Current State of Cloud Gaming Industry in 2019

Where everything is running on public demand, how can gaming lag behind in the race? The future belongs to gaming on-demand or precisely cloud gaming. Such kind of online gaming runs games on remote servers and streams them directly to the user's device.

As of 2019, the announcement made by Google regarding Stadia increased the buzz around the market for cloud gaming.

What is Google Stadia?

Stadia is a cloud gaming service operated by tech giant Google which is advertised to be capable of streaming video games up to 4k resolution at 60 frames per second. The service is accessible through the Google Chrome web browser on desktops computers or smartphones and other devices. Users can also access stadia games through digital media players and Chromecast.

Features of Stadia

•  Does not require additional computer hardware

•  Only requires the device to have an Internet connection and support for Google Chrome

•  The service of stadia works atop YouTube's functionality in streaming media to the user

•  Stadia also supports the streaming of games in HDR at 60 frames per second with 4K resolution and anticipates eventually reaching 120 frames per second at 8K resolution.

•  Players can start games without having to download new content to their personal device

•  Also, they can opt to record or stream their sessions onto YouTube through Stadia

•  Viewers of such streams can launch the games directly from the stream with the same save state that they were just watching.

Cloud Gaming Challenges that Prevailed in 2019

According to the statistics, the global cloud gaming market is expected to grow at a rate of 42 percent between 2019-2025 to reach the mark of US$740 million.

The concept of cloud gaming majorly dependent on the cloud and connectivity which surely has advanced in past years but some tech barriers are yet to overcome in this arena.

As it stands now, the hugest barrier for cloud gaming is that it stills lacks the infrastructure and support systems for the services.

As explained by an IT journalist Arti Loftus, "When playing on a PC or console, for example, all the data processing, graphics, and video rendering are all done locally, making any latency issues unnoticeable. Game streaming services, however, operate on a centralized cloud which creates lag for gamers as they are geographically dispersed and often located far away from the datacentres hosting the titles they want to play."

This scenario serves as a big issue for cloud gaming specially with multiplayer games and eSports.

However, it is expected that as the technology will advance further it open new door for cloud gaming services to flourish and mitigate the challenges associated with it.

Top Cloud Gaming Services 2019

Shadow

The remarkable features of Shadow allow the user to have a dedicated cloud gaming computer to himself rather than subscribing to a shared cloud gaming machine where multiple users are pulling from the same pool of resources. Through this isolation, Shadow enhances its ability to deliver more fluid experience that doesn't rely on poor game streaming performance during peak hours.

GeForce Now

Although GeForce Now hasn't been fully released by Nvidia, some significant qualities are present in its beta form. Besides keyboard and mouse support, GeForce Now platform also accepts the DualShock 4, Xbox One controller, Xbox 360 controller, and Logitech Gamepad F310, F510, and F710. Moreover, it is supported by voice chat over on PC and Mac supported systems.

It is anticipated that its performance features are the star of the show yet what technology and power the company is using are not clear. People are into a guess game that Nvidia is using "ultra-streaming mode," which provides 4K gaming at up to 60fps.

Blacknut

It is majorly a family-focused cloud gaming service that offers a family plan that allows users to play simultaneously on four screens. Moreover, Blacknut offers a few family features, starting with a kids' mode. This gaming service allows users to keep multiple profiles, and each of those can have kids mode enabled.

Blacknut also possesses significant compatibility feature which is supported by just about everything, with applications for Windows, macOS, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Linux and select TVs from Panasonic and Samsung. Blacknut's controller support is also noteworthy.