Game Streaming: the future of gaming or just another option?

Cloud gaming has become commonplace. As common as watching a movie on Netflix. Many people already use it, many are still unaware of it, and everyone wants to know if this will be "the future of gaming" or just another way to play, like an extra on the shelf. The idea is simple: instead of running the game on your console or PC, it runs on a server far away from you, and the image arrives via the internet, like a streaming movie.

The thing is, this opened the door to playing demanding games even on basic devices. Cell phones, tablets, TVs, low-end PCs… anything that runs a browser. But that doesn't mean everything works perfectly; after all, it all depends on your internet connection, the servers, the number of rooms available, and, most importantly, how much you pay for it. There will be days when everything runs smoothly and days when you can't even log into the game. We'll explain, and if you have any questions, leave a comment.

The most considerable change is that you don't need to spend a lot on a gaming PC or a next-gen console. What you really need is a good quality internet connection that doesn't bother you. When everything works, you can play smoothly, even in 4K with ray tracing and all the modern features the industry has developed in some services. When it doesn't, the game won't even open, or if it does, it's a big problem to play with controller lag, crashes, and constant disconnections.

In recent years, companies have invested heavily in this: Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and others. Their goal is to make game streaming as normal as watching series online. The good part is being able to play a next-gen game on your phone while waiting for an appointment, on your old college laptop, or on the living room TV without connecting any consoles. But if your internet is unreliable, you can imagine the problem.

The catalog varies considerably from service to service; for example, Stadia had a small catalog, promised exclusives, and then it ended. Xbox Cloud has Game Pass games, which includes plenty of new releases, some day ones, and GeForce Now runs your PC games and supports over 2,000 of them. But you have to own them.

The problem remains: nobody has everything. Sony exclusives don't appear, and Nintendo exclusives even less so. Some PC games you wanted might not work due to licensing issues. It's the usual industry chaos. It always seems cheaper than buying new hardware, but it hurts your wallet when you add up all the subscriptions you'd like to have.

Each service has its games, its agreements, its blocks, and its deals with publishers and developers. So you end up with the same thing that happens today with streaming: want to play everything? You have to subscribe to more than one service. That's quite annoying. Let's talk about some of the services that are (or were) on the market.

Stadia, Google's attempt

Stadia was Google's foray into game streaming. Launched in 2019, it arrived with an ambitious plan, 4K support, a promise of rapid catalog growth, exclusive games, and the idea that it could change the way people play. But it didn't happen. Few people even knew the service existed, the catalog was limited, and public interest never truly materialized.

In 2022, Google decided to shut down the service, and Stadia was deactivated in January 2023. Users received refunds, and that was the end of the story. In the end, Stadia became just another one of Google's failed projects, like Google Glass and Google+, and a reminder that company size doesn't guarantee success when the public simply doesn't care.

Xbox Cloud Gaming, the strongest on the market

Microsoft's streaming service is part of Game Pass Ultimate. You can't subscribe to just the cloud gaming service: if you subscribe to Ultimate, you get access to streaming. And that's its main advantage. The catalog is large, with hundreds of games and several standout titles, including major releases like Halo and Forza, some Day One releases, and classic Xbox games.

It's possible to play on your phone, PC, browser, console, and even directly on compatible Samsung TVs. You don't need an Xbox console connected to do so. The image is usually stable, the controller lag has been improving over time, and since Game Pass already has many subscribers, the number of players in the cloud ends up being high.

If your internet maintains at least 20 to 30 Mbps without fluctuating all the time, the service generally works well. The price isn't exactly low, and it includes Xbox Cloud Gaming, but since it's still below the cost of a new console, many people end up using it as it's the most practical alternative at the moment.

PlayStation has streaming, but not in Brazil

Sony has also entered the game streaming market, but the landscape is more limited. PlayStation Plus Premium offers cloud streaming of various games, including PS5 titles in some cases. It works directly on the console, PC, and even the PlayStation Portal, Sony's own portable device that uses streaming for gaming.

The problem is that this feature is not yet available in Brazil. Sony has only released streaming in some countries, and here, even those who subscribe to the most expensive plan don't have access to cloud gaming. In practice, the only accessible "streaming" for Brazilians is Remote Play, which depends on the console being turned on at home, which has nothing to do with true cloud gaming.

In other words, PlayStation does have a competitive service abroad, but for now Brazil is left out, which leaves the platform far behind Xbox and GeForce Now when it comes to cloud gaming.

GeForce Now, playing the games you already own

GeForce Now works on a different logic. Here, you don't receive your own catalog to play. Instead, you use games you've already purchased from PC stores like Steam, Epic, and Ubisoft Connect. The service basically provides a powerful PC in the cloud to run these titles at high quality, even if your actual computer is weak.

There’s a free plan, but with limited time and a queue (a very long queue). In the paid plans, sessions are longer and the quality reaches 4K level using hardware equivalent to an RTX 4080.

The main advantage is that the catalog ends up being large by nature, since it depends on your own library. The downside is that some publishers block certain games, so not everything you have is always available to run. In Brazil, GeForce Now is operated by ABYA.

The service usually works well when the connection is good, but the local price is frequently discussed because it changes a lot and doesn't always please subscribers.

There's also Boosteroid, Amazon's Luna, built-in streaming on Samsung TVs, and even Sony trying to get into the game. But today, the real debate revolves much more around Xbox Cloud and GeForce Now. Everything else is secondary.

Performance

With a good internet connection, streaming is surprisingly good. You can run demanding games with clean, stutter-free images. But the villain always appears: command lag. FPS, competitive games, games that require reflexes… All suffer when the internet is down.

Those using fiber or 5G generally don't have problems. For those who depend on less-than-perfect networks, things get complicated: the game reduces resolution, the image blurs, and lag is inevitable. It all depends much more on your network than on the service. There's also the issue of not "owning" the game. If the service ends, the catalog disappears. Many people don't like that at all.

However, the numbers indicate that game streaming has a future. The user base increases year after year. GeForce Now had about 1 million users at the beginning of 2020 and jumped to over 20 million in a short time.

In the end, streaming depends on a good internet connection, and that's still a problem in many countries. Latin America and Africa, for example, still suffer from unstable connections, high costs, and networks far from ideal.

The situation in Brazil

Brazil is somewhere in the middle. The gaming audience here is huge. The interest is there. The technology is arriving. But streaming hasn't become the standard yet. Positive and negative factors include the rapidly growing fiber and 5G technology, but there are also problems like "internet outages," "mobile data that runs out quickly," and "shared networks." The experience varies greatly from city to city.

Xbox Cloud is the most popular because Game Pass has taken over the country. GeForce Now works well, and many people use it because they already have games on Steam. PlayStation Plus is good for those who own a Sony console. Boosteroid has installed servers in the country, Samsung TVs come with a pre-installed app, and things are growing.

But it's still a compliment. Gamers still prefer playing on consoles or PCs and use streaming as an extra—to test games, play outside the home, or when they want to avoid spending on an expensive upgrade. The price of consoles and PCs in Brazil makes many people look to the cloud as a cheaper option.

Game streaming is already part of the market, but it hasn't yet replaced consoles and PCs. It makes life easier, opens the way to playing on simple devices, and provides quick access to a multitude of games. But it's entirely dependent on your internet connection, which sometimes cooperates and sometimes ruins your experience.

The trend is undoubtedly for growth. Technology improves every year, companies invest more and more, and the idea of ​​"playing without needing expensive hardware" is very attractive. However, for now, the truth is different: streaming is important, useful, and practical, but it's not a complete replacement. It's a partner. A piece of the future, not the entire future.

In Brazil, the path is the same: evolving, but slowly. It works well for those with good internet and who want convenience. It fails for those who live with unstable networks. And it continues to exist as just another option in the world of gaming. The future of gaming will likely be mixed: part in the cloud, part on traditional hardware. And that's okay—the more options, the better for gamers.