2024: Predictions for the Year Ahead

The last couple of days of 2023 are upon us, and that means we can click over to a new year of gaming news. 2024 is going to be a quieter year in terms of games, but will it be as quiet in terms of news?

Without any further ado, I’m going to take a look at what might happen over the next 12 months.

More Poorly Performing Games

It seems for a couple of years there we had a bevy of well-performing cross-gen titles that were fairly pleasing but not terribly ambitious. And then I blinked and now every game seems to run at sub-1080p and less than 30fps and there’s nothing we can do about it.

I hope some of this is teething issues. If the current state of gaming requires a 4090 to work in any decent manner then many people are just going to drop off.

A few more Unreal 5 test cases will release this year, and that’s when we’ll see what we’re really looking at. First party things will be under particular scrutiny, with Hellblade 2 being chief among them.

But whether those games deliver technically or not, there are many other games that won’t. Get used to poor performance guys – at least until the next round of consoles release (and maybe even then).

The Switch 2

Come on Nintendo. This is getting silly now.

I know you’re still selling a billion Switchs a year. Probably to the same guys that keep Grand Theft Auto V at the top of the charts.

But enough is enough. It’s time to announce and release the Switch 2. And while I’d bet my kidney on the former happening in 2024, I’m not so confident about the latter. Nintendo do favour an end-of-year release, and they’ll want to be in shops in time for Christmas. That’s especially true if they have a Breath of the Wild level game to release alongside it and are banking on hype and scarcity to get them into 2025.

But delays happen, and when it comes to the Switch 2 I’m just oh so tired. At this point it feels as likely Nintendo just won’t bother. And more fool me for expecting them to.

Microsoft Making Moves

As I said when the Activision purchase was complete, we’re now in a period where it won’t even feel like anything has changed at Xbox. 2024 will largely be no different. Maybe a few Acti games will finally come to Game Pass, but even that seems a long way off.

Two things are going to happen this year: Xbox will continue with their new release cadence and fans will be pleasantly pleased. Especially compared to the currently anaemic Sony. That’ll lead to even more console war BS, and everybody on both sides will have plenty of ammo.

On the other hand, Microsoft will be sizing up plans for their next big purchase. I’m guessing that job has already begun. But one way or another, this year will see executives explore what comes next. And if there’s opportunity, no doubt it’ll be announced. I wouldn’t bet on that, nor would I expect to hear about it. But it’ll be happening.

Other Acquisitions

The cat is out of the bag and those who want to hit big in the industry know they need to make purchases. There’s potential for upset here. Sony could shell out on Square Enix, although I don’t expect them too. Embracer could buy some more studios. Ya know, when they’re done ruining the ones they already have?

My point isn’t to guess the whos and whats, but to say that there will be shifts during the next 12 months. They’re unlikely to be as seismic as Microsoft buying Activision, but at this point nothing is off the table.

More Closures

As I mentioned yesterday, 2023 was a poor year for many. AAA gaming is more expensive than ever, and the victims of trying to cut back have been numerous. That isn’t going to slow down in 2024.

Just how ‘efficient’ do publishers need to be before they realise the business model is at fault? I’m hoping we get an answer this year and we see a turn towards slightly smaller experiences. That means studios will have needed to pivot years ago though and, even with my optimism, I’m not sure it’s going to happen.

Reboots, Remasters, Sequels and Licencing

If 2023 was notable for the number of its releases, 2024 will be noticeable for just how safe it will be. Every major game will be a reboot, a remaster, a sequel or something licenced (extra points if its from Disney).

Honestly, I think we’ll see this more in the announcements than in the games released. But by the end of 2024, we’ll look back and wonder where the big new IP were.

2024: The Year After 2023

2024 was always going to feel lesser than 2023. That’s what happens when every major game from the last few years gets delayed. Mix that with redundancies, closures and that funny place where games are coming out with performance issues and it would be easy not to feel optimistic about the coming year.

For the first time in a good while, it’s seeming like the games will have to talk for themselves. That might seem funny to some people, and I guess it is. But here’s hoping the titles on the horizon can live up to what they need to be to make 2024 seem like anything other than a bust.