Could 5G Be Cloud Gaming’s Great Enabler?
5G stands to unlock opportunities throughout the Internet of things (IoT), from logistics to heavy industry, robotics to autonomous vehicles. Existing applications of cellular connectivity will find themselves enhanced significantly, while the lifting of traditional barriers to entry—speed, latency, network availability—will open up new applications and revenue streams that simply weren’t possible before.
One area likely to benefit hugely from 5G connectivity is mobile gaming, not only in the multiplayer arena—which has always commanded fast speeds and low latency—but in the emerging cloud gaming market. While the onset of true performance through 5G may take some time, the ultimate aim is high-fidelity 5G cloud gaming on mobile.
A new report, The Evolution of Gaming Through 5G, highlights the impact that 5G is set to have on the future of mobile gaming. This report, by Arm and Newzoo, explores the history of mobile gaming and the impact that the evolution of mobile networks has had. Overall, it paints a picture of cloud gaming as a major touchpoint between consumers and 5G on the mobile platform.
Cloud gaming brings immersive experiences anywhere, anytime, to any screen
Cloud gaming describes the process of rendering a game in the cloud or hosting a game on the cloud and then rendering it on the device, and delivering the visual output to any screen, be it a smartphone, smart TV, or computer. It’s set to level the playing field for gaming experiences, blurring the lines between mobile, console, and PC gaming (and perhaps even calming the long-fought war over which is best).
While outsourcing compute-intensive gaming workloads—3D rendering, physics simulation, motion effects and so on—reduces on-device processing requirements significantly, the amount of data flowing to and from the device increases vastly. As a result, the high speeds and low latency of 5G will be vital if cloud gaming is to deliver the premium mobile experience needed to win consumers over.
How the mobile market is meeting 5G cloud gaming requirements
Yet it’s not as simple as streaming high-end console and PC gaming experiences to a mobile device. A touchscreen is a very different input device to a console controller or traditional mouse and keyboard. Not to mention, a common complaint from mobile gamers is the difficulty of being able to control games through the touchscreen alone. However, the reliance on the mobile touchscreen for gaming could change quickly through the development of new controller hardware. With 5G enabling a true cross-platform gaming experience, more premium titles are being made available on mobile, demanding a more effective control method.
For this reason, mobile game controllers are likely to increase. OEMs are already looking into developing the necessary hardware: Microsoft is experimenting with prototype Xbox controllers for phones and tablets, PS4 has controllers for Android mobile devices and Razer has recently launched its Junglecat controller to support cloud gaming on mobile.
Meanwhile, the device itself may evolve to accommodate a better experience: innovative form factors such as foldable phones may become the devices of choice for tomorrow’s mobile gamers.
Revenue opportunities for MNOs
5G cloud gaming experiences are already forming part of many MNOs’ go-to-market strategies for 5G customer acquisition, with a hope that the more immersive experiences on offer will grow into a both a revenue stream for telcos and key differentiator for consumers. In the US, Hatch and Sprint have already joined forces to showcase cloud gaming as a key reason to move to 5G.
Unlocking future potential
As well as 5G cloud gaming, Seamless XR (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality) gaming will also be one step closer to reality as the cloud and 5G make XR quicker and smoother for the user. The real-time processing of data-intensive XR will be faster, helping to bring XR-based gaming experiences to the next level in terms of complexity and digital immersion. Users on 5G-ready mobile devices can expect an immersive gameplay experience at a smooth 60 frames per second.
Faster, low-latency, high-bandwidth 5G networks will provide game-changing opportunities for the entire ecosystem and in the next few years I expect to see a whole range of new use cases emerge, from interactive live streaming to immersive entertainment.
Arm is at the center of immersive gaming experiences from the cloud to the edge and endpoint. We are working with partners such as Hatch, Google, Epic and Unity to optimize mobile gaming performance on Arm-based SoCs.
Download the Evolution of Gaming Through 5G report and learn more about 5G’s transformative impact on gaming.
Any re-use permitted for informational and non-commercial or personal use only.
Editorial Contact
Latest on Twitter
Congratulations to Tamika Curry Smith, our Chief DEI Officer who has been chosen as one of @SavoyNetwork's Most Influential Executives in Corporate America for 2024. 👏
The honor recognizes Tamika's commitment to community, leadership, and success: https://okt.to/2NvDOZ
This #EarthDay, we're celebrating our collaboration with @UNICEF, to unlock the life-changing potential of technology in Malawi.💧
Our investment has helped UNICEF install two water supply systems, helping provide 11,000 people with access to safe water and sanitation services.
ISA parity is accelerating silicon and software deployment in automotive! 🚗💨
👇 At #ew24 we showcased what this looks like in practice via virtual platforms with our Neoverse-based cloud instances and new Arm AE IP, which brings almost 100% ISA parity. https://okt.to/cjVaFN
The future of automotive is here. 🚀
Hear from Dipti Vachani on @IBDinvestors as she shares details on the game-changing performance and functional safety features of our new Armv9-based AE processors and server-class Neoverse technology: https://okt.to/WVtw58
AI is expected to increase data center power consumption 3️⃣x by 2030.
To offset this, hyperscalers like Amazon and Google turn to Arm Neoverse to reduce power without compromising performance.
That's why the future of AI is built #onArm. https://okt.to/LPVFWd
We're working with our partners @Simprints, @Gavi and @_GHSofficial to enable healthcare equity in Ghana.
Built #onArm, Simprints technology is enabling vaccine equity by making it easier to verify vaccine delivery by individual: https://okt.to/MIcgxu
If Arm technology is in there, then the future will be too.
Our energy-efficient compute platforms are foundational to the world's technology and AI computing, shaping how we work, play and connect.
That's why the future is built #onArm. https://okt.to/M9wqc8
Here's to a fantastic week at Embedded World! 🎉
From lightning talks and speaker sessions to demos of our latest automotive and IoT technologies, we brought our vast ecosystem together to showcase what's possible when you build #onArm.
Thank you to everyone that joined us. 👏
🚗 Software-defined vehicles (SDVs) are the future of automotive and they're being built #onArm.
Robert Day joins @Sonatus and @MotorTrend on the latest podcast to talk all things SDVs and where the industry is headed.
🔊👇 Listen below.
🏆 And the winner of the Embedded Awards 2024 goes to… @Ambiq_AI's Apollo510 MCU!
This winning tech opens the door to new local AI opportunities on billions of devices.
Listen in as the team talk us through their exceptionally efficient Arm-based SoCs at #EmbeddedWorld.
David Maidment recently shared his thoughts on the future of edge computing at #EmbeddedWorld!
Missed the talk? Catch up on his insights into the evolution of edge computing across billions of diverse connected devices to build a secure AI-enabled future: https://okt.to/EtfSRN
AI is everywhere at this year's #EmbeddedWorld.
🚘 With the demand for more autonomy, increasingly advanced user experiences and the trend toward electrification Dennis Laudick shares why AI will remain crucial to drive innovation in the software-defined vehicle.
#ew24
Two identical demos. One different NPU.
Our new Ethos-U85 NPU is optimized for transformer networks to deliver the performance needed for edge AI use cases - including high performance voice and vision experiences.
This makes it perfect for AI applications like Gen AI. #ew24
We're ready for the final day of #EmbeddedWorld! 🚀
It's been a fantastic show so far showcasing our power-efficient compute platforms that are fueling the future of edge AI.
Reply with an emoji to let us know if you'll be visiting us on the show floor. 👋
#ew24
What's trending at #EmbeddedWorld?
AI, AI and more AI. 🔥
@pnwilliamson shares where you might find edge AI in action from our ecosystem partners building the future #onArm. #ew24
At the Arm booth at #EmbeddedWorld you'll find:
✅ Partner demos from the likes of @NXP, @Ambiq_AI and @_Elektrobit
✅ Partner Lightning Talks from @Microsoft, @EdgeImpulse and more
✅ Our latest IoT and Automotive tech
#ew24
🚀 We're taking edge AI innovation to the next level with the new Arm Ethos-U85 NPU and Corstone-320 IoT Reference Design Platform.
@pnwilliamson shares how these new technologies are transforming future voice, audio and vision applications live from #EmbeddedWorld. #ew24
Get to know LaunchX from NetsPresso by @nota_ai, on show at #EmbeddedWorld. 👇
Designed to help you easily convert and benchmark AI models, it supports a ton of Arm-based devices from our partners including Arduino, NXP, Renesas, Raspberry Pi and NVIDIA. #ew24
🇺🇸🇯🇵 We're proud to support new AI research partnerships between universities in the US and Japan.
Through close collaboration between business, academia and government we can continue to advance AI innovation to transform industries and improve lives. https://okt.to/9JbahF
📢 Custom Arm-based silicon from @GoogleCloud is here!
Axion, built on Armv9 Neoverse V2, will bring performance & energy efficiency gains to AI inferencing & general-purpose workloads, like web and app servers.
Congrats to the team! 👏 https://okt.to/xS4cBN #GoogleCloudNext
It's time for #EmbeddedWorld! 🙌
We're in Nuremberg this week showing you how to build your AI-accelerated future #onArm. 🎉
Can’t join us in person? Keep up to date on social media for live updates from the show! #ew24
🆕 Get ready to accelerate edge AI with the new Arm Ethos-U85 NPU and Corstone-320 IoT Reference Design Platform. ⚡
With performance and efficiency uplifts, developers can now deliver greater AI compute in smaller, more cost-sensitive devices: https://okt.to/cJPTCQ
When it comes to AI and ML at the edge, challenges like hardware fragmentation and performance optimization stand in the way of widespread adoption.
@pnwilliamson shares how developers can navigate this, with an invitation to join us at Embedded World: https://okt.to/tpsPTd
With the AI boom fueling demand for compute, our CEO Rene Haas speaks to @jchatterleyCNN on the importance of ecosystem collaboration to unlock unique capabilities we've not seen before.
Listen to the @CNN podcast at 28:38 for the full interview 👉 https://okt.to/mcH1tF
