With every new year, the gaming industry keeps growing, bringing incredibly realistic video games to our screens.
From what we see now, 2024 could be one of the most exciting years in the recent period, with many companies preparing and launching some innovative titles.
This article talks about the seven gaming companies to keep an eye on in 2024 and beyond.
Electronic Arts Pushing the Game
Ever since 1982, when Electronic Arts was founded, they’ve been a household name in the gaming industry. In the 1990s, they reached global prominence with the FIFA series, most notably FIFA 98, which was a turning point for the entire genre of football games.
In the meantime, they developed and launched a few more critically acclaimed and popular games, such as The Sims, Need for Speed, Battlefield, etc.
EA doesn’t rest on laurels, though. Passionately working on new titles, they’re also building their Game-as-a-Platform approach to online gaming, bridging the existing ga(a)p in this form of entertainment.
NetEnt Leading the iGaming Squad
The iGaming market has blossomed in the last decade for two main reasons: intensive development of relevant Web-based technologies and a surge in online users.
This has led to an astonishing number of new iGaming companies. Still, some older names have successfully transitioned to the modern age. One of these adaptable companies is NetEnt.
Founded in 1996, it has been crafting and polishing its gaming products for almost 30 years now.
Known for its visually appealing design, a variety of gaming options, and thousands of websites, NetEnt is one of the industry leaders regarding the number of players and popularity.
Also, the reason why NetEnt’s finest games outweigh the similar rivals is the RNG technology behind them. As explained by Khadija Bilal, this technology ensures fair gameplay and completely random results. Hence, all players have an equal chance of winning or losing the game.
Epic Games – the Engine Maker
Epic Games is also one of the long-lasting heroes of the gaming industry. Since its launch in 1991, it gave us such gaming gems as the Unreal Tournament series in the 1990s and early 2000s, Infinity Blade in the late 2000s and early 2010a, and several Fortnite sequels in the last seven years.
In 2024 and beyond, we should keep an eye on Epic Games because of their innovative Unreal Engine – a game engine whose sixth generation is being brewed and is expected to be launched in late 2024 or early 2025.
Apart from that, check the Epic Game Store because they’ll be having a free-gaming campaign throughout 2024, with some top-class games unlocked for a limited time.
Ubisoft – Developing Softly
Gaming production exists outside the US, Japan, and China. And if you take a look at Ubisoft Company, founded in Paris in 1986, you’ll see that they made the gaming world a more dynamic place with Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Prince of Persia, The Tom Clancy series, and some other interesting games.
It opened the year with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Skull and Bones. We’ll see at least two new iterations of the Tom Clancy franchise, and it’s highly probable they’ll launch Assassin’s Creed: Codename Red by the end of 2024.
Nintendo – The New Coat of Retro
What was first a playing card manufacturer became one of the largest gaming companies in the world. Nintendo was established in 1889, and it made its first gaming console in 1977.
In the 1990s, they conquered the gaming globe with Gameboy and the Sega console. This was when Super Mario was born.
In the last couple of years, Nintendo has repeated the success of Gameboy with Nintendo Switch, and we can only expect further innovations from this authentic Japanese gaming giant.
Rockstar Games
What connects New York and 1998? If you think that the answer is Friends or maybe Sex and the City, you’re wrong. The answer is Rockstar Games, and it has something to do with the city. In GTA IV, the game setting is Liberty City, based in NYC.
Rockstar Games has given us the GTA series, Max Payne, Red Dead Redemption, and some other titles. They’ve bridged the empty space between GTA V and the much anticipated GTA VI – announced for 2025 – with Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, which has built a strong base of followers.
But their major label is GTA, so fans around the world will spend 2024 waiting for the news on the launch date. Take-Two Interactive, one of Rockstar’s major shareholders, announced at the end of 2023 that 2025 is the most realistic time for the launch of the sixth part of the GTA franchise.
Microsoft – Always Present
Microsoft is the Coca-Cola of software development. Ever since its inception in 1975, this company has been pushing the boundaries of the digital world.
Although game production wasn’t its primary operation, it’s become a prominent player in the gaming industry. From the Windows operating system – one of the two major OS settings for all games (the other being iOS) – to the Xbox game console, Microsoft is a true gaming juggernaut.
This company stands behind Minecraft, World of Warcraft, and Elder Scrolls, among other games, as the owner of Mojang, Activision Blizzard, and Bethesda – the respective creators of the games above.
In 2024 and the following years, Microsoft will focus on esports, the metaverse, and the further production of sequels of the most successful games.
