Cloud gaming’s promise is why Microsoft, Google and Tencent are all diving in
Cloud gaming is like streaming video, but for games. Games run on servers in the cloud, sending video streams to your device -- meaning you can play virtually any game on any device, no downloads needed.
The promise of cloud gaming is that people can browse a huge game library online, select a game and start playing immediately without needing to download the whole game. It won’t matter what device you have; whether it’s a traditional game console, a simple TV box or even a smartphone, even the most demanding game should be the same on any platform.
Think about how you play games right now. Whether it’s Candy Crush on the iPhone or Red Dead Redemption 2 on PlayStation 4, the general principle is the same: The game itself is on the device itself, either in internal memory or some sort of removable media like a cartridge or disc. When it’s time to play, the processors on your iPhone or PS4 run the game locally on the device. There’s a reason games on Nintendo Switch look worse than, say, a high-end PC: The Switch just isn’t as powerful.
Cloud gaming wipes all of that away, because none of the processing is done on your device. Instead, it’s done in -- you guessed it -- the cloud; on huge, powerful servers. Those servers run the game and send a live video stream directly to your device; your device, in turn, sends your input commands to the server.
Suddenly, it doesn’t matter how powerful your device is. As long as your internet connection is good enough, the biggest and most demanding games can even run on simple smartphones; after all, it's not doing much more than playing a video. But cloud gaming promises so much more than that.
