5 Best Cloud Gaming Service Providers in 2022

Names like Batman: Arkham Knight, Assassin’s Creed or Grand Theft Auto, excite kids, and make adults a little nostalgic and emotional. Spending the whole summer vacation by sitting in front of the PC, playing these games all day, only to wake up the next day and play again. These games are among the all-time best video games and even today, they have maintained their fanbase. Even though the craze for these games hasn’t subsided, however, the way of playing them surely has changed. Gone are the days when people used to download the game, install it, and then finally play, if it does install. In the recent years, a new kind of game playing service is getting all the attention. It is called cloud gaming.

A type of online gaming, cloud gaming runs video games on a network of data centers filled with servers, and lets the user access them using the streaming service, as is the case with any cloud service. In the digital world, a “cloud” is basing a remotely placed server, which can be accessed through a subscription. Take the example of Netflix. When you take a Netflix subscription, it will grant you an access to their database. There are thousands of movies, series, and documentaries which you can watch online without needing to download them. Same goes with cloud gaming, where you can subscribe to a cloud gaming platform and can play the games offered by the platforms without actually needing to download or install it. Pretty cool, right?

Evolution of Cloud Gaming

Cloud gaming has been in and around since 2000 when G-cluster introduced a cloud gaming technology product called E3 for the first time. But this product couldn’t garner enough support. Similarly, in 2007, Crytek, a video game developer of the famous Crysis series, halted its cloud gaming development due to lack of infrastructure. Many experts in the information technology sector, as a result, started considering cloud gaming as a mythical creature of a utopian world which cannot be materialized in reality.

However, in 2010, the first real push to this technology was given by a startup named Gaikai. It launched various game demos on a cloud streaming service, instead of full-versions of those games. It gained popular support from gamers worldwide and even from video game developing giants like Electronic Arts (EA). In 2012, Sony brought Gaikai and offered PlayStation games on it. Finally, in 2014, Sony launched PlayStation Now, taking inspiration from Gaikai. Today, several big-tech giants have entered the global cloud gaming market and have launched their own cloud gaming services. Many more companies are interested to start their ventures in this field.

5 Best Cloud Gaming Services

Since, Sony’s acquisition of Gaikai in 2012, the gaming world is showing interest in the cloud gaming market so as to see what new technology or service is being offered by the new entrants. Over the years, companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have released their cloud gaming services for the ultimate gaming experience. Let’s have a look at the 5 best cloud gaming services that are currently ruling the global cloud gaming market:

• GeForce Now: Launched in 2015, by the graphics chip-set giant Nvidia, GeForce Now offers access to a huge library of video games on subscribing to its cloud gaming service. GeForce Now was formally made public recently, in February 2020, as the earlier version was a beta version. GeForce Now offers games like Battlefield 5, Fortnite, Euro Truck Simulator 2, etc.

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, ChromeOS, WebOS, Nvidia Shield Devices.

• PlayStation Now: Sony Entertainment, after its acquisition of Gaikai in 2012, launched its own cloud gaming service, called PlayStation Now, in 2014. With games like Mortal Kombat 11, Kerbal Space Program, GTA 3, PlayStation Now has a library of around 800 games. The reason behind such a huge library is because Sony allows streaming of PS2, PS3, and PS4 games on PlayStation Now.

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows.

• Stadia: Launched in 2019, by Google, the best feature of Stadia is that it offers 4K resolution with 60fps streaming. Stadia offers various installments of the Assassin’s Creed series and the Far Cry series. With a large library of about 250 games, Stadia offers gamers to record and stream their sessions through YouTube.

Platforms: Cross-platform along with some select Smart TVs of LG and Hisense

• Xbox Cloud Gaming: Formerly known as Project xCloud, Microsoft released its beta version in 2019 and made it fully available to subscribers in 2020. Loaded with games from the Crysis series, Xbox Cloud Gaming offers a library of around 250 games.

Platforms: Cross-platform along with Xbox One Xbox Series X/S.

• Amazon Luna: The latest big-tech to enter the cloud gaming market is Amazon, with formally launching the Amazon Luna cloud gaming platform in October 2021, which offers around 100 games. Amazon Luna is planning to integrate with Twitch so that gamers can record and stream their session on Twitch. Also, it has partnered with video game developer Ubisoft.

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Amazon Fire TV, Android (planned).

What’s in Store for Cloud Gaming Next?

The first planned course of action for all the leading companies, providing cloud gaming services is to make their service available all over the world. Today, many of the above-mentioned cloud gaming services like GeForce Now and Stadia are fully available only in select countries of North America and Europe. PlayStation Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming offer their services in Japan and South Korea respectively, along with some countries on North America and Europe. Amazon Luna, on the other hand, offers subscription only within the United States. Thus, the first step that the cloud gaming service providers are eyeing, is to scale up their infrastructure in such a way that their customer base covers all regions of the globe.

Also, game development has been kickstarted by many cloud gaming service providers so as to introduce 8k resolution gaming with 60 fps streaming service. This will enhance the gaming experience further. Development of servers to support 8k resolution gaming service is also underway. However, cloud gaming service providers claim that, a high-end gaming system with a stable internet connection of 5 Mbps will be a must to avail this service. Many cloud gaming service providers have even developed their own set of hardware tools like controllers to suit their cloud gaming services. The model of tailor-made hardware tools is being replicated by the rest.

All in all, the shift from traditional gaming to cloud gaming seems irreversible. You just need to upgrade your personal gaming system to smoothly adapt to this emerging technology of cloud gaming.

About the Author(s)

Princy A. J

Princy holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. University at Chennai, India. After a successful academic record, she pursued her passion for writing. A thorough professional and enthusiastic writer, she enjoys writing on various categories and advancements in the global industries. She plays an instrumental role in writing about current updates, news, blogs, and trends.