Cloud services for playing on weak PCs, relevant in 2019

The volume of the game market is estimated at $ 140 billion. Each year the market expands, new companies find their niche, and old players are developing. One of the most actively developing gaming trends is cloud games, when neither a powerful PC nor the latest generation console is needed to launch the new product.

According to the IHS Markit analytical agency, last year, gaming services offering games in the cloud earned $ 387 million . By 2023, analysts predict an increase of up to $ 2.5 billion. Each year, the number of companies involved in the development of cloud gaming is growing. Now 5-6 players are most famous on the market, to which Google has recently joined. What do they offer?

Google stadia

Since we have already mentioned the corporation, we will start from it, despite the fact that it is completely new to the field of cloud gaming. On March 19, the company talked about its new digital gaming platform, called Stadia. In addition, the company introduced a new controller. The developers added to the usual functionality a button that allows you to start broadcasting the gameplay on YouTube with one click.

In order to attract gamers, the company offered them Doom Eternal, developed by iD Software. You can play with a resolution of 4K. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey is also available.

The corporation promised that every gamer will receive a “car” in the cloud with a performance of at least 10 TFlops - one and a half times more powerful than the Xbox One X. As for the connection (and this is the first question that bothers the user who wants to try cloud gaming), then during the demonstration At Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the connection went through WiFI, and the response time was 166 ms. The indicator is poorly compatible with comfortable gaming, and for the multiplayer is unacceptable at all, but we are still talking about an early technical demonstration. The maximum resolution in this case is 4K with 60 fps.

To ensure the operation of Stadia, Linux and the Vulkan API are used. The service is fully compatible with the popular game engines Unreal Engine 4, Unity and Havok, as well as many software tools for the development of computer games.

How much is it? It is unclear, but it is unlikely that Google will make its service much more expensive than similar products offered by competitors. It can be assumed that the cost of the subscription will be about 20-30 US dollars per month.

Distinctive features. The company said that its service is cross-platform (it works under any popular OS on such hardware platforms as a tablet, PC, phone, etc.). Plus, the company offered its own controller.

PlayStation Now (ex-Gaikai)

Unlike Google, this service can be called a veteran of the game world. The company was founded in 2008, in 2012 it was bought by the Japanese company Sony for $ 380 million. In 2014, the corporation changed the name of the service to "branded" and slightly changed its capabilities. The service was launched in the winter of 2014, it was initially available for players from the United States, and then it was opened for players from other countries.

The service allows you to play a large number of games directly in the "cloud" using the game consoles PS3, PS4, PS Vita and others. A little later, the service became available for users of personal computers. PC requirements are as follows:

• OS: Windows 8.1 or Windows 10;
• Processor: Intel Core i3 with a clock frequency of 3.5 GHz or AMD A10 with a clock frequency of 3.8 GHz or more powerful;
• Free space on hard disk: at least 300 MB;
• RAM: 2 GB or more.

The service library currently contains more than 600 games. As for the channel width optimal for the game, bandwidth below 20 Mbps is not recommended. In this case, lags and periodic “flying out” of the game can be observed.

The controller is best used with Dualshock 4, because without it passing some games (most console exclusives) can be difficult.

How much is it? Sony offers a three-month subscription priced at $ 44.99 for all three months. You can use a monthly subscription, but then the service will be 25% more expensive, that is, for three months you will have to pay not $ 44.99, but $ 56.

Distinctive features.The entire service is tied to console games from Sony. As mentioned above, for the game it is better to use the controller for the PS4.

Vortex

Not the most famous service, which differs from all others by the ability to play directly in the browser (although Google Stadia seems to promise similar functionality, but at the time of writing this was impossible to verify). If desired, the player can use not only a PC, but also a smart TV, laptop or even a phone. The service catalog contains more than 100 games. The requirements for the Internet channel are approximately the same as for other services - the speed should not be less than 20 Mbit / s, and better - more.

How much is it? For $ 9.99 per month, a player receives 100 hours of playing time. It turns out that one hour of the game costs gamers 9 cents.

Distinctive features. You can play in the Chrome browser, in the application for Windows 10 and on devices with Android OS. Game service is universal.

Playkey

Very famous domestic project about which more than once wrote on Habré. The basis of the service is Nvidia Grid, although in 2018 there was information about the use of desktop video cards in the Playkey, such as the GeForce 1060Ti. The company has been operating since 2012, but the service was opened for players at the end of 2014. Currently, more than 250 games are connected, and Steam, Origin, and Epic Store platforms are supported. This means that you can run any game that you have on your account on any of these platforms. Even if the game itself is not represented in the Playkey catalog.

According to the service, now a cloudy gaming platform is used every day by players from 15 countries. To maintain the gaming environment, more than 100 servers are running. Servers are located in Frankfurt and Moscow.

The company has partnered with 15 leading gaming publishers, including Ubisoft, Bandai and Wargaming. Previously, the project managed to raise $ 2.8 million from the European Venture Fund.

The service is developing quite actively; now, in addition to purely gaming services, it has begun to offer servers of its development, sharpened by "clouds". They can be used by other companies - for example, to create their own gaming service. Such servers can be used by game developers and publishers, digital stores, and media, which get the opportunity to demonstrate to the reader a new game that they write about - everyone who is interested or may be interested in launching games in the cloud.

How much is it?The price tag starts at 1290 rubles for 70 hours of play. The most advanced tariff is unlimited, 2290 rubles (~ $ 35) per month without restrictions. At the time of writing, there were rumors about a change in the business model and the rejection of subscriptions. Experimentally, the service previously launched the sale of game time packages at the rate of 60-80 r (~ $ 1) for 1 hour of the game. Perhaps this model will become the main one.

Distinctive features. The company operates both according to the b2c (business client) and b2b (business to business) models. Users can not only play across the cloud, but also create their own cloud infrastructure. In addition to the game catalog, the service supports entire platforms, including Steam, Origin and Epic Store. You can run any game available on them.

Parsec cloud gaming

A relatively new service that has partnered with Equinix. Partners optimize gaming hardware and software so that the service environment works as efficiently as possible. It is worth noting that Parsec supports working with Amazon Web Services, in addition, the company works with Paperspace, a developer of optimized GPU-based virtual machines.

Parsec has its own Cloud Marketplace, which provides not only the ability to rent a virtual server, but also dynamically turn it on and off. You will have to configure everything yourself, but the plus is that it can be not only games, but also software that is needed for work - for example, rendering videos.

The advantage of the service is that it is not tied to the hosting. In order to start playing, just find a server with a GPU that is suitable for the price. There are such servers in Russia, including Moscow . Thus, ping will be minimal.

How much is it? Parsec has rather complicated pricing, which periodically provokes heated discussions on reddit and other resources. The price tag is better to learn on the site.

Distinctive features . To get started, you need to order the assembly of the gaming machine "from the other side." Then set up the game and play. In addition, the server can be used for a variety of purposes, including mining (previously it was profitable), and not just games. The service offers its services not only to ordinary gamers, but also to other companies.

Drova

A relatively young company, the developers of which have realized the opportunity not only to play in the cloud, but also to rent their car for other players. Of course, this rental is virtual. This, in fact, is about p2p gaming.

For the service itself, choosing a work scheme in which gaming computers are leased is beneficial. First of all, the fact that it all scales. The main objective of the service is not the purchase of gaming machines, but the gradual increase in the community with the involvement of new users through social networks, gaming tournaments and other events.

The cost of the game is about 50 rubles per hour. Thus, if a gamer does not play around the clock, but, say, only from time to time, then for 1000 rubles you can get a lot of pleasure for a little (relatively) money.

How much is it?50 rubles per hour.

Distinctive features. The company, in fact, rents gaming facilities from its customers who want to make money on their PCs. Another feature is that they have at their disposal the entire physical machine, and not a fraction of the "cloud time".

Shadow

A service that is similar to most of those that have already been described above. Nevertheless, it is no worse and quite copes with its task - it allows you to play modern games on old PCs and laptops. Its cost is $ 35 per month, the subscription is unlimited, so the gamer can play at least around the clock, no one will limit it. At its core, Shadow is similar to Parsec - by paying for a subscription, a gamer has at his disposal a dedicated server on which you can run any application. But of course, most subscribers launch games.


You can play on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

How much is it? $ 35 per month without limits.

Distinctive features. The service is universal, you can play on almost any platform, if only the Internet channel is fast enough.

Loudplay

Russian game server that rents a server with new video cards. The rental price starts at 30 rubles per hour. The developers claim that with a network connection speed of 10 Mbps or more, games with a resolution of 1080 go at 60 fps. Players can access any games from Steam, Battlenet, Epic Games, Uplay, Origin and other sources.

How much is it? From 30 rubles per hour of the game.

Distinctive features. Now the company is working with Huawei Cloud, gradually transferring its services to the platform of this company. As far as you can understand, this is done to improve performance and increase the quality of the broadcast of the game.

Geforce now

Service began work in 2016. All calculations are performed on NVIDIA servers, with NVIDIA Tesla P40 accelerators. As in other services, for a comfortable game using Geforce Now you need a wide Internet channel with a bandwidth of at least 10 Mbps, although the more the better. Previously, the service was available only to users of Nvidia Shield devices, but now it is also available to owners of systems based on Windows or Mac. The service is in beta mode, to connect you need to leave a request and wait for approval.

You can only play games that a user has in the Steam, Uplay or Battle.net library, or games that are provided on these services for free. While Geforce Now is in beta, it is free for users. Broadcasting is carried out in Full HD resolution (1920x1080) at a frequency of 60 frames per second.

How much is it? At the moment (test period) the service is free.

Distinctive features. Geforce Now is in beta. You can wait for approval for a few weeks. Processing the game on powerful servers with NVIDIA Tesla P40.

Currently, the services listed above are relevant. Yes, there are others, but most work in demo mode, allowing players or developers to perform a limited number of tasks. There are, for example, even solutions on the blockchain, but most of them are not even in the alpha version - they exist only as a concept.