Online entertainment trends to follow for 2022

Online entertainment has changed massively over the years, and it has only been expedited by the impact that COVID-19 had. With numerous lockdowns and restrictions in place, many people were no longer allowed out with cinemas, libraries, sporting venues and even casinos all closed. As such, many people switched to the online world for their entertainment in the format of video streaming platforms and online gaming among many more.

One of 2021’s biggest trends have originated from legal new USA online casinos. With traditional entertainment venues shut, many bettors moved to their online alternatives, which grew exponentially during the lockdowns with State legislatures legalizing forms of gambling all across America. With more and more States legalising activities on a monthly basis now too, it’s likely this trend will also carry on through to 2022.

But what other forms of online entertainment will carry through to 2022? Will we see many of the forms of online entertainment from the past 12 months carry over, or will they fizzle out? Well, here is our list of the top online entertainment trends to follow for 2022.

Online Gaming Trends

Online gaming has been around for a fair while now, and over the years it has got progressively better and worse at the same time. Whilst we can now do more online with friends and family members, with platforms such as Twitch allowing people to share their experiences, there have been downsides too. With its incredible growth over the years, providers have begun to cash in on the popularity. What once was free on Nintendo and PlayStation consoles, is now as it has been since the Xbox 360 days with Microsoft, and that’s charging for online play.

There are some exceptions though, free-to-play games do not require premium subscriptions. So if you only ever play the likes of Fortnite or the chaotic portal-placing FPS Splitgate, you’ll never have to fork out a single penny. Although things will be changing in 2022 for online gaming, and to some extent, it has already started.

If you haven’t heard of Xbox Game Pass, it’s a subscription service like Netflix, but for games. You can get newly released titles plus many classics, and access them on your Xbox console, your PC, and even your mobile devices via the cloud. It’s an incredibly popular service, especially since they combined it with Xbox Live. And now Sony is looking to do the same. The problem is, they want to combine their PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now services, but whilst Plus is decent enough, PlayStation Now is utter trash. It’s so unstable half the games are unplayable.

But it won’t just be those two fighting it out, because Netflix are getting in on the action too. It was announced some time ago that Netflix was looking at expanding the services they offer, and they’ve already begun. They’re not quite at the stage yet where they are streaming AAA titles to consoles or PC, but they have begun on a smaller scale, by making games available on their mobile app that you can download and play. They could just be testing the waters for now, to see how popular it is. But if they announced they’d be bringing console games to people, it’s likely it would be much more popular than a mobile service.

Moving away from traditional television

Whilst many people still watch television traditionally, by sitting in their living room and watching whatever is on, many people are moving to online formats. It tends to be the older generation who watch traditionally, whereas younger people are moving away from traditional services, and more towards online streaming applications.

The likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have been around for some time, but now there are so many more options out there. A fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race? There is WOW Plus Presents, a dedicated app for all the tea and shade you could ever need. Want to watch live sports? The NFL app will allow you to watch live games without the need for a cable or satellite subscription.

Obviously these don’t all come free, there are subscriptions for each one. But television packages, especially when you add kids content, sports and movies to the mix, can become very expensive. Whereas you could subscribe to a number of different services such as Disney+ and others, and it would in fact be cheaper. And with on demand content, you watch what you want, minus adverts. So you aren’t being forced to watch commercials, or repeats of shows that you can recite every line from.

Even traditional broadcasters are moving in on the act, making their live content available on demand. Charging if you want to remove ads, but allowing you to watch for free if you keep them on. A small price to pay for access to the latest reality TV shows and soap operas without disruption, and no different for those who would watch in the traditional way, except that you can pause and play whenever you need.

Music from the cloud

Our final trend is all about the continued growth of services such as Amazon Music, Apple Music and Spotify. Whilst records are coming back into fashion for many, gone are the days where we would purchase the latest albums and singles and listen to them in our bedrooms on our Sony Walkmans. Now, it’s all streamed from the cloud. And it’s only going to become more common. 

 

Cars today are now being built without CD players. Instead, you’re encouraged to connect your phone, and when you do, compatible devices will recognise the vehicle and bring up an adapted music menu straight away. Encouraging people to sign-up to streaming services or use a radio, but quite often radio stations will drive people crazy for a lack of actual music, or just playing poor tunes. Whereas you are the DJ with your own apps, and can play whatever music you want.

Final Words

These are our top online entertainment trends to follow for 2022, but do you agree? There is no doubt that online gaming, video streaming and streaming music are already huge hits, and there is plenty more development to come from them we feel. However, do you think we have picked out the big ones correctly, or do you think there is something even bigger coming? Let us know in the comments below or on our social channels what you think could be big for 2022.