The Rise of Social Gaming

What’s Behind the Rise of Social Gaming?

Games are no longer just games. They’ve become social outlets for younger generations looking to interact, socialize, and make new friends. Sure, the gameplay itself is still important, but it’s now more about the experience you have with other people. This is supported by a Deloitte survey, which discovered 40% of Gen Z and Millennials socialize more in video games than in real life. So, with young people officially using video games as a means to socialize, it’s led to a huge explosion in social gaming — an exciting trend that’s been around for a long time.

Social gaming has always been part of video game culture. However, it wasn’t until the late 2010s and early 2020s when it truly captured the attention of the world and reached a new level. There are several key factors behind this which are detailed right here.

1. Increased Smartphone Usage

According to Exploding Topics, global smartphone users increased by 73% from 2016 to 2021. Add on top of this the fact that 1.9 billion people now actively play games on their mobiles (making mobile the number one platform for gaming) and it becomes obvious why social gaming has increased. Simply put, more people now own smartphones and are using them as a way to connect with other gamers. And it’s very easy to do, too, as you can play social games pretty much anywhere you like as long as you have an internet connection, which is something that countless mobile gamers do every day.

2. More Social Casinos

Social casinos, which you can find through gambling comparison sites such as GambleUSA, continue to hit the internet every year. The biggest names include Chumba Casino, Stake, and WOW Vegas. What makes these types of casinos unique is that they’re focused on providing a social gaming experience to the user, from offering free-to-play casino games to allowing players to chat with each other. Pretty quickly, people have become obsessed with social casinos and what they have to offer, which is why the likes of Chumba Casino now have 1 million monthly players.

3. Social Media Games

Another big reason why social gaming has increased is because of social media games. Now, popular social media platforms like Facebook have added fun (and slightly addictive) mini-games to their libraries. Most of these games, such as 8 Ball Pool, allow players to chat and connect with each other, which is a huge part of the appeal.

At the same time, the games are also free, so people are naturally going to give them a try. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 20% of Facebook’s users started playing games on the site.

4. The COVID-19 Pandemic

Speaking of COVID-19, the 2020 pandemic is one of the main factors behind why social gaming is still booming to this day. While the pandemic was going on, millions of young people were stuck at home and locked down. So, what did they do to kill the time? Play social games. This way, they could keep themselves entertained while also remaining connected with friends. Specifically, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that 74.6% of people reported an increase in their gaming time during the first year of the pandemic, with many of them discovering social games that they still play several years later.

5. People Are Socializing Less

It’s no secret that lots of people are now socializing less, with a recent Newsweekpoll finding that 42% of Americans are “less sociable” compared to what they were in 2019. And because people aren’t going out to places as much, they’re using online social games to fill the gap.

Effectively, social games are becoming the new clubs and bars, where random people can come together and get to know each other. This is something that’s seen a lot in popular games like Pokémon GO and Minecraft.

6. Cross-Play Platforms

Finally, a big trend over recent years has been for developers to make their games cross-compatible. What this has meant is gamers on different platforms (e.g. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S) have been able to play with each other, like on Apex Legends. Unsurprisingly, this has led to a massive uptick in social gaming, as people’s demand for cross-play has finally been met.