How Much Data Does Online Gaming Use?

Ever wondered how much data a video game uses when you’re playing online? Online games are constantly downloading as you play and, depending on your internet plan and the game, can be quite a drain on your data usage. Even if you primarily play single-player games, there’s also the patches and updates to download, plus any DLC you might have bought. Or, if you like to buy your games digitally, you might even need to download the entire game, which can easily be dozens of gigabytes in size.

Whether you’re on an nbn® plan or not, it’s worth considering just how much data your games are using. Of course, if you’re on an unlimited data internet plan, you don’t have to worry about slowdowns or paying more just because of your data usage.

Online game examples

According to a report done by comparison service WhistleOut, online games can vary widely in their data usage. Fortnite, DOTA 2, Overwatch and Warframe all use around about 100MB per hour of play. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Destiny 2 top the list at 300MB and 250MB per hour respectively, while World of Warcraft, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Rocket League are towards the bottom at 40MB each. Other popular games, like Team Fortress 2, League of Legends and Rainbow Six Siege all track in at between 50MB and 100MB of data per hour.

Obviously, these numbers can vary depending on what you’re doing in the game. If you’re playing with a larger group of people or entering new areas for the first time then your data usage can easily go above the averages. 

What about downloading the patches or updates?

These days, most games require patches or updates over the course of their lives, sometimes even on the day of their release (called Day 1 patches). This can be true whether you’re playing an online game like an MMO or any genre of single-player offline game. The size of a patch can vary from a few megabytes up to dozens of gigabytes, depending on whether the update is a simple bugfix or includes additional content. In most cases, you can check the size of a patch before you download it. For offline games, patches are often optional too, though they typically include important changes that improve the quality of the game.

If you’ve purchased a game digitally, rather than on a disc from a store, you’ll have to download the entire thing first. Again, this will vary between games, but the latest AAA titles often use 30, 40, or even more than 50GB of data. Smaller indie titles might need less than 1GB. 

How do games compare to video streaming?

Perhaps surprisingly, online games typically use significantly less data than streaming video online. According to report from January 2018 by NBN Co, popular video streaming services like YouTube, Stan and Netflix can easily use between 1-3GB per hour, for example. Compared to these numbers, the megabytes used by online games are less significant. 

How does nbn can boost your online gaming?

If you’re into gaming, then chances are you’ve kept an eye on how the nbn® rollout is progressing. Maybe you’re wondering if the nbn is worth it? Unsure whether it’ll be good or not so good for your online gaming experience? You’ve probably heard about nbn speed and the high-capacity bandwidth, but do you know how those features might benefit your online gaming sessions?

Let’s take a look at just a few ways that the nbn might change the way you play games online. 

1. Speed

A lot has already been said about the speeds the nbn can deliver, and you might already know the kind of speed you can get. But did you know you can actually choose your maximum speed so you can get the balance between performance and cost just right?

There are a number of Speed Packs, or Speed Tiers, available as part of the nbn. Depending on your nbn plan and technology type, you’ll automatically get a Speed Pack included that determines the maximum download and upload speeds you can receive (though the actual speed you receive will depend on a lot of factors like your location, access type, demand on the network, your hardware, and so on). On some plans, you can choose to pay a little extra to get a Speed Pack with higher maximum speeds, which might be just what you need if you’re downloading the latest games or updates and just want to get on with playing.

Speed Pack 4 has the highest potential maximum speed and might be perfect if you love playing online games or buy most of your games on digital platforms like Steam. 

2. Bandwidth and Latency

Bandwidth might be one of those terms you’ve heard, but aren’t exactly sure what it means. Simply put, bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred (uploading or downloading) at a time across a connection. More bandwidth means that more data can be transferred at once without it slowing down due to congestion. The longer the delay, the more time it takes the data to send, and therefore the higher your latency. If your latency is too high, you’ll notice lag in your game and you’ll feel a few seconds behind whatever is actually happening. In fast-paced online multiplayer games like League of Legends (LoL) or Counter-Strike, a second of lag can be the difference between winning and losing.

Fortunately, nbn fibre cables are built to support high-capacity bandwidth. With the right nbn technology and the right Speed Pack, the nbn has the potential to deliver the bandwidth you need to get the most out of your online gaming experience. 

3. Reliability

NBN Co are building the nbn to be the best it can be. Part of that is ensuring that the network can support our internet reliably. In NBN Co’s Monthly Progress Report from April 2018, only 0.073% of homes or businesses experienced nbn access network congestion, and the nbn access network was available and operating 100% of the time. For those premises that did experience bandwidth congestion, the average number of minutes across all providers was just 18 minutes in an entire week.

In other words, the nbn has your back when it comes to your online gaming needs. 

Shop nbn with Optus

From students to seniors, to families, we've got you covered with great value Optus nbn plans. 

Find out more about the nbn and how to get connected with Optus. We have an exciting range of great-value nbn plans with speed options and extras available.