When people found themselves stuck at home during the pandemic and in need of distractions, gaming soared in popularity. Since then the online gaming industry has only
continued to grow, generating $26.14 billion in revenue in 2023 alone.
For many people, online gaming is more than just a pastime or an opportunity to socialize and blow off steam: for streamers and competitive gamers, it’s their livelihood. This brings a need for security to the vast online playground.
Many people choose to use a VPN for gaming. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) connects you to the web via a different network than the one directly linked to your computer. This not only offers a degree of privacy, but can greatly improve your online experience. If you’re wondering how to use a VPN for gaming, here’s what you need to know.
What is a VPN and How Does It Work for Gamers?
When you use a VPN you’re connecting to a secure server, and all of your internet traffic is encrypted as it passes through it. This masks your IP address, keeps your online activity private, and allows you to bypass geographical restrictions that might otherwise impact your browsing capabilities. Businesses use VPNs to connect employees all across the globe, and individuals use them to get the most out of their online experiences without exposing themselves to hackers or spyware.
Online gaming often relies on online matchmaking: connecting players from all around the world together for sessions. Matchmaking is server-based and often hinges on being able to connect to servers in different regions. The further away the server you connect to, the more likely you are to experience lag while you’re gaming. When you use a VPN for online gaming, it can connect you to a VPN server closer to the one you’re trying to join, optimizing your ping, reducing lag, and protecting you from cyber threats.
Why Gamers Need a VPN: Key Benefits
Let’s expand on the benefits of using a VPN for online gaming.
Security and protection from DDoS attacks
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a cyberattack where multiple compromised devices, often part of a botnet, are used to flood a server, network, or website with an overwhelming amount of traffic. This surge of traffic exhausts the target’s resources, resulting in a slowdown or crash and making it inaccessible to legitimate users. For gamers, this could mean:
- Disruption to online services
- Unplanned downtime
- Making games and servers unavailable
- Loss of in-game progress, rewards, and rankings
- Players being forced out of tournaments or ranked matches
Using a VPN can protect gamers from DDoS attacks by masking their IP address, making it difficult for attackers to target the user’s original IP. VPNs also tend to have an infrastructure capable of absorbing and redistributing the kind of intense traffic a DDoS uses to overwhelm users.
A VPN will also use strong data encryption protocols to secure the data being sent from the gaming device to the VPN server. This level of encryption makes it difficult for third parties (such as cyber attackers and hackers) to intercept and decipher sensitive information — such as logins or payment details.
A VPN also makes it safer to use public Wi-Fi networks, such as those found in public places or used in college dormitories. Public Wi-Fi networks can be a hunting ground for hackers, and Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks can intercept communications between a player and the game server.
Bypassing geo-restrictions to access global content
Because a VPN masks your actual location, it allows you to access global content by making it appear as though you’re connecting from a different region. For gamers, this can give them access to region-locked games and early access to new releases that they might not be able to play otherwise.
In some locations, certain games and gaming services are censored or banned entirely. A VPN allows gamers to bypass these blocks by connecting to a server in a region where the game is accessible.
Reducing lag and optimizing ping
We’ve already touched on the fact that VPNs can make your gaming experience smoother, but how does a VPN actually work?
Some internet service providers (ISPs) intentionally slow down certain types of traffic, such as gaming data, during peak times, a process called bandwidth throttling. This is done to manage network traffic and impose data limits. VPNs can encrypt your data, hiding the fact that it’s gaming traffic. This prevents ISPs from throttling it, resulting in less lag.
And what about ping? Ping is the measure of time it takes for data to travel from your device to a server and back. The lower the ping, the better your connection — and for online gaming, where fast reactions are essential, the lower the ping the better your sessions. A VPN can optimize the routing paths your data takes by connecting you to a server closer to the game’s servers. This can improve the overall connection quality, which reduces the amount of lag experienced in games.
While VPNs aren’t always the solution for reducing lag, lots of gamers who are affected by high ping and throttling have found success with VPNs and enjoy an enhanced gaming experience as a result. For PC gamers, complementing a VPN with a PC cleaner such as iolo’s System Mechanic Pro can keep your games running at optimum speed and performance.
Why ioloVPN Is the Best Choice for Online Gaming
If you’re an online gamer looking for VPN software with features that will enhance your gaming experience, look no further than ioloVPN. It provides:
- Fast and stable connections to ensure smoother gaming and reduced lag
- Unlimited bandwidth, with no data caps or throttling
- A global server network, spread across six continents
- Strong security with advanced data encryption
- A no-logs policy, ensuring that none of your online activities are tracked or stored
- Coverage for up to three devices, meaning you can protect multiple consoles and your PC to boot
- User-friendly interface, making it accessible for even the less tech-savvy gamers
In addition, ioloVPN is one of the more affordable VPNs on the market, allowing gamers to save money for the next DLC.
Game on
In summary:
- Using a VPN for gaming can enhance your online gaming experience
- VPNs for gaming protect you from cyberthreats, keeping your data encrypted and private, and optimizing ping to reduce lag
- ioloVPN is a great choice for gamers looking to take their game to the next level
Check out ioloVPN and take a look at the other solutions for keeping your devices safe and streamlined.
