In years gone by, animation was seen more as a decoration than a feature, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Good animation draws players in, creates a recognizable brand and, importantly for developers, covers a multitude of sins!
Like everything though, animation is constantly changing as evolving player needs develop at a rapid rate. In this article, we take a look at some of the most viral animation trends right now.
Read on to find out about the move from photorealism to tactile and deliberately styled animation, among much, much more.
2026 in Animation: Hybrid 2D/3D
2D/3D hybrid animation is en vogue in the gaming world right now. The family film Klaus, which was released in 2019, was perhaps the first major production to successfully capture the 2D-to-3D animation style.
The hand-drawn outlines that formed the characters in the film were adorned with painterly textures, comic-book effects and exaggerated character poses, amongst other features, to look like stunning 3D characters. All of this was done with simple drawing tools, as opposed to CGI.
7 years later and this style is running riot in the gaming world, because it is perfectly suited to the main gaming device of the day – the mobile phone. On mobile, the 3D effect helps developers produce a visually stunning and engaging product, without having to go overboard on the detail.
The distinctive look of the characters in these animations also serves as a useful hook on attention-deficit social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram Reels, where these games tend to be advertised.
(Klaus on Netflix is one of the best examples of this animations style.)
Casino Animation and Player Choice
It’s not just social media where there is a battle for attention and eyeballs. The online gambling world is just as attention-deficient, with players being advertised to by hundreds of thousands of casinos from all over the globe.
The range of themes, offers and bonuses that you can find just from a cursory look at sites like https://casino.draftkings.com/ highlights just how very crowded the online gambling market is.
The 2D to 3D animation trend, which is being adopted by a number of online casinos, is a great way to stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of potential customers.
It also helps to keep players playing and spinning reels for longer, as these graphics are far more immersive than traditional online casino graphics, which are, in truth, no different from the casino graphics that you would have seen in Grand Theft Auto IV when it was released back in 2015.
(Some online casinos have worse graphics than GTA IV which was released when Barack Obama was President!)
Handcrafted Visuals
Open up ChatGPT, upload a selfie and ask it to paint that image in the style of Vincent Van Gogh and 99/100 it will give a really, really good go. At first this was great, but now that everyone has access to AI, picture-perfect images are starting to become somewhat boring.
As a result, there has been a response in the world of animation whereby more authentic and human visuals are bouncing back. Uneven textures, stepped movement, brush strokes and animations with real humans’ flaws are experiencing a renaissance as a result.
Initially, this was a trend kickstarted by independent gaming producers, but the positive response to these games has seen larger companies jump on the handcrafted visuals bandwagon as well.
Retro Design
Animation isn’t immune to wider worldwide trends, and one that has been unavoidable in recent years is the return of retro. Whether it be clothing, television, or gaming, the public’s appetite for content that brings them back to their childhood is insatiable.
What that says about the current state of the world, or the habits of Millennials and Gen X consumers, is a matter for a different article though!
Technology and the Future
Typically, at this point in an article examining trends in a specific industry, it is customary to eulogise about technology and speculate as to how AI and other tools will take the industry to the next level. But, in the short term, that’s not what we envisage for animation and video games.
Yes, AI will undoubtedly have a role to play in game development and animation, but it will be a very light touch that is required over the coming years. Almost everywhere, there is a counter-response to AI being observed in consumer behaviour.
Gamers, shoppers and advertisers don’t want to see obvious AI content. They want content with a human touch, so for the next couple of years at least, expect to see more blemishes and more contrasts in animation as developers seek to convince their customers that they aren’t mass-producing their games with AI.
