blogadminWas there a time when your laptop got so heated when you were playing a game? Well, the bad news is that this is something that can happen when your device tries to run a graphically demanding game. Some games require an advanced GPU processor, and some also can take up more than 50 GB of your PC storage.
The good news is, you don’t have to find a new hobby even if your PC doesn’t have that amount of storage or that specs of GPU. You can still play games on your same PC without risking it getting overheated with cloud gaming.
What is Cloud Gaming?
Before we dive deeper into what cloud gaming is, let’s review a bit about cloud computing in general. The idea of cloud computing is to make computing resources, such as servers, storage, networks, software, and databases available online on a pay-as-you-go basis. With cloud computing, users can access software (SaaS), platforms (PaaS), and infrastructures (IaaS) at any device as long as the device is connected to the internet and the user subscribes to the services.
Simply put, cloud gaming or game as a service is similar to that, except that it is more focused specifically on accessing game services. Thus, gaming as a service allows its users to play video games on a remote server in a data center. This allows users to stream or play video games without having to install each game individually on their PCs or mobile devices as long as they have subscribed to the services and are connected to the internet. The user only needs to either open the website provided or download the app provided by the cloud gaming provider to enjoy the video games because the game is already rendered on the remote server.
What are the Benefits of Cloud Gaming?
There are some of the main benefits of using cloud gaming, which are:
Accessibility
Not everyone has the hardware to run the latest and super demanding video games, but with cloud gaming, users can enjoy high GPU-demanding and storage-demanding games without actually having to upgrade their PC or console. This also saves a lot of money for the users as they can just use their existing hardware without having to buy expensive gaming hardware.
Wider variety of games to play
Also, another benefit of cloud gaming technology is that similar to Netflix or other movie streaming services, users now have a wide range of games to choose from. This is a huge benefit for gamers as they can try out lots of games without going through the hassle of installing or purchasing them one by one.
Flexibility
In the past, we may have experienced playing games that can only run on Windows and can’t be played on Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, etc. Cloud gaming has solved that problem. Similar to how you can always resume that Netflix series that you haven’t finished watching on any of your devices, cloud gaming also allows users to cross-play across their desktop and mobile devices, which can’t be accomplished using traditional computer or hardware-based games.
Easier Developer Experience
With cloud gaming, game developers now only have to build a video game once and it can directly be distributed across multiple devices without having to create multiple binaries. This means they no longer have to go through the hassle of optimizing the video games for multiple hardware platforms (mobile and desktop).
How Does Cloud Gaming Work?
Just like a movie or video streaming service, cloud gaming usually requires its users to pay on a monthly or yearly basis to access the games, and some require their users to buy the games on top of that fee.
The remote server will do all the heavy work. The server renders the game and streams the video game to your device. Meanwhile, your device (PC, tablet, phone) will receive the streaming video and audio and your device will also send input commands. Your keyboard and mouse input actions will be sent over the network to the server. In short, the inputs from your device will be sent to the game server, and the server sends back a response, in the form of a video stream, in real time.
Future Trends in Cloud Gaming
In the future, cloud gaming can be as famous and as widely adopted as video streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, as the trend in subscription-based services is on the rise. People prefer subscription over ownership because it is more affordable and flexible without the required maintenance. Furthermore, the global e-commerce subscription market size is expected to reach $904.28 billion in 2026. Additionally, Newzoo, a provider of games and e-sports analytics, also predicts that cloud gaming will generate $6.3 million in revenue by 2024.
The global adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the rise. According to a 2021 survey by McKinsey , AI adoption is continuing its steady rise as 56% of the respondents adopt AI in at least one function of their organization, compared to 50% in their 2020 survey. With the rise of global AI adoption, the future of cloud gaming providers will also be likely to utilize AI to provide a better gaming experience for their users. Aside from better graphics, Myelin Foundry , a deep tech product start-up, mentions that AI and deep learning can help users to have a lag-free and ultra-HD cloud gaming experience.
Ultimately, the future of cloud gaming is set for immense growth in-the-near future. With more and more gamers signing on and using this service, it appears that this has the potential to become the norm.
