For years, we have played video games at home on our computers or consoles — and interruptions have been a part of our gaming lives…
If you have ever been in a heated game of Halo and have had to pause the game or turn it off and then start over, then maybe it is time to get onto “Cloud Gaming”. The term might have seemed completely foreign a decade ago, but the premise is quite simple.
Imagine if you could play any game on any device, wherever you want and whenever you want, as long as you have a reliable internet connection and a subscription — just like Netflix. That is Cloud Gaming for you. Instead of buying a console and a disc, you can stream a game to any display you own, a bit like Netflix. Clearly, cloud gaming is not just poised to but already on its way to transform the video game industry and become a new milestone in video game history.
How Does Cloud-Based Gaming Work?
Think of cloud gaming as Amazon Prime or Netflix but for video games. While traditional gaming requires expensive hardware, cloud gaming allows you to play remotely on any compatible device: a tablet, a TV, and even your smartphone. So, instead of investing in expensive consoles and computers, cloud gaming allows you to use a device that you already own. Additionally, it allows players to save their progress midgame and resume later on another device, no matter where they are.
So, how does it work behind the scenes? Since there are remote servers involved, all you need is a device of your own and a reliable internet connection to send the gaming information to a browser or an app installed on the said device. While the remote server renders and plays the game, the players see and interact with everything locally on their devices. Hence, cloud gaming also does away with those beefy graphics cards or the fact that you need to upgrade devices to play certain versions of games.
Subscription vs. Streaming
In most cases, cloud gaming requires players to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee to access the content. In some cases, you need to purchase the games on top of that fee as well. In the end, the choice comes down to whether you would prefer game-streaming services or a game subscription service. They might sound like they are the same, but there are a few significant differences that we have outlined below.
- Game streaming: Game streaming is just like Amazon Prime or Netflix streaming, except that in this feature, you will be streaming games. For instance, on Google Stadia, the service is free, but you need to buy the games. So, you “own” the games you buy but you can play them only on Stadia. So, while you will not be able to download or store the games on your device, you will not have to worry about expensive hardware requirements, huge file sizes, or installing updates. PlayStation Now is a deviant of this, where you can download some games to PS4/PS5.
- Game subscription: As seen with Apple Arcade and Xbox Game Pass, players pay to access a vault of games that they can download and play locally on their devices. As long as players pay for the subscription, they have complete access to those games. However, if one of their favourite games is taken off the subscription service, then they will have to buy the game itself. These game subscription services do not utilize streaming themselves, although Xbox Game Pass does have a streaming option too.
A World Of Possibilities
Imagine being able to boot up a cloud gaming app on your Chromebook or grab your phone and play Starfield or Call of Duty for some highly portable PC gaming. The fact that the infrastructure now makes it possible is what makes cloud gaming so exciting. Not only do you not need extra storage space, which is a problem with consoles, but you also do not need software or cables. And you do not need to wait for huge games to download and install either.
That is not all; what makes cloud gaming so lucrative is that it eliminates the upfront costs of having to buy and maintain powerful game consoles or gaming PCs. Instead, players can pay a small monthly fee to gain access to high-powered gaming PCs or for streaming content. While some services require purchasing games individually, either way, cloud gaming will definitely end up saving players time and money in the short and long run. If that was not enough, they even get access to their saved data and games, no matter where they are located, since everything is stockpiled in the cloud. As long as they have access to a strong and reliable internet connection, they enjoy having instant access to their games on any device of their choice.
Cloud gaming boasts a ton of advantages not only for gamers but for developers and publishers as well. For starters, it eliminates the need for DRM (Digital rights management) and the potential for pirating since players are not actually downloading the games. Moreover, cloud gaming ensures that everyone has equal access to the same performance and hardware, which could help publishers lower development costs.
If you have ever been unable to fully enjoy a game that you were playing because you did not have easy access to a larger library or if your PC was not good enough and you could not upgrade it at the time, then the solutions to these problems are much closer to cloud gaming than you might realize.
In 2022 alone, USD 2.4 billion was spent by nearly 31.7 million people on cloud services and games, according to gaming analytics firm Newzoo. These numbers are all set to soar to as much as USD 8.2 billion in revenue from nearly 86.9 million users by just 2025. Even though cloud gaming is still in its nascent stage, it is transforming the gaming industry at a mind-boggling pace, with the intent of becoming the new normal way to play.
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