The world of gaming changes rapidly and technology and gaming styles that had once been cutting-edge can soon look out of date. Yet, just like fashion, it is possible for technology to be repurposed or to become fashionable once more, albeit with a few updates.
The perfect example is the rollercoaster ride that the browser game has taken over the last 25 years. With the arrival of the internet and web browsers that offered basic HTML support, there was an early wave of browser games such as Earth 2025 which was a text-only game released in 1995. However, by the end of the decade, the browser game was poised to become a major factor in the gaming world.
Rise of the browser game
Browser technology developed quickly throughout the later 1990s, thanks largely to the support for browser plug-ins and the release of JavaScript. This enabled more sophisticated browser interaction, which was not held back by the limitations of HTML.
These browser extensions made it possible to run applets that were produced using the Java language and interactive animations that were made in Macromedia Flash. Initially intended for web page developers to create immersive sites, these tools were put to a different use in creating animation tools and developing small browser-based games.
Sites such as HotJava, Yahoo Games, and the Internet Gaming Zone began to gather these games and developed big followings. With the expansion of broadband in the early 2000s, traffic to these sites increased and other sites followed, such as Kongregate and Armor Games.
The potential of the browser game was also spotted by the burgeoning social media sector. After its launch in 2004, Facebook added new support for browser games that interacted with its social network, which helped to create social games, including the likes of Farmville.
Decline of browser gaming
The era of browser gaming was at its peak in the mid-2000s, but by the early 2010s, the decline had set in, due primarily to two factors.
The first, and arguably most significant, was the rise of mobile gaming and the smartphone. The iPhone, released in 2007, was a game-changer, thanks to its ability to play high-quality games, which were downloaded via the App Store. Through the App Store, it was possible for anyone to produce games and sell them to iPhone users, and new revenue models focusing on in-app purchases and free-to-play proved much more successful than the browser games’ reliance on ad revenue.
By the time that Google released the Android Play Store, developers were shifting en masse to the new mobile platform. One of the most notable examples was the development of Candy Crush Saga which started out as a browser game but went on to be one of the most successful mobile games ever.
Casinos and betting sites also jumped on the app bandwagon. Popular slot games such as Starburst (2012) could be played on smartphones via an app, providing a level of sophistication and immersion that had not previously been possible via mobile.
The second factor in the decline of the browser game was the decision by Apple not to support Flash through the iPhone platform. This pretty much ended Flash as a game platform. Within a year, Adobe had announced that they were moving to HTML5 and other standards. With no apparent future in Flash, developers moved on from the browser game in the early 2010s.
Resurgence
Despite this, over the last decade, there has been a remarkable resurgence in the availability and development of browser games, driven mainly by the rise of the indie gaming sector.
Back in the early 2000s, the gaming industry was growing and consolidating into a multi-billion dollar sector, focused on producing high-budget AAA games. As a result, game companies became increasingly risk-averse, which opened the door for smaller producers to come up with more inventive, experimental games.
Having established themselves through early browser games, many developers began to turn to other technology in the post-Flash era, using HTML5 or WebGL, and many of them utilizing the .io domain, first popularized by Agar.io in 2015. By creating mobile versions of their games, developers have been able to monetize these titles without sacrificing their creativity.
Now, the browser game genre is home to some of the most interesting and creative indie games, including engaging titles such as Runescape, Slither.io and Spelunky. All of which is a testament to the creativity of game developers and their inventive ability to repurpose technology that was thought to be obsolete.