How Will 5G Affect Gaming?

Wondering how will 5G affect the gaming industry? I will now explain the key changes it will bring, which are as follows:

1. Mobile cloud gaming

Industry observers believe that the advent of 5G will introduce more mobile cloud gaming services. Read more about this projection in “How 5G will change the game industry and spur innovation”.

An example of this the partnership between Sprint and Hatch Entertainment. Together, these companies are offering mobile cloud gaming in the US.

These games are available to users of Sprint’s 5G mobile network. Sprint has introduced a complimentary 3-months subscription to “Hatch Premium”, which includes 100+ premium games. This offering also includes cloud streaming. Read more about this in “Sprint launches unlimited mobile cloud games with Hatch on 5G”.

2. A boost to streaming in the gaming industry

Streaming has already significantly changed the world of music and movies. It has not taken such a prominent place in the gaming industry though, and network latency plays a big part here.

You see, gamers that want to stream need to stay near the location of the game server. If they don’t live nearby, then the network latency will make it hard for them to play a game using streaming.

5G will drastically change this scenario. As I have explained, it will reduce network latency to a significant extent. Streaming video games can then unlock significant value for the gaming industry. Read more about this in “Why gaming is a Promising 5G Market”.

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3. 5G will boost multiplayer mobile gaming

The mobile gaming market is already very large, and 5G will take it to newer heights. 5G will allow mobile users to view graphics better.

The fast and stable connections offered by 5G will reduce lags, therefore, you can play multiplayer games easily on your mobile device. Cloud gaming in 5G will also enable mobile gaming enthusiasts to use location-based features better than they could do earlier.

Thanks to 5G, playing video games on mobile devices will become easier. As a result, gaming enthusiasts will not need to invest in specialized computers or gaming consoles. Read more about this in “The impact of 5G on the gaming world”.

4. A boost to VR, AR, MR, and XR in gaming due to 5G

You already know about the importance of “Virtual Reality” (VR), “Augmented Reality” (AR), “Mixed Reality” (MR), and “Extended Reality” (XR) in gaming, don’t you? While these technologies are very important in the gaming sector, however, they face some limitations too.

Quite often, these technologies require specialized hardware. Naturally, you need this hardware to play games that use VR/AR/MR/XR. 5G will allow you to use these technologies on your mobile device.

You can now make better use of these technologies in the games you launch. We have earlier explained the use of VR/AR in gaming in our guide “VR vs Augmented Reality: Which one is best for your business idea?”

5. 5G will enable dynamic in-game advertising

We talked about how 5G will boost cloud gaming, however, it has another dimension too. How do you distribute the games you create now? Well, your users download these games on their devices.

Naturally, if advertisers want to use your popular game for advertising, they will face limitations. After all, they can’t create “dynamic In-game advertising” (DiGA) events for your game!

What if your users access your game via a cloud gaming service? They won’t need to install your game on their device, therefore, advertisers can now create DiGA events! Read more about this in “Predictions 2020: In-Game advertising”.

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6. Mobile users can play their favorite games without worrying about data caps

You know that mobile users may limit playing the game you launched, don’t you? They need to worry about their data caps, after all!

That’ll change with 5G gaming though! 5G allows huge data transfers within a short span of time, therefore, mobile network operators can’t continue to use their current data caps. They will need to significantly change their calculations in this regard.

As a result, mobile users can play your game on their mobile devices as often as they want! Read more about this in “5G: These are the effects on the gaming industry”.

7. 5G will enable people to enjoy a game more on their mobile device

Why do popular games attract a huge fan base? Well, they provide an immersive experience. Take the example of getting a jolt when you bump into something when playing a game. This is possible due to a technology called “Haptic Feedback” and you can learn more about it in “History of Haptic technology in video game industry”.

Gaming consoles use this technology commonly, however, what about mobile devices? Well, if you take an action during playing a game in your mobile device, currently there is a lag. This will prevent the “Haptic Feedback” technology to give you the right sensation.

5G esports will eliminate this lag. Mobile gaming devices can now make use of the “Haptic Feedback” technology so that your users can enjoy your game even on mobile devices!

8. 5G will help to “level the playing field”

How well can mobile players participate in multi-player games now? Well, it’s certainly not a “level playing field”! Players with a faster connection experience a limited lag, however, the other players experience a significant lag.

5G games will remove this factor and create a “level playing field”. This will certainly bring more players to video games.

9. 5G will make your mobile battery last longer when you play games on it!

Think about popular games like Fortnite. What happens if you play it on your mobile device? Well, games like it consume too much computing power of your mobile device! Such games will also drain your mobile battery faster.

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5G can solve both these challenges. It offers very low latency, therefore, game developers can offload most of the heavy computation to datacentres. The computation workload of the mobile device reduces drastically.

High speed and low latency offered by 5G will also reduce the draining out of the mobile battery. Read more about this in “5G-powered gaming is on the horizon: What does that mean for businesses”.

10. 5G will drive game developers to create better mobile game apps!

Finally, we need to talk about the quality of mobile game apps! As I have explained, eSports and 5G together will enable mobile users to play more games on their mobile devices. You now have a great chance to attract new users for your game, and they will be mobile users.

Think of the increased competition! You really need to up your game as far as creating a mobile game app is concerned. Your mobile game app must stand out. In addition to great content, you need to offer excellent performance and a user-friendly UI.

That can be challenging though! Formulate an effective development approach. Read our guide “What is the best development approach to guarantee the success of your app?” for insights.

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