It is said that all innovation is mostly guided by one of two factors. Either, it’s the remarkable feeling of wanting to add value to an already existing industry or it’s the allure of money. Whatever, the inspiration might be, what matters in the end is the overall improvement they bring to the industry and whether it manages to please the audience that it is catering to.

Gaming is no different. We’ve seen some fantastic improvements in the industry in the past 2 decades. The scale as well as the possibilities in the industries have been challenged constantly and have undergone several changes as a result. There was a time when the release of gaming consoles like the PlayStation and the Xbox changed the industry.

Something similar may have happened with the steep rise in the popularity of the hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds as more and more gamers have started rejecting single player focused games. The creators of these games have picked up on that sentiment. That is probably one of the reasons why we may see a gaming industry that is 100% online in the not-so-distant future.

If it does happen, then while the gamers do stand to benefit in terms of quality, the ultimate beneficiary would be the creators of these games.

We’re at a time in the gaming world where a 100% online gaming experience still remains a pipe dream, but there is a growing sentiment that this is very much the direction that the industry has taken and one with which gamers are more than OK. Even in such an environment, Activision was able to make $4 billion in terms of micro-transactions. A user paying real money in order to have access to different features in online games is what makes the whole concept so fascinating for the creators.

Without a doubt, this expands revenue streams and allows creators to invest more money into games. On the flip side, there is also the belief that this may encourage these creators to double down on Pay-To-Play policies within games and effectively put the enjoyment of the gamers after the size of their wallets.

Games like Fortnite, League of legends, Overwatch and PUBG have already been generating hundreds of million in real wealth for these creators while Rockstar Games has already set the record straight that the next rendition of the GTA franchise will be online.

The new business model brings in unparalleled amounts of money in any industry that just a decade ago was completely dependent on the sales of games and amount of merchandise sales. This allows creators to have a solid revenue stream that is very much a part of the entire gaming setup. It is expected that 2018 will see record numbers of sales in terms of in-game purchases and micro-transactions. While this is not entirely unexpected, it does reflect the mood within the industry that seems to encourage both gamers and creators to push for a 100% online gaming experience.