The entertainment industry feels saturated, with hundreds of options for people to choose from in gaming, television, film, and music. Rewind ten or twenty years, though, and people probably would have said the same thing. As the internet has expanded, the scope of what is possible in entertainment has also swollen, and our perspective of what is possible has altered.
The entertainment market is still growing at an astonishing rate, and it is projected to be worth $2.6 trillion worldwide in 2025, up from $2 trillion in 2020. That figure highlights how it continues to be a lucrative industry for start-ups to set up in. In terms of where to zone in, there are three key areas that entrepreneurs could seek to focus on.
Arcade-Style Gaming
Despite being one of the earliest forms of video game, arcade-style offerings are still going strong in the modern age. There are various reasons for this. Some players seek the nostalgia involved with playing retro options. Others enjoy their simplicity and the way they can be played in short bursts. Simple games enjoyed a resurgence with the rise of the mobile gaming industry, but now there is a greater focus on arcade games thanks to subscription services like Apple Arcade.
Apple’s gaming offering began in 2019 and costs users $4.99 per month. Players then have access to a vast library of more than 200 games. As the popularity of the service continues to grow, more options are being added regularly. There’s no limit to how many offerings could be included, and if Apple wants to compete with other services like Google Play Pass and Xbox Game Pass, it will keep hunting for the best titles from developers all over the world to add to its service.
Netflix Games is another library-based gaming service that’s included with Netflix membership. Alongside all the television series and films on the platform, users can now access a variety of basic games including titles like Shooting Hoops and Card Blast.
Because Netflix and Apple have created outlets for smaller developers to get their products into the mainstream, the entertainment giants have opened a brand-new avenue for start-ups to go down. Companies can confidently make games, knowing that there is a chance they can get onto services like these. There’s also the other option for small businesses to start developing arcade subscription services of their own too.
Online Casino Development
The is another area that is continuing to balloon at an astonishing rate. Revenue from online gambling was around $60 billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach $92.9 billion by 2023. In the early days of the industry, there were a few major companies that dominated. These included Microgaming and Playtech. Now, though, there are hundreds of businesses that have managed to rise to the top of the industry thanks to the fact that it is continually growing.
Start-ups that want to succeed in the online casino industry would be wise to identify emerging technology and trends and jump on these before they become ubiquitous. This worked well for Evolution Gaming, a company that put its sole focus on live streaming. The studio developed the live Betway roulette options, designed to immerse users in the action of the classic casino offering. They come with a live dealer, along with cutting-edge camera angles and HD streaming.
Live casino has already blown up, but there are emerging technologies that could have a major impact at online casinos in the future. Slots are the most popular casino games by some margin, and there are hundreds of different developers making these games. Start-up companies that can innovate and improve on the current top games on the market could reap the rewards. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of new engines used in slots. These have changed the way the games are played and pushed them in a new direction.
Augmented Reality
One piece of emerging technology that is highly likely to have a huge impact on the future of the entertainment industry is augmented reality. Analysts at PR Newswire believe that the combined augmented and virtual reality market will be worth $252.16 billion by 2028, underlining how this is a prime sector for start-ups to get involved with.
AR technology allows viewers to see projected images over their own surroundings. So far, mobile users have been able to experience this through titles like Jurassic World Alive and The Walking Dead: Our World, but in these titles the AR projections have only been through a phone screen. Soon, users will be able to put on AR glasses that allow them to see digital imagery superimposed on the real world. According to Tom’s Guide, Apple’s AR glasses are on the way and could shake up the industry.
Start-ups in the AR industry could delve into the technology’s potential applications in the entertainment industry. This could involve things like AR board games that allow players to see animated elements in front of their eyes. AR could even bring about new ways of watching films and television series. It could allow people to view videos in 3D on the table in front of them.
In each of these areas, entrepreneurs who want to start a business should aim to expand upon what’s already popular and innovate wherever possible. It’s never too late to get into the entertainment industry, which continues to morph and expand in a plethora of ways every year.
