The gaming industry has exploded in recent years and the gaming craze continues to spread across the globe. Further, diverse forecasts show that this is a trend of exponential growth, as it is one of the industries that will benefit most from 5G, a fifth-generation technology that has been implemented around the world.
Specialists even compare the intersection of 5G with the world of games to the impact that smartphones had on the consumption of audiovisual products.
With 5G, gamers will be able to enjoy latency-free gaming on the go. Thus, the probability of users being interrupted by pauses that impair the feeling of immersion will be small. In competitive games, every split-second counts. Any delay can give competitors an undue advantage, which can be decisive in the outcome of the game. When such delay is minimized, you have a fair match, with neither side being favored.
The most immediate effect of 5G for the gaming universe is the so-called mobile experience. Many people are still being deprived of access because of bad or non-existent internet connection. The entry of 5G indicates that there will be a popularization of access to games, due to increased network speeds and lower strain on cell phones.
With low latency, remote sources may support part of the processing, which shows that 5G smartphones that have a lower battery and thermal capacity can run heavier games without being overloaded. Thus, a high download time can be drastically reduced with the use of 5G.
Super-fast speeds and low latency will also allow more players to take part in near real-time community game creation with a rich graphics experience for multiplayer gaming on the go. Some of today’s biggest games apply user-generated content, such as the infinite numbers of player-created maps.
5G also has the potential to decouple players from hardware or TV equipment, leading to the democratization of games. Thus, a player would just need a screen and controller, with no demand for several pieces of expensive gaming equipment.
The disuse of TV hardware and equipment makes room for gaming experience in a cloud – known as cloud gaming. The low latency of the technology combined with the convenience of smartphones will make mobile devices an essential platform for cloud gaming. On these platforms, users will be able to search for a title and (if interested) play at once without having to download the program.
That said, the subscription model is now gaining strength in the gaming world. Under such model, a player will pay X amount per month to have access to a digital games library, which is not on their computer. Market giants are already heading in this direction.
In the end, while we can make some predictions, we will just have to wait and see all the much-anticipated results of 5G operating in the gaming sector.
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*This article was written by Beatriz Beserra