For once in our lives, this is the one time where we’re being actively encouraged to stay indoors and play video games. Hooray for guilt-free gaming! Unfortunately, the surge in gamers is putting a strain on gaming companies.
Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are all experiencing unprecedented numbers on their servers and many players are realizing that online multiplayer gaming isn’t as fun as it used to be as they struggle with slower speeds.
If you’re spending more time than usual sitting around in lobbies in between games, or your connection keeps pinging and kicking you out of matches, you’re not alone. Every gaming company has servers located all over the world and these servers can only spread their bandwidth across a certain number of users.
When game servers become too congested, speeds start to slow down and the players start to experience lag, making games more difficult and sometimes even impossible to play properly.
A strong connection can often mean the difference between winning or losing online multiplayer games. Thankfully, there’s a way to stop your online experience from being compromised by using a VPN.
How VPNs Stop Lag
When you first enter an online multiplayer game, the network automatically designates one player as the ‘host’. Depending on the location and IP address of the host, the game will then be connected to one of many servers throughout the world.
Before you’ve even reached this stage, however, the people you’re connected with will also depend on your own location, as many multiplayer games work by trying to match players in similar locations.
By connecting your console to a Virtual Private Network (VPN), you’ll be able to change your IP address by connecting to different server locations.
VPNs provide you with a quicker and more direct route to your server. As a result, they allow information to travel from point to point more freely.
Big gaming companies are doing everything they can to ease network strain by encouraging people to play outside of peak hours, but using a VPN will ensure you can continue to enjoy playing online matches at any time of the day.
As well as improving your connectivity speeds, using a VPN will also allow you to bypass any geo-restrictions. Did you know that the content and promotions you can access are different depending on where you are in the world? You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save on game downloads by switching your server location.
Best VPNs For Throttled Servers
In order to get the most out of your online gaming during these difficult times, it’s important to choose a VPN service that is known for offering impressive speeds. There are many VPN services that cater specifically for the needs of gamers and below is a list of our top three:
1. NordVPN
If you’ve invested a lot of time into your online multiplayer set-up, you want a VPN that you can trust. NordVPN provides players with easy access to some of the fastest servers and allows you to bypass geo-restrictions that are imposed by gaming publishers. You can ease your online frustrations from as little as $2.99 a month.
Ivacy VPN
Ivacy VPN has some advanced features that gamers are sure to love. It’s a Singapore-based VPN that can provide you with access to over 2000 servers in over 100 strategic locations across 50 countries.
It’s able to bypass even the strictest firewalls, meaning it’s a perfect choice for gamers looking to access marketplace deals in other countries. Better still, all of the money you save in comparison to other VPN services means you have more money to buy games with. A monthly subscription will set you back just $1.33 a month.
CyberGhost VPN
A great choice for online gamers due to its DDoS protected servers and fantastic speeds, CyberGhost VPN is the perfect choice to host private network games.
Like other gaming-focused VPNs, you’ll be able to access gaming content from all over the world by changing your location to one of its 800 servers. A monthly subscription starts at just $2.75.
Say Goodbye to Online Lag
Slow connectivity and burdensome lag can take the fun out of gaming. At a time when we’re being encouraged to connect with people all over the world and stay at home, don’t let slow connectivity speeds be a hindrance.
VPNs are an affordable and reliable way of improving your online gaming speeds and accessing a wealth of gaming content that you wouldn’t be able to otherwise.