Top 100 Games Trends in 2023

From Metaverse Mouthwash Games to Off-Season Esports Events

— January 21, 2024 — Tech
From sim-racing esports deals to sci-fi series-inspired games, this list of game trends for the forthcoming year highlights the plethora of business opportunities available in the gaming and esports sectors.

One notable contribution is the bespoke crystal trophy created by Swarovski for the 2022 FNCS Invitational, an esports event hosted by Fortnite developers Epic Games. This innovation showcases how even jewelry companies can capitalize on the growth being documented in the esports industry.

Additionally, Ralph Lauren will organize a number of activations to foster a relationship with the gaming community and celebrate its esports debut, including a Twitch live stream launch event. Ralph Lauren will also be the first luxury brand to cohost a Fortnite player competition.

For more games trends in the year ahead, check out Trend Hunter's 2024 Trend Report.
7.5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
100
Amateur Esports Programs
Amateur Esports Programs
Parabellum Esports and XP League Unite to Aid Amateur Esports Rosters
<
99
Southeast Asian Esports Circuits
Southeast Asian Esports Circuits
ONE Esports and AfreecaTV Host the SEA VALORANT Invitational
<
98
Collaborative Game Updates
Collaborative Game Updates
Motion Twin Launched 'Everyone is Here Volume 2' in 'Dead Cells'
<
97
Esports Tournament Acquisitions
Esports Tournament Acquisitions
Guinevere Capital Acquires Oceania's META High School Esports
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96
Action-Adventure Game Remakes
Action-Adventure Game Remakes
'The Witcher' Receives a Full Remake Built in Unreal Engine 5
<
95
Super Hero Game Ports
Super Hero Game Ports
Sony is Bringing Spider-Man: Miles Morales to PC on November 18th
<
94
Player Matching Platforms
Player Matching Platforms
Teammate-Finding Platform TEAMS.gg Adds Rocket League to its Game List
<
93
Platform-Backed Gaming Studios
Platform-Backed Gaming Studios
Netflix is Set to Launch a Gaming Studio in Southern California
<
92
SEA-Based Esports Competitions
SEA-Based Esports Competitions
Skyesports Plans to Invest in the Southeast Asian Esports Market
<
91
Galactic Survival Simulators
Galactic Survival Simulators
Stranded: Alien Dawn is Available Now on PC Through the Steam Store
<
90
Sci-Fi TV-Inspired VR Games
Sci-Fi TV-Inspired VR Games
Netflix and Tender Claws Launch Stranger Things VR Game Set
<
89
Exclusive Womens Esports Tournaments
Exclusive Womens Esports Tournaments
Riot Games Launches the 'Rising Stars' Women’s Tournament
<
88
Frog-Focused Puzzle Games
Frog-Focused Puzzle Games
Spinfrog: All Aboard the Frogcopter is Now Available on Nintendo Switch
<
87
Health-Focused Esports Initatives
Health-Focused Esports Initatives
IESF Partners with FitGMR for the World Esports Championships
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86
Esports Match Statistics
Esports Match Statistics
BETER Introduces Statistics-Focused Improvements to its iFrame Solution
<
85
Esports Bakery Partnerships
Esports Bakery Partnerships
Gen.G Collaborates with King’s Hawaiian for a Live Event and Giveaway
<
84
Esports Championship Activations
Esports Championship Activations
Just Eat and Riot Games Partner for the LoL World Championships
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83
Nostalgic Miniature Gaming Consoles
Nostalgic Miniature Gaming Consoles
Sega Introduces Two New Miniature Gaming Devices
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82
Educational Esports Panels
Educational Esports Panels
Copenhagen Flames Partners with Energive to Tackle Taboos About Gaming
<
81
Expanded Monster-Hunting Games
Expanded Monster-Hunting Games
Capcom Announced Monster Hunter Rise for Xbox and PlayStation
<
80
Expansive Series Mobile Games
Expansive Series Mobile Games
The Monster Hunter Series is Making Its Way to the Smartphone
<
79
Feline Delivery Games
Feline Delivery Games
Indie Game 'Flying Neko Delivery' Is Now Available On PC And Nintendo Switch
<
78
Esports Entertainment Partnerships
Esports Entertainment Partnerships
Guild Esports Secures a Major Partnership with Sky UK
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77
Inclusive Gaming Programs
Inclusive Gaming Programs
Xbox Wants Black Youth to Find Careers in Gaming Through Project Amplify
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76
Supernatural Game Sequels
Supernatural Game Sequels
Remedy Entertainment Confirms the Sequel to 'Control' is in Development
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75
Startup-Founded Gaming Engines
Startup-Founded Gaming Engines
Google Cloud Works with SuperGaming to Distribute its Game Engine
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74
Hardcore Adventure ARPGs
Hardcore Adventure ARPGs
UNDECEMBER, a New Action Game from Needs Games, is Now Available
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73
Esports Community Events
Esports Community Events
Amazon Partners with Riot Games to Host a VALORANT Community Event
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72
Graphically-Enhanced Apocalypse Games
Graphically-Enhanced Apocalypse Games
Bethesda is Releasing a Major Update for Fallout 4 in 2023
<
71
Ghost-Hunting VR Games
Ghost-Hunting VR Games
Ghostbusters VR is Confirmed to Release in 2023 Alongside Sony's VR Headset
<
70
Gaming-Ready AR Headsets
Gaming-Ready AR Headsets
Niantic Made Use of the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR2 Platform
<
69
Game Studio Aquisitions
Game Studio Aquisitions
Netflix Added 'Spry Fox' to its Gaming Studio Portfolio
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68
Esports Charity Events
Esports Charity Events
BLAST and Riot Games Announce That Spike Nations Will Return in October
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67
Ray-Tracing Supersampling Tools
Ray-Tracing Supersampling Tools
NVIDIA Launched DLSS 3.0 Alongside its 40-Series GPUs
<
66
Esports Audio Hardware Partnerships
Esports Audio Hardware Partnerships
Gen. G Announced Bose as its Official Audio Partner
<
65
Transparent Community Initiatives
Transparent Community Initiatives
Microsoft Released its First-Ever 'Transparency Report' for Xbox
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64
India-Based Esports Partnerships
India-Based Esports Partnerships
Puma Enters the Indian Esports Market with Revenant Esports
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63
Rhythmic Adorable Streamed Games
Rhythmic Adorable Streamed Games
Netflix Adds New Games Including Hello Kitty Happiness Parade
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62
Diverse Battle Royale Characters
Diverse Battle Royale Characters
EA Games Announced the Latest Apex Legends Character 'Catalyst'
<
61
AI-Powered Game Observers
AI-Powered Game Observers
South Korean Researchers Debut Model for an AI-Powered Esports Observer
<
60
Flagship Triple-Fan GPUs
Flagship Triple-Fan GPUs
Gigabyte Unveiled its Flagship Aorus GeForce RTX 4090 Master GPU
<
59
Fantasy Basketball NFTs
Fantasy Basketball NFTs
Sorare Becomes the NBA's First Official Fantasy Basketball NFT Partner
<
58
YouTuber-Backed Publishing Companies
YouTuber-Backed Publishing Companies
videogamedunkey Launches His Own Publishing Company 'Bigmode'
<
57
Singaporean Metaverse Platforms
Singaporean Metaverse Platforms
Singapore Launches Its Very Own Metaverse Platform
<
56
Esports Wagering Websites
Esports Wagering Websites
Tipspace Launches in Brazil After a Successful Funding Round
<
55
Telecommunication Esports Series
Telecommunication Esports Series
Telus Added Another Game to its 'Telus Esports Series 2'
<
54
Sim-Racing Esports Deals
Sim-Racing Esports Deals
Williams Esports Secures a DUX Gaming Partnership for a F1 Esports Series
<
53
Metaverse-Ready Exercise Bikes
Metaverse-Ready Exercise Bikes
The DETS BIKE Pro is an Engaging Indoor Gaming Bicycle
<
52
Sci-Fi Series-Inspired Games
Sci-Fi Series-Inspired Games
Netflix's 'Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales' RPG Game Debuts Online
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51
Game Developer NFT Marketplaces
Game Developer NFT Marketplaces
AppLovin Launches a Developer-Oriented NFT Marketplace, 'Vessel'
<
50
South Asian Esports Tournaments
South Asian Esports Tournaments
Skyesports is Hosting a Pokemon UNITE Tournament in India
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49
Free Sci-Fi Games
Free Sci-Fi Games
The Epic Games Store is Offering Star Wars: Squadrons at 0$ for a Limited TIme
<
48
Historic Baseball Games
Historic Baseball Games
OLG and MLB Recreated the Chatham Coloured All-Stars Team in MLB The Show
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47
Web3 Development Studios
Web3 Development Studios
'Thirdverse' Raised $15 Million to Develop Web3 and Metaverse Titles
<
46
Web3 Gaming Platforms
Web3 Gaming Platforms
'Line Next' Announced the 'Game Dosi' Web3-Focused Games Platform
<
45
Cross-Platform Game Studios
Cross-Platform Game Studios
Playgig Annouced a $10.85m Funding Round for Expansion
<
44
Miniature Retro Game Consoles
Miniature Retro Game Consoles
SEGA is Lauching Two New Tiny Retro Game Consoles with Classic Games
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43
Collectible NFT Games
Collectible NFT Games
Square Enix Announced 'Symbiogenesis' With Heavy Blockchain Integration
<
42
Player-First Web3 Studios
Player-First Web3 Studios
'Midnight' Raised $7.5 Million USD for its Immersive Game Development
<
41
Trading Card-Themed Games
Trading Card-Themed Games
Vintage '80s Game Garbage Pail Kids Receives a Modern Update
<
40
Teen Influencer-Backed Games
Teen Influencer-Backed Games
'JoJo Siwa: Worldwide Party' Has Launched on Major Gaming Platforms
<
39
Handheld Motion-Control Consoles
Handheld Motion-Control Consoles
The UDU CONSOLE Delivers an Interactive Outdoor Gaming Experience
<
38
Voice Actor Web Shows
Voice Actor Web Shows
Sony Launched a YouTube Channel with Aleks Le and Jonah Scott
<
37
Turn-Based Superhero Games
Turn-Based Superhero Games
Marvel's Midnight Suns offers Tactical Gameplay Inspired by Marvel
<
36
Competitive Dungeon-Crawling MOBAs
Competitive Dungeon-Crawling MOBAs
Vela Games Introduces the 'Evercore Heroes' PC Play Test
<
35
Off-Season Esports Events
Off-Season Esports Events
G-Loot and Riot Games Partner to Launch an Off-Season VALORANT Event
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34
Dice Manipulation Board Games
Dice Manipulation Board Games
'Tesseract' is a Cooperative Strategy Game for 1-4 Players
<
33
Connected In-Car Gaming Apps
Connected In-Car Gaming Apps
BMW Teamed up with AirConsole to Enhance its Infotainment Systems
<
32
Gothic Western RPGs
Gothic Western RPGs
Flying Wild Hog Rolled Out 'Evil West' on Modern Gaming Platforms
<
31
Free-Roam VR Games
Free-Roam VR Games
Games Workshop's Warhammer 40K is Getting a VR Experience from Zero Latency
<
30
Gaming Taquito Collaborations
Gaming Taquito Collaborations
Delimex Taquitos launched a New 'Feeding Gamers' Two-Day Initiative
<
29
Console-Like Gaming PCs
Console-Like Gaming PCs
Minisforum Launched the 'Neptune HX90G' with SteamOS 3.0
<
28
Competitive Mobile Card Games
Competitive Mobile Card Games
UNO! Mobile Announced its 'Community Cup Debut' Esports Series
<
27
Coffee-Themed Soccer Games
Coffee-Themed Soccer Games
Lavazza is Reaching Younger Generations on Roblox with Lavazza Arena
<
26
Automated Play Testers
Automated Play Testers
Modl.ai Raised $8.4 Million to Develop AI-Powered QA Testers
<
25
Comic-Style Racing Games
Comic-Style Racing Games
EA Games Announced 'NFS: Unbound' as the First New Iteration Since 2019
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24
Stylized Indie Game Startups
Stylized Indie Game Startups
Theorycraft Games Raised an Extra $50 Million in Series B Funding
<
23
NFT Gaming Rentals
NFT Gaming Rentals
Voxie Tactics' New Renting Feature Let's Players Gain Passive Income
<
22
Creature-Inspired Virtual Games
Creature-Inspired Virtual Games
Bandai Namco Confirms a 'Baby Yoda' Tamagotchi is Coming Soon
<
21
Retro Handheld Gamer Consoles
Retro Handheld Gamer Consoles
The GKD Plus Classic Offers Access to Over 2,500 Games
<
20
Luxury Video Game Collaborations
Luxury Video Game Collaborations
Ralph Lauren and Epic Games Have Announced a Fortnite Partnership
<
19
Free-To-Play Skater Games
Free-To-Play Skater Games
EA Announces Plans to Make its 'Skate' 4 Game Free-To-Play for Everyone
<
18
Adult Home Creation Games
Adult Home Creation Games
Hometopia, the "Roblox for Adults" is Slated to Launch This Year
<
17
Third-Party Handheld Devices
Third-Party Handheld Devices
The 'TrimUI Smart' is a Connected Gaming Handheld with a 2.4" Screen
<
16
Inclusive Social VR Programs
Inclusive Social VR Programs
Meta Invested in a Social VR Research Team Alongside Universities
<
15
Bespoke Crystal eSports Trophies
Bespoke Crystal eSports Trophies
Fortnite's Latest Trophy is by Swarovski for FNCS
<
14
Senior-Targeted Metaverse Services
Senior-Targeted Metaverse Services
MyndVR Partnered with Oroi to Create Tailored VR Experiences
<
13
Android-Based Gaming Devices
Android-Based Gaming Devices
The Retroid Pocket 3+ Features Various Upgrades over its Predecessor
<
12
Vertical Handheld Consoles
Vertical Handheld Consoles
Anbernic Launched the 'RG353V' and 'VS' Models with a Vertical Design
<
11
Phygital Kids Board Games
Phygital Kids Board Games
Playshifu's New 'Tacto' Board Game Combines AR with Physical Figurines
<
10
Screenless Learning Wands
Screenless Learning Wands
The Kinoo Magic Wand is for Independent & Family Play
<
9
Compact Retro-Inspired Handhelds
Compact Retro-Inspired Handhelds
FunnyPlaying Showcased its Upcoming 'Retro Pixel Pocket' Console
<
8
Metaverse Mouthwash Games
Metaverse Mouthwash Games
In Listerine's Breathcalypse, Bad Breath is the Enemy
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7
Hero-Based Tower Defence Games
Hero-Based Tower Defence Games
Plarium Launched 'Tower Heroes' in Early Access
<
6
DIY Arcade Game Kits
DIY Arcade Game Kits
The Thunderstick GRS Build-A-Cade is Raspberry Pi-Powered
<
5
Plug-and-Play Consoles
Plug-and-Play Consoles
Kinhank's Super Console X2 Has Over 100,000 Built-in Games
<
4
Pocket-Sized Metal Gaming Machines
Pocket-Sized Metal Gaming Machines
Anbernic's RG353M Features an All-metal Chassis and HALL Sticks
<
3
Powerful Clamshell Devices
Powerful Clamshell Devices
POWKIDDY's X18S is a 5.5-Inch Handheld with 4GB of RAM
<
2
Next-Generation Gaming Handhelds
Next-Generation Gaming Handhelds
Anbernic Unveiled its Upcoming 'RG505' with a 16:9 Display
<
1
Chocolate Bar-Style Handhelds
Chocolate Bar-Style Handhelds
Miyoo Showcased its Upcoming 'Miyoo P60' Handheld Console
<