Every gamer knows that quick response times can make or break a player’s success. And the introduction of 5G represents a game-changing sea change for both the players and the gaming industry. By delivering massive bandwidth, ultra-fast speeds and ultra-low lag, using a 5G network like 5G Ultra Wideband can provide users with never-before-seen capabilities for fast, fluid console-level gaming on the go. 5G Ultra Wideband may also help open the market to new genres of video games.

Gaming today takes place on consoles and mobile phones that carry processors and graphics engines. But in the future, 5G Ultra Wideband’s high speeds and low latency might help developers create a world where data processing can be offloaded to the cloud rather than the device itself. This in turn might free up product designers to develop smaller, lighter, more powerful gaming cell phones. As designers continue to incorporate thoughtful features like touch-sensitive triggers and cooling systems into gaming devices, the best gaming cell phone may well be just around the corner.

The widespread adoption of 5G technology may help unleash the potential that now exists for graphics-rich, multiplayer mobile gaming. A 5G Ultra Wideband network has the potential to someday carry a massive amount of data for many simultaneous users. Customers gaming with 5G Ultra Wideband can enjoy speeds significantly faster than today’s 4G LTE network.

Combined with massively improved response times,5G Ultra Wideband may pave the way for gamers in the future to game the way they want to on their mobile devices — with ultra-low lag. 5G Ultra Wideband may also create new capabilities for augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications. With its low latency, 5G-enhanced AR/VR might help untether gamers from cords on VR headsets and clunky hardware and create more seamless interactions with the spaces around them.

Gamers are all too familiar with the pain of ping, or network latency — the time it takes for data to travel from the user over the network to the central processor and back again. It’s measured in milliseconds, and the lower the ping, the better your gaming experience, especially when you’re playing games where timing and position are important. High network latency results in lag, or the delay between the time a user initiates a command and a computer program follows through on it.

Lag in gaming can result in an obvious delay between the action of the players and the actual responses within the game. 5G technology is different from previous generations of cellular technology because it offers the potential for greatly reduced lag time. Generally speaking, the latency of 5G is faster than the blink of an eye. With 5G Ultra Wideband, this can happen at speeds that were almost unimaginable just a few years ago.

With the introduction and adoption of 5G technologies it could finally be possible to fully unlock the potential of mobile gaming. In addition to speeds, when they’re gaming on 5G Ultra Wideband, players could expect faster downloads and streaming and massively improved latency. With greatly improved response times, in-game action should be faster, more fluid, and smoother than ever, with ultra-low lag between input and the game’s response.

Although most of the 5G excitement has centered around the potential of cell phone gaming, the new technology also has the potential to impact home gaming, too. In fact, it’s already here. Offering max download speeds up to 1 Gbps, depending on location, with typical download speeds of 300 Mbps,* Verizon is continuing to roll out its 5G Home Internet service in parts of select cities around the country. That kind of internet speed — coupled with reduced latency and increased data capacity — can prove a game-changer for gamers at home.

*Typical upload speeds around 50 Mbps. Depending on location, uploads over 5G Ultra Wideband or 4G LTE. 4G LTE backup.

In cloud-based gaming, ping can mean the difference between “game on” and “game over.” And 5G Ultra Wideband’s low latency and high bandwidth create exciting new possibilities for cloud gaming. Unlike traditional gaming where a game is downloaded and run on a user’s device, in cloud gaming video games are streamed from the internet directly to the player.

In the future, developers and game delivery platforms might potentially offload most of the heavy data processing involved in gaming onto the cloud. That means that one day, users might be able to seamlessly play top-end, multiplayer games on demand on their cell phones — without taking up massive space on their device or the need for dedicated hardware.

The continued rollout of 5G Ultra Wideband could redefine what gaming looks and feels like. 5G Ultra Wideband network’s speed, low latency and network performance is becoming available to more and more gaming consumers in select cities around the country.

To maximize the gaming experience, we also offer a wide variety of state-of-the-art gaming phones from Verizon that support 5G Ultra Wideband. They’re an ideal choice for live streamers and anyone who plays quick response games.

If your internet isn’t able to keep up with your game’s demands, you’ll end up with high ping rates, lags and game freezes. So whether you play real-time strategy, racing or multiplayer games, you need fast internet speeds for transferring all the data and receiving the server’s response quickly to keep your gameplay virtually seamless.

As the fastest 5G network in the world*, the ultra-fast speeds, high bandwidth and low latency that Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband can deliver are tailor-made for gamers. And with greatly reduced latency and faster response times, in-game action with 5G technology can be smoother than ever, with ultra-low lag between your input and the game's response.

*Global claim from May 2020, based on Opensignal independent analysis of mobile measurements recorded during the period January 31 – April 30, 2020. © 2021 Opensignal Limited

If you’re in a 5G Ultra Wideband coverage area, you can get a fast,smooth gaming experience with 5G mobile gaming devices, advanced gaming cell phones and next-generation consoles. If 5G is not available in your area you can check out the latest Verizon 4G LTE devices and see if your area has Fios Gigabit Connection, for fast, fiber-optic internet that minimizes lag and buffering.

As the fastest 5G in the world*, Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband represents a massive upscaling of network technology and a go-to network for gamers, spectators and developers. With peak speeds of up to 2 Gbps, massive capacity and ultra-low lag, gamers can enjoy quicker response times and smoother, more fluid game play.

Verizon also offers a wide variety of the best and most advanced cell phones for gaming. And in certain areas where 5G Ultra Wideband isn’t available but Verizon Fios is, Fios Gigabit Connection can be an ideal choice for gaming — with incredible upload speeds that nearly match download speeds.

*Global claim from May 2020, based on Open signal independent analysis of mobile measurements recorded during the period January 31 – April 30, 2020. © 2021 Opensignal Limited

Professional gamers are beginning to discover the advantages that 5G Ultra Wideband can offer as well as its potential to deliver high-quality interactive experiences for players and fans. At Verizon, we’re developing and expanding partnerships with pro gamers to help create a new generation of gaming experiences never before possible. For example, Verizon’s Los Angeles 5G Lab is now home to the nation’s first 5G esports training facility. Powered by Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, it will serve as home base for Dignitas’ League of Legends teams. Verizon’s multi-year partnership with the LCS — Riot Game’s professional League of Legends esports league in North America — will also create new opportunities for innovation, exploration and content collaboration.