We would have never imagined that we will be living amid mankind’s prime nemesis – a pandemic. The pandemic has tossed industry over industry in to its undying grasp and many industries have begun to suffer. The list goes on from the real-estate sector to the entertainment industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted cinemas, to-be Hollywood blockbusters were delayed and varied other sectors were impacted worldwide.

The gaming industry is no different. It couldn’t escape from the pandemic’s clutches however, despite the challenges first, the gaming realm managed to adapt to it. In fact, it has not only adapted to it but since millions of people are staying indoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s only logical for most of them to resort to gaming or to streaming services. After all, at a time where going outdoors becomes impossible and other entertainment mediums are shunned, these two forms of digital entertainment remain intact.

Do we have any proof for it or are you thinking it’s merely our hypothesis? Well we do have proof. As of March 15, 2020 twenty-million players were active on Steam, that too concurrently. This is a record Steam has never made and amid the pandemic, gamers staying indoors worked in favor of the video game distribution service.

Now let’s shift our outlook on video game sales. According to NPD Group, in May 2020, 52% more Americans spent on video games, gaming equipment and software than the May of 2019. The sales of video game consoles and related equipment faced a 67% surge and gamers in the U.S. spent a good $977 million on video games alone. These aren’t small figures. This colossal amount of revenue is what the U.S. gaming industry was able to achieve in May 2008 when $1.2 billion of worth income was generated via video game sales.

Despite the dilemma COVID-19 has put many industries through, the gaming industry is still thriving in many ways. Of course, challenges are faced, as well but the masterminds behind AAA titles and globally renowned video game studios are helping bring comfort to gamers worldwide.

The Challenges Faced

One major shortcoming faced by not only the video game industry but varied other industries that are also distressed because of it is remote work. Video game studios that have conferred us with AAA titles and classic franchises have a lot of production, development and designing going on. If every department is shoved towards remote working, one can only speculate the number of challenges a studio can possibly face.

The adverse effects of it? Delay in video game releases and production. The pandemic has compelled studios to either push back the games’ intended launch dates or game development has been halted. Despite this issue still not fully resolved yet, games like The Last of Us Part II and Final Fantasy VII Remake which had their release dates delayed were finally launched in the video game market.

And to our surprise, the games performed relatively decent as The Last of Us Part II managed to sell over 4 million copies on a global scale. Naughty Dog proved to the gaming industry that a good AAA title cannot be deterred even by a pandemic.

Other Events to Highlight

The impact of COVID-19 continues to grow but that didn’t compel Sony and Microsoft to delay the launch of their next-gen consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Although we haven’t heard of a definite release date yet, the two consoles are likely to be greenlit for launch in the latter half of 2020. Moreover, popular PC game titles like Fortnite, Warframe and Destiny 2 will also be joining the latest console generation.

There is also some good news for the esports industry. While esports is already a famous gaming category of competitive gameplay, the industry is likely to face a surge in popularity even amid a pandemic. Some of the biggest championships held yearly for esports games like League of Legends, Dota 2 and Overwatch where thousands and thousands of fans crammed into one arena may not be held. But the League of Legends Worlds Championship 2019 managed to score 100 million online viewers. Who knows how many viewers these competitive games will be able to secure if a tournament were to be held amid a pandemic? The figure will surely sky rocket.

To Conclude

The video game industry isn’t allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to make it falter. We are getting next-gen consoles, varied AAA titles are under development and even indie video game studios are furnishing their work.

To stay updated with the latest happenings in the video game industry, you can always resort to the internet but there’s another alternative. You can tune in to WOW cable TV and switch to any popular news channel of your choice to stay updated about the latest updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. Surely you will also learn more about the other many ways the video game industry is facing the pandemic’s challenges and still shining through.