Online gaming has drastically increased the scope and size of video game culture.

Some online games can receive a massive influx of popularity due to many well-known Twitch streamers and YouTubers playing them. Many online games create their own online communities, while other games, especially social games, integrate the players' existing real-life communities. The existence of online components within a game can range from being minor features, such as an online leaderboard, to being part of core gameplay, such as directly playing against other players. The design of online games can range from simple text-based environments to the incorporation of complex graphics and virtual worlds. Unlike purchased retail games, online games have the problem of not being permanently playable, as they require special servers in order to function.

Since 2010s, a common trend among online games has been operating them as games as a service, using monetization schemes such as loot boxes and battle passes as purchasable items atop freely-offered games. In 2019, revenue in the online games segment reached $16.9 billion, with $4.2 billion generated by China and $3.5 billion in the United States. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, and span many genres, including first-person shooters, strategy games, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available.

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