Cloud Gaming Research Articles

Introduction to Cloud Gaming

Cloud Gaming can be defined as a technology that enables gamers to play video games using cloud-based servers and infrastructure, rather than relying on local hardware for processing and rendering game graphics. In cloud gaming, the games are streamed to the player's device with the help of the internet, allowing them to play high-quality games without needing to own a high-end gaming console or PC. The solution helps people to play games on their computers regardless of their own system as their gaming needs are met with the help of good enough customer service in the cloud. It also helps to overcome the problems of traditional games such as conflict and mobility. In this article, we will take a look at various aspects of Cloud Gaming System (CGS) to explain the many advantages and capabilities this concept has.

Enhanced neural video compression for cloud gaming videos with aligned frame generation

The burgeoning popularity of cloud gaming makes it critical for efficient video compression to relieve the growing bandwidth pressure. While existing neural video coding approaches have demonstrated strong compression potential on natural videos, there is an absence of efficient neural codecs dedicated to gaming videos. To bridge this gap, in this paper, we propose an end-to-end neural video compression method designed specifically for cloud gaming videos. By effectively utilizing the unique camera motion information inherent to cloud gaming, the previous reconstructed frame is maximally aligned to the current frame through a learning-based module with multiple losses, which then replaces the previous reconstructed frame for optical flow estimation. By significantly reducing the displacement between two consecutive frames caused by camera motion, the motion estimation accuracy is enhanced, effectively handling the large and abrupt motion scenarios frequently present in gaming videos. Furthermore, the aligned tensor obtained in the previous step is used to enhance the latent prior of the entropy model, providing a superior temporal prior for coding. Extensive experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed method compared to one of the previous state-of-the-art approaches, DCVC-HEM, providing significant progress in end-to-end neural compression in cloud gaming videos.

УПРАВЛЕНИЕ КОМАНДОЙ ВНУТРИКОРПОРАТИВНОГО СТАРТАПА: ПРОЦЕССНОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ДИНАМИКИ РАЗВИТИЯ

Innovative development of the Russian economy is impossible without increasing the efficiency of small innovative enterprises (startups), including those created within companies. The problems of managing internal startups and especially startup teams have been relatively poorly studied by modern science. The high dynamics of startups causes high variability and intensive transformations in team management practices. To create a highper formance startup team, it is necessary to understand the internal logic of change in the parameters of teams and team management. The article studies the dynamics of changes in team characteristics and team management within the startup development process. The research methodology is based on process research and case studies. The work investigates the dynamics of the startup team a cloud gaming service. The startup was organized within one company but was then sold to a large IT corporation. The article examines certain characteristics of the team in their development including management methodologies, team composition, communications, culture, motivation, operational and strategic planning pro cedures.

An online cost optimization approach for edge resource provisioning in cloud gaming

Cloud gaming (CG), as an emergent computing paradigm, is revolutionizing the gaming industry. Currently, cloud gaming service providers (CGSPs) begin to integrate edge computing with cloud to provide services, with the aim of maximizing gaming service revenue while considering the costs incurred and the benefits generated. However, it is non-trivial to maximize gaming service revenue, as future requests are not known beforehand, and poor resource provisioning may result in exorbitant costs. In addition, the edge resource provisioning (ERP) problem in CG necessitates a trade-off between cost and inevitable queuing issues in CG systems. To address this issue, we propose ERPOL (ERP Online), a convenient and efficient approach to formulate ERP strategies for CGSPs, without requiring any future information. The performance of ERPOL has been theoretically validated and experimentally evaluated. Experiments driven by real-world traces show that it can achieve significant cost savings. The proposed approach has the potential to transform how CGSPs manage their infrastructure.

Noncooperative game-theoretic model for security enhancement in cloud gaming environments

Noncooperative game-theoretic model for security enhancement in cloud gaming environments

Enhancing Cloud Gaming Experience through Optimized Virtual Machine Placement: A Comprehensive Review

Enhancing Cloud Gaming Experience through Optimized Virtual Machine Placement: A Comprehensive Review

On the impact of Open RAN Fronthaul Control in scenarios with XR Traffic

Through extensive research and standardization efforts, mobile networks have rapidly evolved, offering improved services and allowing the establishment of new use cases, such as autonomous vehicles, smart cities, Industry 4.0, among others. While 5G networks have brought advancements that can support a broad spectrum of such new use cases, the requirements imposed by time-critical services as the eXtended Reality (XR) and Cloud Gaming (CG) applications still remain a challenge. Next generation networks are envisioned to adopt technologies that will allow them to surpass such barriers. Open Radio Access Network (RAN), utilizing the disaggregation paradigm, stands out as a pivotal technology thanks to its potential to endow the network with flexibility, automation, and intelligence. In fact, Open RAN is considered as one of the key enabling technologies for XR and CG applications. However, disaggregation of the RAN may result in bottlenecks in the links connecting the various parts of the network, like the Open Fronthaul link, especially when considering time-critical traffic. In this paper, we perform an analysis of the impact that the Open Fronthaul capacity limitations can have in the XR and CG traffic under 3GPP defined scenarios. Moreover, to address these limitations, we implement and extend a Fronthaul Control mechanism combined with modulation compression, using the open-source ns-3 based 5G-LENA network simulator. Results showcase that the Open Fronthaul capacity limitation can drastically reduce the performance of the XR and CG applications, and demonstrate the necessity for such mechanisms to be employed in order to meet their requirements in terms of latency and throughput.

Cloud Gaming: Revolutionizing the Gaming World for Players and Developers Alike

This forum features game-practitioner perspectives on the interaction design process, techniques, and evaluation involved in creating playful experiences. We focus on how technology advancement, infrastructure, and constraints shape the player experience. --- Pejman Mirza-Babaei, Editor

User-centric Markov reward model for state-dependent Erlang loss systems

Markov reward models are commonly used in the analysis of systems by integrating a reward rate to each system state. Typically, rewards are defined based on system states and reflect the system’s perspective. From a user’s point of view, it is important to consider the changing system conditions and dynamics while the user consumes a service. The key contributions of this paper are proper definitions for (i) system-centric reward and (ii) user-centric reward of the Erlang loss model M/M/n-0 and M/M(x)/n with state-dependent service rates, as well as (iii) the analysis of the relationships between those metrics. Our key result allows a simple computation of the user-centric rewards. The differences between the system-centric and the user-centric rewards are demonstrated for a real-world cloud gaming use case. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis showing the relationship between user-centric rewards and system-centric rewards. This work gives relevant and important insights in how to integrate the user’s perspective in the analysis of Markov reward models and is a blueprint for the analysis of other services beyond cloud gaming while also considering user engagement.

A Survey of Cloud Gaming Platforms: Architectural Design and Performance Evaluation of Major Providers

Cloud gaming, also known as gaming-as-a-service, is a transformative technology that leverages cloud infrastructure to deliver high-quality gaming experiences by streaming games from remote servers to various devices. This approach eliminates the need for powerful local hardware, making gaming more accessible and cost-effective. Cloud gaming architectures vary significantly across different companies, each leveraging unique technologies and infrastructure to deliver seamless gaming ex- periences. Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly Project xCloud) utilizes custom blade servers hosted in Azure data centers to stream Xbox games to various devices, emphasizing low latency and high availability NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW transforms local devices into high-performance gaming PCs by streaming games from NVIDIA’s data centers, using advanced video en- coding and adaptive bitrate streaming to optimize performance. Google Stadia, built on Debian Linux and Vulkan API, streams games from Google’s data centers, offering features like 4K res- olution and integration with YouTube for enhanced interactivity. Sony’s PlayStation Now, integrated into the PlayStation Plus service, uses custom servers to stream a wide range of PlayStation games, focusing on delivering console-quality experiences across multiple devices. This paper provides a comparison of the different architectures used by various companies.

Research on the Development Strategy of Chinese Second-Dimensional Mobile Games - A Case Study Based on Genshin Impact

With the rapid development of technology and the continuous growth of people's entertainment needs, second-dimensional mobile games have become an undeniable force in the global gaming market, with limitless prospects and business opportunities. However, to stand out in this fiercely competitive market, it is still necessary to carefully explore the development strategies and make judgments and decisions that fit the times. This paper takes the development of Genshin Impact, a leading Chinese second-dimensional game, as a specific case, and uses the SWOT analysis method to explore its advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and threats in development, thereby studying the current state of the second-dimensional mobile gaming industry. The research results show that Genshin Impact has the advantages of a large second-dimensional user base with strong spending power and significant resource investment by its developer, miHoYo; but also faces the disadvantage of a significant reduction in player numbers; at the same time, it encounters opportunities with the increase in residents' income and the rapid development of cloud gaming platforms; as well as threats from intense market competition and strict game regulatory policies in China. Furthermore, based on the results of the SWOT analysis, this paper provides suggestions for strengthening innovation and cooperation, increasing game publicity efforts, improving regulatory response capabilities, and expanding revenue channels, pointing the way for the future development of Genshin Impact and the second-dimensional mobile gaming industry.

Traffic Reduction for Speculative Video Transmission in Cloud Gaming Systems

Traffic Reduction for Speculative Video Transmission in Cloud Gaming Systems

Cloud Gaming: Ethics of Accessibility, Equity & Environment

Cloud Gaming: Ethics of Accessibility, Equity & Environment

Survey on Quality of Experience Evaluation for Cloud-Based Interactive Applications

A cloud-based interactive application (CIA) is an application running in the cloud with stringent interactivity requirements, such as remote desktop and cloud gaming. These services have experienced a surge in usage, primarily due to the adoption of new remote work practices during the pandemic and the emergence of entertainment schemes similar to cloud gaming platforms. Evaluating the quality of experience (QoE) in these applications requires specific metrics, including interactivity time, responsiveness, and the assessment of video- and audio-quality degradation. Despite existing studies that evaluate QoE and compare features of general cloud applications, systematic research into QoE for CIAs is lacking. Previous surveys often narrow their focus, overlooking a comprehensive assessment. They touch on QoE in broader contexts but fall short in detailed metric analysis. Some emphasise areas like mobile cloud computing, omitting CIA-specific nuances. This paper offers a comprehensive survey of QoE measurement techniques in CIAs, providing a taxonomy of input metrics, strategies, and evaluation architectures. State-of-the-art proposals are assessed, enabling a comparative analysis of their strengths and weaknesses and identifying future research directions.

Service quality in cloud gaming: instrument development and validation

PurposeThe global market for cloud gaming is growing rapidly. How gamers evaluate the service quality of this emerging form of cloud service has become a critical issue for both researchers and practitioners. Building on the literature on service quality and software as a service, this study develops and validates a gamer-centric measurement instrument for cloud gaming service quality.Design/methodology/approachA three-step measurement instrument development process, including item generation, scale development and instrument testing, was adopted to conceptualize and operationalize cloud gaming service quality.FindingsCloud gaming service quality consists of two second-order constructs of support service quality and technical service quality with seven first-order dimensions, namely rapport, responsiveness, reliability, compatibility, ubiquity, smoothness and comprehensiveness. The instrument exhibits desirable psychometric properties.Practical implicationsPractitioners can use this new measurement instrument to evaluate gamers' perceptions toward their service and to identify areas for improvement.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the service quality literature by utilizing qualitative and quantitative approaches to develop and validate a new measurement instrument of service quality in the context of cloud gaming and by identifying new dimensions (compatibility, ubiquity, smoothness and comprehensiveness) specific to it.

SWOT Analysis of Tencent Games’ Market Strategy

This study takes Tencent Games as the target and uses SWOT analysis to discuss its market strategy in depth. In recent years, the gaming industry is getting more and more attention. The research theme focuses on Tencent Games’ market strategy and analyzes it from four perspectives: internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. The study found that Tencent Games has obvious product development and marketing advantages, but there are challenges in product innovation and overseas market expansion. From the perspective of opportunities, Tencent Games should seize the development opportunities of emerging markets such as mobile games and cloud games. From the perspective of threats, Tencent Games needs to be vigilant against the impact of external factors such as policy risks and competitive pressures. In conclusion, this study suggests that Tencent Games should consolidate its advantages, actively respond to challenges, pay attention to industry trends, and adjust its strategy promptly. At the same time, Tencent Games must also focus on product innovation and overseas market expansion to maintain its continued market competitiveness.

"Cloud Gaming: The Future of Gaming Infrastructure"

"Cloud Gaming: The Future of Gaming Infrastructure"

Cloud gaming: the future of gaming infrastructure

Cloud gaming: the future of gaming infrastructure

Architectural framework for multiplayer cooperative cloud gaming to optimise quality of service

Architectural framework for multiplayer cooperative cloud gaming to optimise quality of service

Pattern Reduction for Low-Traffic Speculative Video Transmission in Cloud Gaming System

Pattern Reduction for Low-Traffic Speculative Video Transmission in Cloud Gaming System