Cloud gaming and AI threaten to make home consoles extinct
Bloomberg Intelligence research suggests that cloud gaming and AI could render home consoles obsolete by 2035. The shift toward streaming services favors companies with strong cloud infrastructure like Microsoft and Nvidia over traditional hardware-focused firms.
Why it matters
This signals a major structural shift in the gaming industry, moving from hardware-dependent models to service-based cloud ecosystems.
Games streamed over the Internet will grow to a US$38bil (RM155.1bil) market by 2035 and may eventually kill off the dedicated video-game console as a mass-market product, according to research from Bloomberg Intelligence.
The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres for cloud computing will accelerate the global reach of game streaming and improve unit economics, the report led by BI analyst Nathan Naidu said. AI plays a dual role, as it’s seen both contributing to cost reductions and helping provide the infrastructure for streaming services. Early into the next decade, advertising is also seen as a key growth driver that will unlock access to users in emerging markets.
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