With the increasing computational demands of esports and online games, video game developers are now launching larger cloud infrastructures devoted to gathering in-game player data. However, the performance of a video game depends on how quickly the players’ data can be fetched, processed, and used by the servers.
As the in-game data becomes more complex, the process gets lower and increases latency. As such, video game developers are now exploring edge computing to solve this problem. In this, we’ll dive into what edge computing is and why video game developers are using it to solve latency challenges in online gaming.
What’s edge computing?
Edge computing refers to a distributed computing framework designed to bring together enterprise applications close to the data sources like the Internet of Things (IoT) devices or local servers. The close proximity to the data sources delivers several user benefits, including faster insights, better bandwidth availability, and improved response times.
Why video game developers are turning to edge computing
While traditional game architecture sends large amounts of data to select centralized locations to be processed, distributed architectures can process large data sets at the edge. These distributed systems send analogous or aggregated data to these select centralized locations.
When operations run at the edge, the data goes through the minimum distance possible and the players enjoy a latency-free experience. As such, gaming companies can use edge computing to give players a better in-game experience like the best online casinos in Australia, while significantly reducing the costs of running centralized infrastructures.
Mobile gaming is increasing the need for edge computing
Video games are increasingly turning mobile. In fact, research shows that over $58 billion was spent on mobile gaming in 2022. That’s a significant revenue compared to $8.3 billion spent on traditional video game consoles.
The increase in demand for immersive and interactive mobile gaming is pushing the physical limitations of the current slim designs and gaming infrastructures of traditional computing systems. However, edge computing is helping developers solve this issue, fueled by the rise of 5G telecom systems.
Edge computing is making it possible for players to enjoy high-end console gaming in their hands, reducing the game’s battery strain on the mobile phone while delivering a high-end experience. Additionally, access to 5G connections using geographic proximity is leading to lower latency for mobile games and an improved gaming experience.
Low Latency is crucial for an immersive experience
Online games require continuous interaction and near-immediate feedback, requiring low latency. The video game must respond to the players’ commands quickly, which travels back and forth through the network for the data centers to process them fast. That allows the player to feel that the game responds to every mouse movement or keystroke in real time. This real-time immersion makes the game engaging.
The biggest challenge when streaming video games from the cloud is the latency. Even when there are a few milliseconds of delay in how the game responds to your keystrokes, the players may feel frustrated and discouraged to play.
If the game’s network connections are weak or the data centers are too far, the user experience suffers and consequently, its use may drop. That’s why video game developers are looking at edge computing as the future of the gaming market. These systems ensure the latency of a game is at its lowest as the data process is done close to the player.
