The future of gaming is high in the skies

Cloud gaming is rapidly transitioning from a niche novelty to a mainstream market force.

Just last month, Microsoft expanded its gaming horizon by integrating Xbox Game Pass with the Quest series of VR headsets -- giving players a whole new way to experience ultra high-fidelity AAA games. However, the reality of cloud gaming extends far beyond the confines of big tech's offerings.

Big companies have crafted their versions of cloud gaming, but these are merely pieces of a larger puzzle.

So, what exactly is cloud gaming? It all begins with instant access:

Hit 'play', and you're immediately immersed. It's like streaming a YouTube video or a show on Netflix. No downloads, no installations – just straight into the action.
Cloud gaming as a form is already a daily routine for over 470 million players on platforms like Roblox. (You don't download Roblox games - you hit play and you're in.)
Titles such as Assassin's Creed Odyssey and The Medium on Nintendo Switch, which would typically exceed the console's hardware capabilities, are now playable thanks to cloud technology.
While services like XCloud and NVIDIA's GeForce NOW are prominent, many users engage with cloud gaming seamlessly, often without realizing it.

Why is this shift significant? Instant gratification is a perk, but it's not the sole pillar supporting a potential $3B+ market. There are a few factors at play here:

Enhanced Graphics & Performance: Cloud gaming leverages server farms with top-tier hardware, enabling players to experience AAA titles in their full glory, as intended by the developers. You're now playing Far Cry 6 on your MacBook Air from 2017.
Platform Independence: The constraints of hardware-specific gaming will be a thing of the past. PlayStation exclusive? Need a GTX 4090-WHATEVER? Intel iSomething? Nope. With a robust connection, your gaming experience can travel with you, whether on a mobile device or in a VR headset, anywhere in the world.
Consumer Cost Efficiency: Barriers to getting into a game get eliminated. You probably haven't bought a movie or TV show in a while - but you're still expected to spend $70 if you want to play the latest Call of Duty. Services like Game Pass are pushing devs not just into the cloud, but into a subscription model for game access. The benefits of both are pretty great. If you don't like a game, for example, you just play something else - you're not out the $70.
Social is way better. Platforms like Roblox show that players love playing together. Duos, Trios, Squads - whatever. It's SUCH a bummer when your friend tells you they can't play because they don't have a game, or they need to get some update. Then what? Guess they're not playing that game together. With cloud gaming, it's instant-in. And you're not just playing same game but instead you're in your friends' game with just a couple of clicks or taps.

Sadly, the path to cloud gaming adoption being all sunshine and rainbows isn't without it's challenges. To name a couple of the biggest pain points:

Technical and Consumer Hurdles: The end of 2023 saw new Quest 3 owners facing over 20-minute wait times on Game Pass, showing the need for more robust infrastructure. Those same players also need high-speed, low-latency internet connections for a great experience (5 second+ input lag? No thanks)
The business model of gaming: Previous platforms of the past, like OnLive and Stadia, have shown gamers just don't want to purchase cloud games as much as they do downloadable ones. Yeah, free to play games help, but the future here is really going to need to be a subscription/F2P hybrid. Game Pass is a shining example of the subscription model done right (boasting 100+ games) it just needs more devs on board. For games to be genuinely cloud-ready, they must also shift to being accessible through more then the buy-once business model if they want players on board.

One thing's for sure, the day I can play Forza on my phone from a flight is the day I know cloud gaming's made it.

- Devon