Meta- Cloud gaming has been evolving over the years but will it be able to scale with the modern technological integration. Let’s find out!
Cloud gaming is being considered the epicenter for the gaming industry. Until 2010 the technology was not evolved and nobody tried to pay attention to it. Considering it a momentous investment needed convincing the mass that the technology can scale.
In 2019, the revenue generated was US$306 million. Now speaking of the present, the year 2023; Revenue generated by cloud gaming market is projected to reach US$4.34 billion, growing at a CAGR of 44%. it has rapidly adapted the changing demand of users and overcome many technical as well as creative challenges.
Looking at the market one can say cloud gaming has effectively gained momentum over the past decade, but there are still uncertainties. This blog will discuss what are those uncertainties faced by cloud gaming, the future, and will it be able to evolve for the new user base.
Cloud Gaming: A Game-changing Technology
The gaming industry was facing numerous setbacks. it could not expand to a bigger user base, it was not able to bring out co-op entertainment, and LAN gaming had a scalability issue which troubled game developers too. Cloud gaming technology was able to become a game changer for the industry by providing numerous advantages and an upper hand to users too.
Cloud gaming brings convenience for video game enthusiasts by utilizing remote servers to save and process data. The technology enabled by remote server is able to create a link between game publishers, streaming services, and players. Users can have fun as the technology helps them overcome numerous obstacles and enjoy their favorite games to the fullest. No hardware, no additional storage cost, a fast gaming experience is what cloud platform based games offers.
How cloud gaming became a mainstream
There are plenty of reasons that made cloud gaming become mainstream in the gaming industry, let’s explore them a bit.
Internet Speed
After the acknowledgment of advancements in technology that covers internet speed, industrial experts wanted to utilize high speed internet for various purposes. One of them being cloud gaming too, due to high speed fiber-optic internet arrangement users can enjoy gaming at high-speed & low latency.
Wide Range of Games
The increasing popularity of video gaming gave birth to a new generation of expert game designers and developers. They were ready to take on the market and introduce their own games to the cloud gaming platforms. Compared to traditional platforms, this made the gaming library include more wide varieties of games.
So, in a way the technology gave a tremendous boost to the gaming industry and revolutionized it. Nowadays there are plenty of cloud gaming platforms available with diversified features and functionality allowing users to play games resonating with their likes and demands.
Low Cost
If you are a pro-gamer or skilled one you must know how gaming via cloud platforms is cost-efficient. For the newbies let us tell you the difference between a system based gaming and cloud one.
Table A.1 Cost on various Platforms
| Region | Cloud gaming | PC gaming | Console gaming | Mobile gaming |
| North America | $10-$20 per month | $500-$2,000 | $300-$500 | $0-$50 per month |
| Europe | $10-$20 per month | $500-$2,000 | $300-$500 | $0-$50 per month |
| Asia | $5-$15 per month | $300-$1,000 | $200-$300 | $0-$30 per month |
| South America | $5-$10 per month | $200-$800 | $100-$200 | $0-$20 per month |
| Africa | $3-$5 per month | $100-$500 | $50-$100 | $0-$10 per month |
What are the Cloud Gaming Trends that Helps Advancement
Since the popularity of cloud based gaming, there are many technological trends that have acted as catalysts in the advancement. Let us explore them to better understand and answer our ultimate question.
VR/AR & Metaverse
- Metaverse has been making steady progress in terms of developing features and functionalities for the best product. One should not forget the development of the metaverse and exploring the digital realm is only possible due to cloud based computing technology.
- If the Metaverse can include real life simulations maybe it could also include a game based fundamentals, where a meta-human earns digital points through completing tasks in daily life.
- VR & AR have always been a push and pull for many industry experts. Well to say cloud gaming and AR/VR belong together as one provides an immersive experience, the other a faster gaming experience. It opens a whole new creative and technical portal to possibilities.
Artificial intelligence
- AI is being used to refine non-playable characters, make them real life-like and unpredictable. Gaming using cloud technology makes this possible due to the rapid fast data processing between servers and user responses.
- Real time creation using generative AI and cloud gaming. This has helped the game industry scale pretty impressively. The content generated is created through learning the pattern of payers, this makes players explore new experiences that are unique and non repetitive.
- AI based game optimization on cloud gaming networks and platforms makes the player engage more and play games with high-fidelity graphics. Perfecting the real time ray tracing with the help of AI & ML is one of the ways to achieve intensive graphic gaming.
Blockchain
Integrating blockchain to cloud gaming can unveil the following benefits:
- Blockchain enabled data security for users and their assets.
- Anti-cheat system for fair gameplay.
- Providing complete transparency and allowing efficient transactions.
Blockchain has few challenges that it needs to overcome before people adapt to it for cloud gaming. Speaking of challenges just like blockchain cloud gaming too has few limitations. Let’s explore them.
Limitations of Cloud Gaming
Integration of modern technologies to help cloud gaming advance may lead to a revamped gaming ecosystem. However, there are few limitations that cloud gaming technology needs to address to make this milestone possible. These limitations exist due to the technology being new and still there is a lot to uncover for game developers.
Latency & Bandwidth
The data processing speed does dampened on the size of data and the heavy load a channel carries. Every year developers try to make their game more graphic intense and that could lead to high latency & bandwidth issues. One clear example of this problem is faced by Dota 2 players during high viewers and an online tournament both are underway.
Data Caps
Internet service providers play a crucial role for every region when it comes to cloud gaming. A bad internet service provider could implement data capping that disrupts the gaming experience of a player. A good internet service could be hard to find in a region where internet monopoly is in effect.
Will Cloud Gaming Continue to Grow and Evolve?
So, the advantages and challenges altogether lead to one single question: “If cloud gaming has a scaling feature, will it firmly hold its position in the market?”.
Let’s bounce back to some statistics:
- In the Cloud Gaming market, the number of readers is expected to amount to 493.0m users by 2027.
- User penetration will be 3.8% in 2023 and is expected to hit 6.2% by 2027.
- The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to US$14.70.
We did consider the technological trends, but how about we also look at some of the business & market trends. These trends could highly affect the growth trajectory of cloud gaming market’s scalability.
As the mobile cloud gaming market grows and the users demand more explorable games it will affect the cloud gaming too.
The introduction of new internet technologies like Web 3, commercialization of 5G and Geo-satellites.
Low-cost subscription based cloud gaming and streaming platforms for global eSports tournaments is one of the best monetization methods.
Epilogue
Cloud gaming has built the gaming industry and highlighted the convincing impact it can have on the mass audience. Every mobile game development company is able to capitalize on this to introduce exciting games for users. They try to push the boundaries, while preserving the epic-ness and surprising elements of the game.
It is a technology that one should not steer clear while focusing on others, there is a possibility of innovation integration. This integration could also offer plenty of possibilities for investors, developers, and users.
Cloud based gaming technology has allowed game enthusiasts to enjoy together, experts to research & innovate, and investors to open new game segments. A technology that will surely scale and make revolutionary transformations to the gaming industry.