The gaming industry is going through more change than it ever has before – and everyone is trying to get a share of it. While 2019 was a great year for gaming, there is still more to come. This year promises to have new games and technology revolutions – such as high-quality games, consoles that are full 4K with 60 or even 120 frames per second, and more powerful graphics cards.
New powerful revolutions are happening everywhere. For example, companies like Sony are beginning to reinvest in virtual reality again. Although the number of games is limited due to high development costs, it’s expected that AI will be integrated in the next release of consoles. Developers are taking notice of this technology and thus available computing power.
Another mainstream trend is game streaming, with an increased number of platforms popping-up. Although Twitch was the major platform, we now see streamers moving to alternative platforms, usually due to the fact that these platforms offer good commercial deals for well-known streamers. The uptake of streamers and the increase of platforms will continue to fuel this market in 2020. Developers are again taking notice of the available Internet bandwidth for this industry.
The increase of accessibility and availability of new technologies is driving demand, therefore increasing the need for additional compute power and increased Internet bandwidth.
The gaming market is volatile. It’s hard to predict which new game will be a success. In fact, only a small percentage of newly developed games will be successful. However, there are also a small percentage of games that made it big – for example, who could predict that when King launched Candy Crush it would be a huge success? Or the massively successful launch of Fortnite by Epic Games?
However, the average lifespan of a game is not fixed – so when you are successful, you need to act fast. For mobile games, the lifespan is getting shorter. Online multiplayer games tends to have longer lifespans. Regardless, it is still imperative to watch out for competitors. When Gaijin launched War Thunder, they immediately gained an influx of players that abandoned World of Thanks from Wargaming.
Next to the volatility, the gaming market is truly global. The Asia Pacific region still generates the most revenue, followed by the United States. To get a good player uptake (and your piece of the global gaming revenues) you have to be able to go global in a fast, cost-effective way.
Challenges
This constant changing and volatile market leads to several challenges for game developers and platforms. Gamers are demanding. No audience expects more in terms of speed and quality. There is a need for a consistently great gameplay experience. This requires a tailored game platform with scalable game servers and high clock CPUs/GPUs, as well as a global infrastructure for in-game traffic and a Content Deliver Network (CDN) for fast delivery. This is necessary in order to keep game retention, cater for your growth, and ultimately increase game revenues.
A CDN is scaled to take the strain off peak traffic today, with room to grow for tomorrow. It will help game platforms achieve cost-effective, secure delivery of patches and updates. Furthermore, it will provide the ease and speed of deployment in a new region without the need for investment in the new region itself.
Game hosting in secure data centers will prevent disruption to game servers and protect your business and customer data. By using redundant scalable game servers, you can maintain the user gaming experience and prevent downtime – ultimately protecting your revenue and reputation.
Cost-effective expansion can be risky and difficult, as predicting game popularity
and traffic patterns in a new region can be challenging. This is a lot easier with a global partner by your side who can help you to cost effectively tap into growth whilst keeping investments low. It’s now more important than ever to invest in the right solution to power your play.
To find out how Leaseweb can power your play, send an email to Wilfired Dudink, Managing Director – Leaseweb CDN, at w.dudink@cdn.leaseweb.com.
This blog was written by Wilfired Dudink, Managing Director – Leaseweb CDN.