What Does io Mean in Games?

Adventures that have an io component to their names have stormed the market in 2015. Becoming a true hit, they are now among the most popular online toys. But what does io mean in games? Who was the pioneer in this sphere? Which features get users hooked for hours?

The Origin of the Legend

Each country has a certain abbreviation for its domain. For example, .de refers to Germany, .au – to Australia, .fr – to France, etc. And in the case with .io, it is British Indian Ocean Territory. The first upcoming “stars” came out in 2015 and 2016 (Agar.io and Slither.io). Those had no connection to the British Indian at all. But as you know, it’s not necessary.

What Does io Mean in Games if It’s not Connected to the Location?

The hype of the 2 games made other developers want to get their piece. Somehow they thought it would be reasonable to use the same domain extension. 4 plausible reasons clearly explain such a choice:

• It almost doesn’t make any difference where you are when picking the domain.
• After one becomes popular in a certain field, analogs show up.
• The combination also stands for several field-specific tech terms. E.g., Information Operation, Input/Output, Information Object. Adding a little bit of slang, they hid additional meanings in the titles.
• It simply sounds cool.

At some point, the duplicates transformed to be unique and interesting games. With certain distinctive features. So now .io solely points to a separate type of games. Do you want to play io Games? Play krunker io now.

What Does io Mean in Games Now? Key Features that Define the Genre

• Such toys don’t require payment to be launched.
• Browser-based. You skip downloading and installation processes and play online.
• Being never alone, you always compete with others. Either by killing them or just showing better results.
• Simple gameplay. You strive for the goal with 1-2 buttons and perform repetitive actions.
• Minimalistic graphics. Be it 2D or 3D, the visuals are nice. But they still can’t be compared to fully-featured PC or console-based toys.
• Designed to entertain, they also help you relax with meditative content.