The online games industry has seen consumer engagement skyrocket in recent years. Not only has the number of people playing the games gone up, but they are also now reaching much more diverse demographics.
One reason for the boom has been an increase in the number of providers and platforms offering gaming over the internet. From bingo to casino games, almost any kind of gaming you could want is available online now.
That means more people are finding games they like to play in their spare time. These platforms and providers have also improved their security, so people feel less worried about making the online payments that some games require.
Not all of the games that are available in 2024 are equal in popularity online though. There are some that lead the way.
Online Gaming: The Numbers
That gaming online is big business is something that cannot be disputed. The number of people worldwide who play video games is estimated to be 3.03 billion and 2.82 billion of them are playing over the internet.
The profits made by the gaming industry last year stood at $176.06 billion and a significant percentage of that came from people playing games online. Mobile gaming – which in many cases is an offshoot of the online games sector – is also the fastest growing segment of the games industry.
It is notable though that the games chosen by online gamers and those picked by console gamers are often very different.
The Popular Online Game Types
Most of the big action, adventure and role-playing video games are released for PCs as well as consoles. PCs are the less popular device for playing lengthy, complex games of that sort though, suggesting they are not what is driving the rise of online gaming.
Instead it is being fuelled by games that can be played much more quickly, such as puzzle games, online bingo and slots. Slot games in particular do very well among online casino users and a slot such as Starburst has become a long-running hit.
Slot games are the casino options that bring the most players to the sites by far, but certain ones stay popular for longer than usual. Starburst is one of them and there are a number of features of the game that account for that.
One of those is its highly colorful theme that makes for a bright and attractive appearance on a computer or mobile screen. It has a theme of outer space and visuals that combine the HD quality of a modern online slot with the retro vibe of the sort of fruit machine that would have been played in a games arcade.
The reel icons are sparkling precious jewels of different colors and it makes for a mesmerizing visual experience. The fact that Starburst has remained such a big game for so long is not just due to this aesthetic appeal though. It also has many of the other elements that go into making a successful online slot.
They include a higher than average return to player (96.09%), healthy 500x the bet jackpot and a mobile version. When we examine the figures for online gaming we see that mobile play makes up the biggest sub-sector of that consumer base.
In all, approximately 60% of the total number of people who play games online do so using a mobile phone. Therefore the slot games that have lasted the course tend to be ones that are available in that format.
Starburst is certainly not the only slot to have achieved lasting popularity. Others include the Cleopatra slot and Gates of Olympus. Another noticeable part of many of these games is that they feature tech elements that increase the chances for a player to win.
In the case of Starburst that is the Win Both Ways feature that means matching lines of reel icons can come from right to left, as well as left to right. In other cases it is things like Cascading Reels or Megaways tech. The point is that these features make the games more attractive over the long run.
Online Gaming Future
The two likeliest trends when we look to the future of online gaming are ever-greater demographic diversity and mobile gaming getting bigger. At the moment, the gaming stats indicate a 55%-45% split between men and women, but that gap is expected to narrow further.
The rise of people playing online games using mobiles will help that to happen. It is women who are behind the success of mobile games like Candy Crush Saga and they are recognized as enthusiastic mobile players.
Online gaming has risen to popularity at an incredible pace and there is no sign whatsoever of that slowing down in years to come.