Cloud gaming may sound like a fairy tale but is, in fact, a huge evolutionary leap. The genius use of the remote cloud servers and internet has ushered in the era of ‘Game Streaming’. Similar to streaming videos over Netflix or Prime, you can now stream your favorite video games and play them on your smartphone, smart TV, or laptop without investing in expensive, high-end, gaming-centric PCs and consoles.
With this technology, the games are installed and executed on a host of cloud servers that hold humongous memory and operate at breakneck processing speeds to support high-end graphics. All the user needs are a high-speed internet connection and lightweight client software that gets installed on their local device. This software picks up the inputs from the player and relays them to the cloud server. Thus, the actual game gets played on the cloud computer with heavyweight, high specs hardware, and the user is saved the hassle and cost of buying and setting up the game locally.
Also known as Gaming on Demand, Game-as-a-service, or simply Game Streaming, this service is subscription based. By signing up with a service provider like Shadow, Nvidia GeForce, Google Stadia, Xbox Cloud Game, and Amazon Luna, users pay a small fee and simply download their app, sign up and pick up their consoles.
Another added attraction is the gaming library that comes with these subscriptions – hundreds of games, including AAA titles (Triple-A) – the highest graded games as per production budget. Generally, blockbuster games launched by major publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Activision and have development and publishing budgets similar to Marvel and DC movies are honored with this grade. Our culture is peppered with these games that seem a part of daily life – Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, or FIFA. Now, just pick up your device and play these titles whenever you want.