From console to cloud: Gaming infrastructure solution guide

From console to cloud

The negative impact of the Covid pandemic on AAA game launches has been described as ‘just a speed bump’ as the industry powers on at 7%+ CAGR towards 3 billion players worldwide and $200 billion in value. While overall revenues dipped, time spent gaming went up almost 40% in 2020, creating a whole new set of players and opportunities, and delayed console launches were quick to offset the slowdown in 2021.

But in the midst of growth the industry is restructuring fast, driven by an overwhelming need for speed. Gaming is a pioneer business in terms of creativity, user demand and the infrastructure that supports it. Where gaming goes, others follow. This puts pressure on gaming businesses to make first-mover decisions about new technologies and undeveloped markets. As cloud infrastructure providers move into the front end of the market, this has never been more true for the gaming sector. Strategic investment and partnerships and the development and prioritization of fresh release and expansion pipelines have never been so critical.

The key factors behind those decisions are the fast-moving nature of the gamer market and the accelerating shift in delivery technologies and platforms as it begins to converge with OTT entertainment: > Cloud gaming is ‘white hot’ just now. This is fuelling an arms race as virtually every tech giant pours funds and talent into its games portfolio. While success has been mixed so far, cloud gaming is forecast to hit $6.5 billion by 2024. But this modest 3% share of the industry is just a taste of things to come.

The move to mobile has already happened; for the first time in 2021 mobile gaming accounted for over 50% of the global market. Could this spell the end for connected consoles? Everyone is currently placing their bets, although console games are still performing strongly.

Multiplayer games are in the ascendant: MMOGs now generate more mobile game revenue than PC/ Mac, console and handheld games put together.

Another facet of the broader multiplayer/mainstream entertainment shift: with a 50% increase to a $1 billion segment in 2021, eSports are on the rise. With large sums at stake, where Asia and North America lead, the rest of the world will follow.

5G is the ultimate game-changer on the technology side, bringing new virtual worlds to life for cloud and mobile offerings and rewriting the rulebook.

One of the core challenges that these shifts create is future-proof infrastructure design, a problem which can only be solved through a series of strategic partnership agreements which will locate the next generations of games (and the next generation of the Internet) on the doorstep of both current and next generation gamers.