Cloud gaming is finally having its moment

Revenue from cloud gaming is expected to explode in the next four years, according to a new report from ABI Research, commissioned by InterDigital, a mobile technology research and development company.

Why it matters: Higher broadband speeds and penetration from 5G connectivity will make cloud computing gaming more accessible to the masses.

Catch up quick: Cloud gaming services move processing of game play from the user's hardware device to the provider's server farms, creating a potentially simpler and cheaper experience for the player.

By the numbers: Worldwide cloud video game revenue is expected to grow to nearly $4.5 billion USD by 2024, up from roughly $500 million in 2019, per the report.

• The majority of that growth will be prompted by users in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by North America and Western Europe.

The big picture: New streaming services from tech giants like Facebook, Google and Apple aim to move not only the software but the processing for games into the cloud.

• That means gamers wouldn't have to buy individual games and specialized hardware anymore — they'd just subscribe to a service.

Go deeper: The video game subscription wars are on