Level Up Your Life: Smell-o-Vision and the Rise of the Sentient NPC

Within the next three years, expect a surge in “immersive olfactory gaming,” where specialized headsets deliver realistic smells alongside visuals and sounds, leading to hilarious situations like accidentally triggering a virtual skunk spray mid-boss battle. Meanwhile, AI-driven NPCs will become so sophisticated they’ll not only convincingly role-play but also develop bizarre, emergent storylines and grudges against specific players, potentially leading to the first ever gamer-initiated class-action lawsuit against a rogue virtual bartender.