Since the late 2000s, when online gaming became a popular hobby all over the world, the gaming business has seen a complete metamorphosis, and developers and publishers can now give gamers and casual players a plethora of new options and experiences.
We can now buy games directly on our consoles, players from all over the world compete in a myriad of multiplayer games, and thanks to the emergence of esports and streaming platforms, gaming has also become a career and a means of making a living.
With the rise of online gaming over the last decade, various firms and developers began concentrating on software and applications to assist and improve players’ online experiences, whether through companion apps, streaming software, or distribution platforms. From Twitch to digital wallets, these are some of the most useful applications for online gamers.
Digital wallets
Digital wallets, also known as e-wallets, have grown in popularity in recent years, not just for saving time and swiftly paying for transactions, but also as an online security tool.
Because the data kept in digital wallets is securely encrypted, your real card account details are not communicated while making a payment, ensuring that your personally identifiable and financial information is absolutely protected. Furthermore, e-wallets utilize non-repeatable payment codes and rely on security elements such as biometrics to approve payment.
Today, purchasing games in a multitude of gaming marketplaces and paying for microtransactions are just a few of the many applications of digital wallets, which can also be used to enjoy live gaming offerings or even to get involved in esports events like the League of Legends Worlds and the ESL Pro League. Since the advent of blockchain gaming, digital wallets have also become a crucial tool for playing these games, giving players must have money in the form of a cryptocurrency kept in one of these services.
PayPal, Google Pay, Cash App, and Venmo are currently some of the most used digital wallet services for fiat currencies. However, if you want to store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Exodus and Wasabi are two of the most popular options.
Twitch
Twitch is an incredibly useful asset for gamers. The platform has become a strong medium for content providers to stream games, live music, artistic displays, sports material, and even chats – “Just Chatting” has been the most watched Twitch category for some time, especially after the pandemic – as a live streaming network that fosters communities around a common interest.
Twitch can be downloaded on mobile devices and home consoles, in addition to its browser-based version, to stream directly from your mobile, Xbox, or PlayStation.
Twitch was bought by Amazon for over $1 billion in 2014, resulting in the integration of features with Amazon Prime services. The platform’s Partner Program allows popular artists to monetize their content with advertisements and subscriptions, as well as get access to many partner-only possibilities.
It has over 8 million unique contributors and 31 million daily active users as of February 2022, with more than 2.5 million average concurrent viewers.
Bluestacks
If you want to play Android games and run apps on your PC, an emulator is the way to go, and Bluestacks appears to be the gold standard. This useful tool generates an Android environment within Windows as a self-contained bubble in which to run a range of apps and games.
To effectively utilize virtual machines such as Bluestacks, you will only need to activate virtualization on your motherboard. This varies depending on the individual hardware in each PC, but a quick Google search or reading the motherboard manual can teach you how to access the BIOS and enable this option, since most will have it deactivated by default.
Discord
Discord is an instant messaging and digital distribution network built specifically for gamers, allowing them to chat with one another while playing online games and also to build communities based on common interests. Discord is accessible on iOS and Android devices and may be used for voice chats, video calls, and text messaging.
Despite its origins as a gaming platform, Discord has evolved into a virtual hangout for users to discuss a variety of topics, and it is now used by individuals all over the world for a variety of purposes ranging from art communities to study groups and business meetings.
According to statistics disclosed by the company, Discord presently has over 150 million active monthly users, 19 million active communities per week, and 4 billion chat minutes every day.
