Anyone who likes to play technically demanding video games and does not have the most powerful PC can use cloud gaming. But what is actually behind the term and how exactly does gambling in the cloud work?
With so-called cloud gaming, the name says it all. The video games are accessed via a cloud or a server, an online storage. So you hardly need any hardware for it. This has both advantages and disadvantages.
All important information about cloud gaming can also be found in the video:
What is cloud gaming?
An alternative term to cloud gaming is game streaming or gaming-on-demand as a counterpart to video-on-demand. As with Netflix and Co., the content is streamed from the Internet, in this case a video game. The crucial difference to video streaming, which is now widespread, is that the information has to flow in both directions: Both the input of the control and the subsequent playback in the moving image. A good internet connection is therefore the alpha and omega of cloud gaming.
The whole thing can be correspondingly expensive if you gamble on the go at the expense of your own mobile data. If you play from home and have at least a 15 Mbit line, you shouldn’t have any problems. As usual, your own PC, console or smartphone serves as the end device, although this varies in part from provider to provider.
Also read: How much data volume on the smartphone do you really need?
The advantages and disadvantages
In addition to playing a stationary installed title, more and more providers are also relying on cloud gaming. The advantage of this is, among other things, that the gaming hardware does not necessarily have to be that powerful, because the content of the game is retrieved from the Internet from remote servers. In addition, players are – at least in theory – no longer tied to one system. In practice, however, you are then dependent on a service that allows you to play across multiple platforms or you have booked a cloud gaming subscription directly with one of the larger providers. Storage space is also saved with cloud gaming.
One disadvantage is that a stable and, above all, fast internet connection is required. As already mentioned, mobile cloud gaming can be quite expensive. In addition, in case of doubt, one is of course more bound to the corresponding provider. Speaking of providers: A cloud gaming subscription can also cost almost 30 euros a month with the appropriate performance. The higher input lag, i.e. the time it takes for the player’s input to be implemented on the screen, is also particularly noticeable in particularly fast or multiplayer games.
Cloud gaming providers
There are now some large providers who have integrated cloud gaming into their subscriptions. For example, you can access online storage and cloud games as part of an Ultimate Pass for the Xbox or a premium subscription for the PlayStation. The costs for this are 13 or 17 euros per month. However, you are then also dependent on the corresponding console from the provider and its PC platform in order to access games from the cloud. Many titles are available within the subscription.
For particularly demanding gamers, there is also the slightly different cloud gaming model from Nvidia: Geforce Now. Players then have to buy the games themselves via Steam, for example. However, they also get good streaming quality with little latency and the good graphics performance of Nvidia. The largest and most popular provider on the market was Google Stadia – however, the service was discontinued in January 2023. Otherwise, it is increasingly possible to purchase only individual titles in the cloud version.