Augmented reality’s rise in gaming has been fascinating, in that it has seemed at once rapid and stalled. At first, almost as soon as Apple and Google unveiled AR development and we started experimenting with early apps like Stack AR, there were new, interesting games coming out fairly rapidly. As can sometimes be the case even with very promising new tech though, excitement ebbed away fairly quickly, and at this point you have to dig a little bit to find AR games in app stores.
Even so, this appears to be the technology that will define the near future of mobile devices, and gaming as well. AR games’ early burst may have subsided, but there’s more on the way, both in the form we’ve come to know and via the AR glasses that are assuredly just around the corner. These are some of our educated guesses as to how the next waves of AR mobile games may look.
Shooter Expansion – It all starts with shooters in gaming these days. They’re the most popular games, multiplayer games, and eSports concepts, and they’re not going anywhere. Up until now most AR-based shooters have been more on the playful side, but expect to see some more serious and more involved experiences in the near future. We’re talking bad guys busting into your bedroom for you to shoot down in visual simulations.
Artificial Casinos – Already, people can find all the games they could want in this category online. Casino sites have become robust and packed with high-tech games exhibiting the latest graphics and most engaging styles of gameplay. Now things can be taken a serious step further, however, as similar casino games to those popular online can come alive in 3D space. We should expect if not individual games in AR possibly even apps that make it look as if entire casinos are materializing around us.
Reimagined Strategy Games – Strategy has always been a broad and hazily defined category of games. But whether the title makes you think of tabletop RPGs or PC classics like Civilization, all of the above can work in AR. There was actually talk of this years ago, but now that AR has arrived and is steadily improving we should probably expect a wave of strategy games we can play out in front of us.
Sports Games – This is a category that’s been nothing short of disappointing in AR thus far. And it’s one that may never work the way some people want it to. But miniature arcade-style games based on sports would seem to have an opportunity here. Imagine the kinds of sports games you may have played at an arcade: miniature basketball hoops, soccer penalty kicks, boxing bags, etc. These are practically made for AR, and would figure to come around eventually.