How data centres are supporting the gaming industry

The gaming industry has been in a period of significant transformation for the last decade. Millions of fans all over the world take part in online gaming and the industry is booming year after year. According to Kareem Choudhry, Corporate Vice President of Cloud Gaming at Microsoft, over 25% of the world’s population are gamers. This was before the previously deemed ”niche market” surged to an estimated $160 billion sector in 2021 following the global lockdown. When gamers sit down to stream their favourite games, they probably don’t think about data centres that make the seamless experience possible. Recently leading gaming brands are collaborating with data centres to offer the best online gaming experience for gamers. “Fortnite,” the most popular online game by Epic Games boasts over 200 million players and relies on 12 AWS data centres with 24 availability zones to support the load. 

With the ongoing advancements in networking and live streaming software technologies, it is becoming easier to access the thrill of playing games on any device. Microsoft has announced its game streaming service Project xCloud to enable players to stream titles on their phones. Other companies including Google have announced a new launch of its cloud game streaming service, Stadia, which will be launched in November. Stadia is just like having a game console in the cloud accessible from any device. Not only is this tool allowing players to stream games from data centres in 4k resolution, but it is also said it is aiming to offer an 8k resolution in 120 frames/second soon.

This means that consoles will not even be required in the future as you will be able to access high-resolution gaming from any device. In the future, other brands will venture into game streaming, especially if projects like Stadia will take over the gaming industry. The gaming industry is continuing to grow and new technology will be developed which will enable cloud gaming to achieve greater achievements and advance further.