Growing Popularity of VPNs for Streaming and Gaming

The global online gaming market generated around $26.14B in revenue in 2023. Same as this, the streaming audience grew to 28% in the first quarter of 2023. Obviously, in the coming years, we can only imagine the world with online gaming or streaming. In this blog, we will walk you through the growing popularity of VPNs and why it is a must in the gaming and streaming scenario.

Online Streaming and Gaming - A New Normal?

Online streaming and gaming have become normal for our IT-hit society. Nowadays, people don't go out to play hide and seek or rush to the cinema to watch movies all the time. These luxuries have been replaced by online gaming and streaming services.

As much as these current ways of entertainment have become popular, so are the cyber threats hidden behind them. Plus, with so much internet traffic, there are numerous other issues that one has to face when it comes to online gaming or streaming. You can end this mess by using a trustworthy and reliable VPN.

Nowadays, VPNs have become as common as these sites. It's because they help a lot in a smooth and peaceful ride during your online gaming and streaming sessions. The growing popularity of VPNs cannot be ignored because so many perks come with them. Let's talk about the perks.

1. Public WiFi is not a Threat with a VPN

Using public WiFi has always been problematic for many gamers or streamers because there's a high risk of cyber attacks when you're using it. However, with the advent of VPN, these threats have become a distant memory. Now, you can conveniently play games on any device you want to while connecting them to public WiFi without such risks.

You can even stream your favorite entertainment channels without putting a full stop. These WiFi's are problematic because of the unencrypted networks, sniffing and snooping, and even malware attacks. You can avoid these threats using a reliable VPN that encrypts and transmits your data through a secure tunnel. This way, you can keep your data hidden from attackers and use public WiFi in the best possible way.

2. Reliable Security is no longer a Dream

Do you know that 40 percent of people worldwide are online gamers? Although the world has been introduced to millions of online games, their security cannot be guaranteed. Too many games mean too many cyber security vulnerabilities you cannot ignore.

Nowadays, to play games online, you need to fill out forms that take a reasonable amount of your personal information. From your name and passwords to your financial information, you cannot afford to lose a lot of data. Now, the thing with these online gaming and even streaming sites is that they are the favorite dishes of hackers. They're always looking for ways to steal the user's data from these sites and use them to their advantage.

With the help of a good VPN, this mess can be avoided altogether. A reliable and effective VPN encrypts your data so that it cannot be hacked and then passes it through a secure private server.

3. Fast Performance

Slow performance or speed can be quite frustrating when it comes to online gaming and movie streaming. You may be in the middle of the movie's climax, and then suddenly, everything stops because of the poor internet performance. You may be dealing with a life-and-death situation when playing a game, and poor internet performance may take you straight out of the game altogether.

A good VPN equals a reliable connection that ultimately boosts its overall performance. Also, with a VPN for Steam, you can access games banned or inaccessible in your country.

4. Get any Game you like from Anywhere in the World

One of the main or vital reasons for the growing popularity of VPNs for streaming and gaming is that they help you deal with the region's restrictions without requiring you to move an inch from your place.

There are a lot of games and streaming sites that do not provide you access to use or play them only because you're not living in that particular location. A VPN lets you easily bypass these geo-restrictions without making much effort. You can switch to the server where the game you want to play or the streaming site you want to use is available.

5. No More Targeted Marketing Annoyance

Have you ever wondered how you were searching for something on Google, and suddenly, all the online sites you use have started suggesting products of the same category? This technique is called targeted marketing, where your web activity is picked up, and all the related deals keep popping up on whatever site you log in to.

You may feel good a few minutes after coming across some impressive deals; however, this type of marketing becomes annoying when it pops in the middle of your gaming or streaming session. That romantic scene you've been dying to watch won't stay romantic anymore when an ad for sneakers or jewelry blocks your way.

You won't feel the thrill of the game and excitement after earning that chicken dinner because the ads continuously distract you. A reliable VPN lets you surf the internet anonymously, which means nobody will notice your web activity.

6. Access to Banned Games

Other than region restrictions, there can be another reason that prohibits your access to certain games, and that's banning. A game may be refused because of its content or graphics that can disturb people.

For example, in Germany, you cannot play games about Nazism.

You can use a VPN to play such games anyway. You can connect your VPN to the country's server where such games are not banned. Because of this, there's a sharp rise in the use of VPNs for gaming and streaming.

7. No IP Bans

A lot of online gaming sites come with IP Bans policies. This happens if you violate rules in the game, use abusive language, or use illegal means to earn extra points. The manufacturers use this method to block or ban your IP so you can no longer access that game.

Sometimes, the bans are temporary, and other times, they are permanent; it all depends on the mess you've created. Although it's wrong to violate terms of services or rules, if you do it somehow and get banned, you need not worry. You can always use a VPN to provide you with a new IP address to help you play the game.

8. Perks of Dedicated IP

As online gaming is increasing in numbers so are the cyber attacks. One cruel example is DDos attacks where the bad actors crowd your servers so your gaming is disrupted. They can do the same for streaming if you are using a shared IP.

A VPN provides the solution to this hassle in the form of a dedicated IP. As this IP is uniquely yours and fully encrypted, hackers won't know how to crowd it with malwares. Due to less traffic on the server, your gameplay and streaming experience will also be enhanced.

Bottom Line - Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Online gaming and streaming are the new normal, and staying equipped with the right tools is important. Online activity and VPN go hand in hand, and we cannot imagine one without the other. Make sure you use a reliable VPN when starting your streaming or gaming journey because - there are paths in the streaming and gaming journey that you can only tread with a VPN.