Cloud gaming, like other hyped technologies such as Extended Reality (XR) and long-term visions like the metaverse, has experienced highs and lows. At its peak, cloud gaming was billed as the future of gaming—it even served as a key argument against the Microsoft and Activision merger, granting the former too much control over cloud gaming’s future and, by association, the broader gaming industry. Despite these lofty visions, the cloud gaming market has also been hampered by technical and market conditions that have resulted in some notable failures.
This whitepaper explores cloud gaming’s past, identifying the advancements and changes that have resulted in a resurgence in cloud gaming, and discusses the necessary balancing act between managing technologies and market needs that must differentiate cloud gaming, rather than merely serving as a substitute or complement to existing platforms.
