Playing online is becoming more and more common, to the point that social or multiplayer games are the ones that are most successful, especially thanks to the game-as-a-service model that always invites us to have new rewards on the horizon. Like any element connected to the network, it has some minimum requirements, starting with the speed necessary for the proper functioning of the service.
If you have ever wondered if you have a connection with the minimum speed at home to play online, today we are going to explain to you in detail what requirements the different gaming platforms have.
Minimum network speed to play online
If we focus on the minimum speed to be able to play a game on the Internet, sometimes having 1-3 Mbps may be more than enough. On the other hand, on other occasions we are going to need much more, even exceeding 25 Mbps for it to work properly.
On PS4 or PS5, in general they recommend having a connection of at least 50 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up. This does not mean that with lower speeds we cannot play most games, but it does mean that it would be advisable to at least have that figure to avoid problems.
In the case of Xbox Live, for online gaming they recommend a minimum download speed of 3 Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 0.5 Mbps. In addition, they also have minimal latency requirements, as they encourage a ping of less than 150 milliseconds.
Even so, just as important as the minimum speed is the ping or latency. Another tip is to reserve the bandwidth for network play. For example, streaming services consume a lot of bandwidth. If you play online at the same time that someone in the house is consuming streaming, you will be dividing the bandwidth and you will be the one affected by dividing the speed and increasing the ping.
Minimum speeds for cloud gaming
In the case of PlayStation, a few months ago Now was replaced by two new categories of PlayStation Plus that allow you to play video games via streaming. Sony’s PS Plus website says you need a minimum internet speed and a broadband connection of at least 5 Mbps for cloud streaming to work on your PlayStation 4, PS5, or PC. You should also meet other minimums such as having at least 1Mbps upload speed and a ping of 150ms or less. Also, to stream in 1080p resolution for games that allow it, you must have a connection of at least 15 Mbps, these speeds being the minimum recommended by Sony.
For Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, they can play the titles of the subscription service catalog in cloud format from their own console, PC, mobile phones or compatible Smart TVs. In this case, Microsoft recommends an Internet connection with at least 10 Mbps so that you can play smoothly in Full HD. Microsoft recommends a 5 GHz connection if you want to bet via WLAN; otherwise delays may occur.
On Nintendo Switch, games like Hitman 3 or Resident Evil Village have come to the platform in game format from the cloud. For these titles, Nintendo does not establish minimum standards, beyond considering that “a stable and fixed internet connection is necessary.” In fact, before you buy the full game, you can briefly try it for free to test your connection, and if you don’t have a good enough internet connection to play, you can decide not to buy the full game.
If you are more of a PC and you play in the cloud using Nvidia GeForce Now, the minimums are 15 Mbps connection if you use a resolution of 720p at 60 frames per second, 25 Mbps for 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second and 35 Mbps for play up to 1440p/1600p at 120 frames per second.