The gaming industry has grown dramatically in recent times, now estimated at over $347 billion US, and the vast majority of that growth can be attributed to the boom in online multiplayer gaming. Given the exciting nature of online gaming in the present day, it’s not hard to see why this is, and there’s every reason to want to take part. At the same time, though, there are potential pitfalls that can degrade your online gaming experience, such as cybersecurity threats, connection problems, and geographical restrictions. Thankfully, companies such as Urban VPN are now providing applications that can help you overcome these hurdles and have more fun gaming online. In this article, we’ll discuss how, and explain exactly why you should use a VPN for online gaming in 2023.
Security while you game
In 2023, playing online games means exposing yourself to a variety of different risks. Account hacking has become a more widespread issue as game clients and online stores have seen business. Additionally, the is the risk, albeit more minute, of a malicious DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack to worry about. In the past, you may have been safe in thinking that a cyber attack was unlikely, but the reality is that you need protection as a game in the current digital landscape. A VPN can provide you with that protection.
One of the primary ways that cybercriminals mount attacks, both for hacking and DDoSing, is to track your IP address, but a VPN can help you to guard against this. When you connect your gaming PC to the Internet using a virtual private network, it will reroute your connection through a server in a different location. This makes your connection an indirect one, thereby concealing your device IP. In this way, your VPN will prevent malicious entities from tracking online so that they cannot hack your game client accounts or enact a DDoS attack on you.
With this added security, you can game with complete peace of mind, even when you are playing on an open network, such as in a café or a public workspace.
Better gaming performance
As online multiplayer gaming has gotten more and more popular, the most widely played titles are often those with a PvP focus. Sure, this increases the potential for exciting moments and makes gaming a much more engaging and stimulating pastime overall, but it also makes things considerably more challenging and competitive, so connection performance is important.
If you play shooters like Warzone, competitive sports simulators FIFA or Madden, or any other PvP game where reaction times are important, you can’t afford to have connection problems slowing you down, but the reality is that ISPs routinely employ bandwidth throttling, and this can degrade the quality of your experience significantly. With a VPN, though, you can stave off the lag, latency, and stuttering issues that arise from this practice.
When you connect to the Internet via a VPN server, it will conceal your IP and also apply an encryption protocol to your traffic. This means that it becomes considerably more difficult for your internet service provider to monitor your activities. As a result, they won’t be able to tell that you are gaming, and so they won’t trigger throttling to restrict your bandwidth. That translates to lower ping, fewer lags, and greater responsiveness so that you can always give your best when playing your favorite PvP titles.
The freedom to play what you want
One of the great things about online multiplayer gaming is that it has opened up a realm of new possibilities for gamers to meet people, join communities, and try new games. However, the freedom that online gaming provides is still somewhat curbed by the implementation of geoblocking, which can prevent you from playing certain online titles depending on where you live. This might seem unfair – and in many ways it is! – but fortunately for you, a VPN can help you to overcome this problem with ease.
As we’ve mentioned, a VPN enables you to divert your connection through a server in another location. In doing so, it enables you to effectively change your region and simulate the traffic of an average user in that server location. That means that if you encounter a region block on a specific title, you can simply connect to a server in a region where it is available, and play freely as though you were there.
Your geographic location shouldn’t dictate which titles you get to play, and with a VPN, you can ensure that it doesn’t.
Wrapping up
Online gaming is more popular than ever before, but in an increasingly complex digital landscape, it’s a good idea to take appropriate measures to enjoy that you have a safe and enjoyable session whenever you play. With a VPN, you can stay secure, improve connection performance, and game without limits to ensure that you have the best possible online PC gaming experience.
