One of the best ways to keep yourself entertained is through Starlink gaming. That’s because it can work way better than other satellite internet options today.
But before trying this out, you’ll need to understand that some things may affect gameplay and potentially create lag.
So, let’s look at them and dive into it!
Can Starlink Handle Gaming?
It would be best if you didn’t encounter huge issues playing games on your Starlink Internet. But that will depend on the game type and ping, which can reach 70 ms during peak hours.
And even better, online gaming doesn’t use much bandwidth — between three to five megabytes.
So it won’t annoyingly slow anything down for yourself or others.
Role-playing games (RPG) work nicely on systems like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and your PC!
Meanwhile, you’ll notice the performance slightly worsens with massively multiplayer online (MMO) and first-person shooter (FPS) games.
The catch here is real-time strategy (RTS) games, which don’t lag very often.
Diving Into The Specifics
There are certain performance qualities with Starlink Internet you should know about that affect gameplay. Please continue reading to discover what they can do for your gaming needs.
Upload/Download Speeds
Starlink has fast download speeds.
If you want to play online games over Starlink Internet, you must have the best upload and download speed.
That’s because the game server must send and receive data in the fastest time. And if the speed isn’t good enough, you could deal with packet loss.
Starlink offers an average upload between 5 to 10+ MBPS and 25 to 100+ MBPS download speeds.
This will allow you to enjoy gameplay, download games, and send data back without waiting a long time.
And it’s much better than HughesNet (3 MBPS upload, 25 MBPS download) and Viasat (3 MBPS upload, 23 MBPS download).
Signal Drops/Reliability
A clear sky will greatly improve internet service.
You can expect some pretty frequent signal drops with Starlink. These won’t affect you for long — just ten to fifteen seconds.
While that may not seem like much, remember that’s enough time to get booted from in-game lobbies or matches.
On the other hand, Starlink is very reliable. Of course, you can’t always expect a stable connection because drawbacks like weather will interrupt it.
In such cases, rain or snow can prevent the satellite signal from coming in or cause outages lasting a few minutes.
Ping (Latency)
Low latency.
You’ll want the lowest ping possible to keep the lag away when gaming online.
And latency measures the time game data travels to and from the server and your system.
So anything from 1 to 60 ms makes perfect sense for your needs because you’ll get smooth gameplay from it.
Starlink Internet can hit low latency, depending on the game server, your location, and the game.
Overall, you could see your ping range from under 20 ms to over 100 ms on any given day.
If you want the best out of this, you should connect to a server within your country — a great way to improve ping.
Starlink has proven to work boatloads better for online games than other satellite internet providers.
For example, HughsNet lags pretty badly because of its 716 ms ping. The same goes for Viasat with its 631 ms latency.
Pros And Cons
There are many upsides and downsides to any internet service. And that’s completely normal, especially if you need to know about something going awry.
Luckily for all Starlink users, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Pros
Starlink has great aspects that allow you to play games online without hassle. For example, it has low latency and high download speeds.
That’s perfect for keeping everything running smoothly. Furthermore, the well-known satellite internet is compatible with IPV6.
Starlink also covers most global areas, including North America, so it’s not limited to certain places.
Cons
From time to time, you may experience drops while playing games. And that’s more frustrating because they last longer than five seconds.
That means you could get kicked out of the game.
There isn’t an easy way to fix that issue since drops could still happen even after re-positioning the dish.
Summary
Gaming on Starlink carries some issues, like signal drops, slowdowns, and even disconnects. But that usually just depends on the weather in your area.
And even then, it’s not an end-for-all world because you’re still getting low ping and high speeds.
That’s perfect for playing your favorite game. With that said, get ready to buckle up and enjoy it!