While the gaming industry is hungry for innovative ideas, AR gaming appears as a phenomenon, leaving the whole world wildly excited. So the question is: Why are AR applications so hot? And why is AR gaming considered a gaming technology solution? Let’s find out the answers in this article.



Augmented Reality - the technology bet on by Tim Cook

It’s not a coincidence that among various emerging technologies like AI or self-driving cars, the Apple CEO placed his faith on Augmented Reality (AR). This is no longer an alien concept, yet its potential hasn’t been fully exploited. Basically, AR allows placing "virtual" information or images built on computers into the real world space. This kind of technology has been illustrated in many movies, and the most typical one by far may be Iron Man.

The CEO suggested that AR potential can be comparable to that of smartphones. In a conference on technology in the late 2016, he voiced his support for AR, suggesting a "significant portion of the population of developed countries, and eventually all countries, will have AR experiences every day," going so far as to say “augmented reality use will become as common as eating three meals a day". And Cook has turned his belief into action. Specifically, Apple has acquired a lot of small companies in AR hardwares, 3D games and VR softwares.

Tim Cook's opinion is quite well supported in the context of AR market growing day by day, especially in the gaming industry. It is expected that by 2024, the global market for AR software and devices will increase by 90% to reach $ 90 billion. It can be seen as a lucrative sector for investors and developers.





AR games and the puzzle Pokémon GO

The application of AR in games offers players a complete experience. One of the pioneers for AR Games is Pokémon GO. The in-game AR application allows players to participate in a real-world hunt for Pokémon. Although the concept of this game was quite simple, it became a global-scale fever in 2016 thanks to the excitement coming along with AR technology. Pokémon GO has become a huge motivation for the game developer community, making the gaming market more active than ever before.

According to Infoholic Research, the “AR Gaming Market” is expected to reach $284.93 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 152.7% during the forecast period 2017–2023. Sensor Tower Store Intelligence reports show that after two years of launching, Pokémon Go players continued to spend more than $2 million per day, resulting in a revenue of $1.8 billion. After Ninantic added the Pokémon trading and friend making functions, Pokémon GO had more than 2 million downloads on iOS with a revenue of up to 20 million and 4 million downloads on Android with $27 million revenue.



AR games to enter the world of ICO

All figures prove that the AR game is not a temporary phenomenon but a very attractive business market. At present, AR game projects even begin to take over the investment channel of ICO. This is an opportunity not only for large investors but also for small investors to have access to high-tech projects.

One of the most interesting incoming ICO projects is AR Hunter. This is among the flagship projects of VBAEMU - a company dedicated to high-tech solutions in the field of AR games. Thanks to unique effects of AR, players will be portrayed as treasure hunters in real-life hunts. The project also sensibly turns AR into new means of marketing, attracting users to events more naturally by setting up the treasure. In addition, the game also adopts some high technologies such as blockchain, AI big data ...

In short, AR gaming is changing the face of the gaming industry in particular and the entertainment industry in general. We all hope that the heydays of AR as Tim Cook predicted will not be so far away.