Cloud Gaming. How Does It Work?

After all, cloud gaming is about to become a reality. To many gamers across the world, this is to the ears. The biggest gaming brands in the industry have announced that they will launch their platforms for cloud gaming. Xbox, which is owned by Microsoft, made the news public last July by announcing XCloud. Google, Ubisoft, and EA have also stated that they will have their cloud gaming services ready pretty soon. That represents a significant breakthrough in the gaming industry as a whole. To appreciate what this innovation will bring about, it is helpful to understand how cloud gaming works, as well as what new possibilities it opens up. Let’s go through the basics.

What is Cloud Gaming?

Cloud gaming is a technology that allows users to play video games via a dedicated online stream from anywhere in the world. That means people will not need to download and install games anymore. Recent titles can get into the ranges of 200Gb, which is quite hefty in size goes on, game sizes are apt to keep increasing. Hard drive space costs money, so saved storage is a benefit that will be appreciated by many. While this is nice, cloud gaming without downloads is not the best thing about this technology. What is astonishing is that through technology, any multimedia device will turn into a high-powered gaming machine. Any tablet, phone, PC, or smart TV with a good internet connection will be able to stream games at maximum graphics effortlessly. Top tier computer components can be icey, which is an entry barrier to many. Thanks to cloud gaming, anyone could enjoy the newest games in glorious graphic settings and at reasonable prices.

How Does Cloud Gaming Work?

Players will be able to access their favorite titles on powerful cloud gaming servers in real-time. A virtual machine will run the game, then compress the video stream, and feed it to user devices via the internet. The controller data of players will be going to online servers. These, in turn, will process the commands and control the virtual machines. Essentially, cloud gaming will be like Netflix, just for games. Doing away with all the discs, booting up, and loud ventilation noises will make things much more convenient. However, currently, things aren’t 100% peachy yet. The great challenge of cloud gaming is the input lag. Users will have to send their real-time controls over an internet connection, wait for the servers to process them, and then react to what is happening on the screen. Even with high-speed internet, the process is not instant. The best cloud gaming services are average at around 30ms of input lag. That is not much, but noticeable enough in high action competitive games. It won’t be an issue in classic games such as Need for Speed, Assassins Creed, or our favorite – Origami. Casual gamers may not even notice the small lag at all, but it is quite sure that we won’t see cloud gaming being used in professional e-sports tournaments quite yet. However, the biggest gaming companies in the world will support cloud gaming. They have massive funds for furthering research. Because of this, we may see some wild technological breakthroughs that will minimize the issue of input lag soon enough.

Why Choose Cloud Gaming Over Regular Consoles?

Cloud gaming looks very promising. The technology may not be perfect yet, but it is good enough to provide a whole lot of value. Especially for old devices such as PCs, tablets, and Androids, cloud gaming will bring a breath of fresh air. Instead of throwing them out, people will be able to use aged tech to continue to enjoy awesome entertainment. Cloud gaming will save gamers space, as there won’t be any need to have so much processing power in one box.
Trying new demo versions of games may also become a cloud gaming option. That means gamers will be able to test new titles without having to purchase them. Another benefit of cloud gaming will be that games won’t need updates whatsoever. All of them will be applied to the virtual machines directly. On top of all this, there will be fewer cheaters in games. Game titles will be stored on servers, meaning the data files will not be open to the public.
Cheaters won’t be able to access the innards of games and install any malicious software. It should weed the bad apples out and make the gaming community happier overall.

Read also Cloud Services – Some Things to Know

If cloud gaming lives up to the hype, it could be a complete game-changer in the entertainment industry. There are still some issues to solve, such as minimizing input lag. However, this may not take too long as industry giants such as Microsoft, EA, and Apple are on the issue. We can not wait to see how all of this will play out in the coming years. What do you think about cloud gaming for PC, consoles, tablets, and phones? Are you willing to use it? Please leave your opinions in the comments down below. We are excited to hear your thoughts about breakthrough technology!