By Ruben Sethu
Imagine a world where you don’t have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a new console (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S) – or a high-end gaming computer to play the latest games at maximum framerates and resolutions. Instead, all you must do is fork out a small monthly fee to play games anywhere (laptops, tablets, phones) if you have an internet connection.
That is the premise of cloud gaming. Cloud gaming works by hosting a game’s data on massive servers run by companies. Each action taken in the game is processed by the server and sent back to the device. This eliminates the need to download games or require powerful hardware to run them.
With major tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia investing heavily into cloud gaming, it is poised to become the next big thing in technology after streaming.
However, each of them has taken a different approach towards cloud gaming. For example, Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming is bundled into its Game Pass Ultimate subscription service. Essentially, Game Pass is Netflix for games. You don’t have to pay separately for games if it is in Game Pass. Google’s Stadia also offers a similar model in its Pro tier.
On the other hand, Nvidia’s GeForce Now requires you to already own a copy of the game. While this can be a problem due to the expensive costs of games, you can always wait for a sale to purchase games at low, discounted prices.
Despite its advantages, there are some drawbacks to cloud gaming: firstly, latency. There will always be some input lag due to the delay in sending and receiving data. This is a problem in multiplayer games but not an issue in single-player games; and, secondly, internet connection and data caps. If you have a spotty connection or get throttled, you can be dropped from the server.