely.
Xbox Game Pass
This service, as part of the Ultimate subscription, offers you a gargantuan library for Xbox and PC gaming, plus exclusive member discounts and deals, access to EA titles, the Gold service and more. Microsoft are adding new titles all the time, so you’ll always have plenty of choice when it comes to deciding what to play. The service is available on Windows and on dedicated Android apps. It’s also possible to stream the service on some web apps on iOS.
Live gaming is immensely popular, with players meeting online to take part in battle royales and more, and fans following their favourite gamers online on platforms such as Twitch. It’s all about community and interaction. People can share a common experience and pick up tips along the way. It’s an exciting time for gaming. A very exciting time, indeed.
