A new year is upon us! Gone is 2019 and here for the next 12 months is 2020. For most people, changing the calendar means New Year's Resolutions and promises to improve.
For gamers, it means a whole new crop of games is going to grace our PCs and consoles.
2020 isn't just any old new year. For fans of video games, this could be one of the most exciting years in recent memory. If you're not hyped for 2020 yet, after reading this, you most certainly will be.
1. New Consoles
This is a bit of a no-brainer, but it's definitely the biggest reason to be excited for 2020 as a gamer. Both Sony and Microsoft are bringing the next console generation to market, which means we'll get to play games with better graphics and whatever else the new consoles bring with them.
With the new consoles, we should also be able to expect new experiences, since game developers will have more powerful hardware to work with. It's hard to predict where games will go when a new generation launches, but that's part of what makes it exciting.
2. Look at All These Games
There are a ridiculous amount of games announced for 2020. In fact, listing them all would be a whole article in and of itself. So instead, here are just a few of the games that make 2020 worth getting all hyped up for:
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Doom Eternal
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake (at least part of it)
- The Last of Us 2
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Halo Infinite
There are far more games than that, but even if those were all the big games coming in 2020, it would be a tremendous year. Seriously, there are so many amazing games, and there will be more announced as the year goes on. This is going to be a crazy awesome year for gamers.
3. Game Streaming Is Here
Say what you will about Google Stadia (it has some pretty serious issues), but it's proof that streaming of video games is a very real thing that's totally possible with today's internet speeds. It's not a perfect experience when compared to playing a game locally, but it's closer than it's ever been.
While Stadia came out in 2019, it makes us more excited to see what Google and the rest of the gaming world can do with the technology in 2020. We know Microsoft is planning something with Project xCloud. Will it be what Stadia set out to be? That's what's so exciting—we don't have to wait too long to find out!
4. Virtual Reality
Virtual reality very well could have been a fad that died off, but it's still alive and kicking. Valve is going big on the technology with its upcoming Half-Life: Alyx, and if that game succeeds, we'll likely see all sorts of AAA developers hopping in and putting more resources behind the technology.
The other thing that's exciting about VR comes from the hardware—we're seeing far more capable headsets that don't require a PC. Sure, if you want that highest framerate and the best resolutions, you'll need the PC. But with devices like Oculus Quest, we're almost to that idea future where you can just connect your headset and play anywhere.
5. The Continued Rise of Esports
Just a few years ago, the idea of making money playing video games seemed impossible. But over the last couple of years, esports has grown into a massive business that sees players making ridiculous sums of money. This has created legions of fans who root for their favorites with the same fervor as fans of traditional sports.
It's clear that esports aren't going anywhere. In fact, they're only going to get bigger in 2020, and it's extremely exciting. More opportunities keep springing up for skilled players, and new games keep releasing, creating entierly new scenes out of nowhere.
The Things We Don't Know
There's a lot we know about 2020. We know about new consoles and games. But for everything we know, there's so much we don't.
Will a new genre rise up and become huge as battle royales did? What new games will be announced at E3 2020? Will a new company rise to prominence? Will Apple and Amazon go harder in gaming?
All of these questions add to the excitement of what is shaping up to be one of gaming's best years in a long time. The hype meter is overflowing!