2021 will see a 57% compound annual growth rate for gaming traffic on the Internet, according to Cisco report
From Cisco’s point of view, developing cloud gaming is about the 5G network architecture, Cisco’s Lead Global Systems Architect 5G Ron Malenfant told RCR Wireless News. “Cisco is really building out this cloud-native, 5G architecture and what we call the software-defined mobile network,” he said.
Cisco also believes that 5G has the potential to significantly improve the download speeds of games, allowing new platforms such as Google Stadia to reap the benefits. Additionally, 5G opens up possibilities for gaming developers to do more with graphics and interactive design with faster connectivity and for users to carry those massive game files on a device that fits in their pocket.
“Everyone is looking for the 5G killer use cases that users are willing to pay extra for,” Malenfant explained, “and you see a lot of the 5G rollouts that are consumer focused, but is the average consumer ready to pay more for a service?”
However, he believes that when it comes to gaming, users are actually willing to pay. “Gaming really one of the [cases] where you have a massive amount of people, a whole lot of interest, and an ecosystem developing.” He went on to say that in this space, you have people willing to pay for something that can’t truly be delivered without 5G.
And 5G really does deliver.
“It allows you to be truly mobile,” said Malenfant, “and because of this value […] cloud-based applications can now be decoupled from the console. This allows these game providers to go mobile and nomadic and not be tethered to a console anymore.”
Gaming is expected to be the next big thing on the internet. In fact, the 12th annual Cisco Virtual Networking Index predicts that by 2021, 11.0 exabytes (EBs) per month will be in gaming traffic, up from 1.2 EBs per month in 2016. Further, the report predicts that 2021 will see a 57% compound annual growth rate for gaming traffic on the Internet.
This anticipated growth is encouraging companies not traditionally involved in this market, like Google, Apple and telecos, to get involved in gaming, which, from Malenfant’s perspective, will set the stage for significant innovation.
“It’s really exciting. I almost equate it to what you see going on in the content world, where we had Netflix and Amazon prime, and then suddenly over night, we have Disney+ and Apple+, and all these other platforms coming out. It is going to open a lot of creativity,” he said.
Further, now, when new game developers emerge, they are able to build out content with the 5G architecture in mind and understand the importance of edge compute platforms.
But he also stated that those just entering the gaming industry need to look at the network as “almost a clean slate.”
For telecos, specifically, Malenfant said the value in is understanding that the network is transitioning. “With 5G, there are pieces that still aren’t fully evolved yet,” he explained. “Once network slicing comes about, I think the ability to take advantage of these gaming slices will be important.”
He pointed out that network slicing does not just present a technical opportunity, but a business one as well. Gaming will use up a lot of data, and operators must figure out a way to account for — and take advantage of — this fact. “Operators need to understand how they are going to build out these different levels of slicing and charge for them, but charge for them in a way that will creates good adoption,” Malenfant said.
