There are progressively more companies looking to branch out into cloud gaming as the internet expands and improves around the world. For example, PlayStation has a patent that suggests it will be leveraging 5G in its cloud gaming ventures.
The recently filed PlayStation patent suggests that the company will be using 5G in some implementations of its future cloud gaming content. This 5G connection may take the place of wireless connectivity to data centers through the cloud which could help improve connectivity for PlayStation gamers in 5G connected regions.
Currently, cloud gaming systems connect a gamer's console to a data center by streaming through the internet. This is dependent on a few factors, most primarily the quality of the internet in a particular region and the various types of modems and routers gamers may be accessing the internet with. According to this patent, gamers connect to 5G with a cellular network. This suggests that the PlayStation Network could be connected through 5G implementation on the PS5 using PS5 Mobile Play. This cellular connectivity will reduce packet loss, reduce ping, reduce buffering and improve image quality for gamers when this PlayStation patent goes through and it can leverage the cellular connectivity through cloud gaming.
The expanding availability of 5G will increase how many gamers have access to resources through the cellular network, which will be helpful for companies like PlayStation looking to expand into cloud gaming. Cell towers capable of 5G are typically connected to the internet through fiber optic lines, which are proving to be faster and more reliable than traditional lines. PlayStation's patent suggests plans to leverage this fiber optic speed to reduce packet loss in cloud gaming applications if a player is connected with a 5G cellular provider. These cell towers also drastically reduce ping through edge computing rather than using wireless networks to connect with data centers.
The PlayStation patent suggests that gamers will not only be cloud gaming through 5G on mobile devices but the PS5 as well. While not every region is connected to 5G as the new cellular technology rolls out around the world, areas that are 5G connected may see cloud gaming improvements like the ones patented by PlayStation. This is the next step to making playing games through the cloud as seamless as playing a game directly off of the disc. The patent doesn't suggest a rollout date for PlayStation's implementation of 5G, but it's likely a hint at what's to come.
Considering the fact that PlayStation only recently filed this patent for 5G applications through cloud gaming, it will likely be some time before the service is rolled out to 5G regions. And that's if it ever actually does, as patents don't always manifest.