Rise of online games over the last years

By Clinton Courier | July 8, 2026 |

A lot has changed over the last 10 years. Who remembers when actual physical games were a thing? At the time of this writing, early July 2026, GTA VI is a month from being released and rumours are that we won’t be having a disc version. Instead, we players will be getting a download code inside the box. I guess the Danish politician, Ida Auken was right when he said that we’ll own nothing and we’ll be happy about it. The other thing that is rising, and this one is for the better, is how we’re able to play games online. And that is what we’ll be looking at today. Why are they gaining popularity?

Let’s say that you don’t have a console or a gaming PC. With the rising RAM and GPU prices, it might not be the right time to build a PC. What other options do you have?

Game streaming services are now a thing

What’s this? Essentially, you’ll be playing live games that run on a cloud server. At the core, you’ll be logging in to a powerful PC, of course over the internet, that is hosting the game you’re running. The PC will be giving you a live feed of the video (and audio) coming from the game.

You get to play on your own display though you’ll be technically live streaming the game. Some live providers even allow you to play games on the phone too.

Steam is arguably the best place for PC gamers while platforms like Baba Casino let you play games of chance for free.

COVID changed us for the better

Five years ago, when we couldn’t hang out with our friends as much as we wanted, we looked for alternative games as a way of filling the void. Then came social gaming. We turned to cosy, light hearted games like Stardew Valley that were just heartwarming. We also looked for co-op games that weren’t too demanding.

In fact, the term “friendslop” games was coined in the middle of the pandemic when young men became the loneliest bunch

Cross Play became a thing

Do you remember that era of online gaming where if you owned a Play Station, you couldn’t play COD against your friend who had an XBOX? These days, developers are more open minded. There’s cross platform compatibility and we don’t necessarily have to be on the same platform to play together. By the way, I think this online gaming thing has brought more sales to game developers than the traditional co-op multiplayer. I remember growing up where we’d play a single copy of Midnight Club III dub Edition with my brother on the same PS2 in split screen mode. Couch Co-op is no longer a thing and we’d have to buy two disks and two Play Stations today.

Games are transitioning to more of a live service model

Back then, you bought a game, played and completed story mode and then gave it to a friend or exchanged it at Game Stop. The games they’re making these days will keep you hooked with endless online quests, seasonal events and then community challenges. We even have others like Skyrim that let you play user generated challenges.

Free to play titles like Fortnite have even made it easier. They’ve removed the barrier to entry completely. Publishers are now relying on selling cosmetic skins and battle passes rather than on the games themselves.

Matchmaking is even better

This is one of the things AI has made easier. These days, you’re automatically matched with players who are at a similar skill level as you. It gets even better. If you’re a bad sport, i.e. players who have a tendency of pausing a game mid race or quitting altogether, you’ll be matched to those of your calibre.

These days, servers analyse your play style to keep things balanced. You’re less likely to end up in an unfair matchup.

E-sports and streaming culture is now a thing

We have to thank Youtubers like PewDiePie who made streaming culture a thing. While he still prefers to play Minecraft, he has walkthroughs to over a hundred games. Influencers like these also take part in e-sport competitions drawing millions to the hobby. Do you think Twitch would have grown to what it is without them?

Smartphones became more powerful and turned us into casual gamers

With Snapdragon chipsets and Mali graphic drivers, phones are more powerful these days. We’ve seen popular games like Resident Evil 4 that were originally consoles only get ported to Android and iOS.

Arcade games like Plants Vs Zombies that were popular a while ago and Candy Crush whose every mum plays are accessible to everyone. A while back, on the train ride home, almost everyone was on Facebook scrolling through their live feed. Today you’ll see a handful of casual commuters gaming online.