HOW GAMING IS GROWING WITHIN THE CLOUD
The disruptive influence of cloud gaming on the gaming industry
By Jamieson Lee Hill
It would have seemed inconceivable 20 years ago that the trend for buying gaming consoles and PCs could fade away. However, cloud gaming could render them both unnecessary in the future. Nowadays, cloud computing can handle and store even the biggest of games. Let’s investigate how cloud computing is changing the gaming industry.
What is Cloud Gaming?
Cloud gaming basically means playing video games using the remote facilities provided by data centres like IP House. Gaming in the cloud, players have no need to download and install games on their PCs or consoles because everything is stored and runs in the cloud. However, players do need a good internet connection capable of running the cloud. The internet connection allows information to be sent to a browser instead of the game being installed on a pc or console.
Benefits Of Cloud Gaming
The benefits of cloud gaming for gaming studios and publishers are numerous including location independence and not needing to update hardware as it is all housed within the data centre. Overall, costs are much lower for gaming studios and publishers as the software/hardware are all housed in the data centre instead of onsite at the company.
From a gamer’s point of view, the instant game launch using the cloud is particularly appealing, as well as playing games cross-platform. Moreover, the integration with other devices can be seamless using cloud gaming, as you can enjoy console or PC games on your mobile. Cloud gaming provides gamers with a cutting edge experience on a variety of devices.
Advanced gaming software runs on lightning fast servers at IP House Data Centre and players can indulge in lag-free gaming across the internet in real-time. Another major benefit for gamers is they only pay an affordable monthly subscription fee to stream games, instead of spending heavily on a gaming pc/console.
Will Cloud Gaming Kill Off Consoles/Gaming PCs?
Certainly, the need for expensive consoles and gaming pcs is no longer there because the cloud stores and runs the largest of games. Without doubt, cloud gaming is changing the landscape for mobile, PC and console video games. Ultimately cloud gaming means that you can run a powerful game on your mobile phone without using a gaming pc or console. Therefore, players can access the latest high spec games regardless of their hardware or location. It remains to be seen whether the demand for consoles and gaming PCs drops in future as more players migrate to cloud gaming or whether they will co-exist?
Innovation During Covid in Cloud Gaming
During the pandemic, a number of innovations occurred in cloud gaming including players being able to experience high-end gaming hardware for a small percentage of the usual cost through a streaming subscription service. Also, players could play games in a subscription service without downloading them and mobile gamers no longer needed to download large amounts of GBs for big titles.
The Revenue From Cloud Gaming
The revenue from cloud gaming is certainly rising fast with 21.7 million gamers in 2021 having generated $1.5 billion. This figure is forecasted to rise 4 times by 2024 to over $6 billion. In comparison, the total forecasted global gaming revenue for 2024 is a massive $281.53 billion dollars.
Reflections
Big data requirements from different sectors have seen data centres grow in capacity and capability. In fact, the average server cabinet has gone from 3 to 5kW to nearly 10kW in only a few years. IP House Data centre is fully equipped with the right infrastructure, hardware and software to host cloud gaming. Also, as a colocation provider we have effective connectivity options to prevent latency problems in gaming.
Gaming has been on the increase since the pandemic and the surge in demand means the need for reliable and robust cloud computing is even higher. IP House is fully equipped to host gaming studios’ games with high quality streaming on fast servers. Keeping up-to-date with the latest hardware and software, IP House stays at the leading edge of the cloud gaming industry.
The future of gaming lies within the cloud…
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Sources:
1.Data Centre Evolution 2023:
2.The Rise of Cloud Gaming:
https://www.datacenters.com/news/the-rise-of-cloud-gaming
3.FIFA EA 2023:
https://help.ea.com/sg/help/fifa/fifa-game-data-center-faq/
4.Cloud Gaming and Revenue:
https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/cloud-gaming-market-generated-1-5-billion-dollars-in-2021
5.The Future of Gaming and Cambridge Data Centres:
https://kaodata.com/blog/how-data-centres-are-shaping-the-future-of-gaming-in-cambridge-and-beyond
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