Cloud gaming boosts gamers' data consumption

The popularity of cloud gaming will cause a big increase in gamers' monthly data consumption.

Why it matters: That demand means gamers will require greater bandwidth from their internet providers.

Details: Streaming games via the cloud in HD requires six times more data than playing on local hardware, according to a recent analysis by Kagan, the media research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• These estimates are for frequent gamers, which Kagan defines as someone who plays at least once a week and 42 hours a month on average.
• Kagan said that in 2021, less than 13% of U.S. broadband users were subscribed to 1 Gbps or higher and that more than two-thirds of broadband customers were subscribed to 100 Mbps or higher.