Biggest step forward for gaming in the 21st century

[Bofferbrauer2]

Hard to say.

VR: Still too niche

Motion controls: Seldom used properly

Online: Came also with drawbacks (like always-on mandates for single-player, constant patches, releasing games in unfinished states since they can be patched...)

Variable Refresh rate: Very nice in fast-paced games on weaker hardware, but otherwise not needed.

Hardware improvements: SSDs are nice, but until data streaming gets more pronounced, it's only a half-step.

As such, for me so far it's the rise of mods and Indie gaming, as big publishers are increasingly just chasing after trends - trends that are more and more set by either mods or indie titles.