Gaming, supercharged

Playkey.me, the region’s first supercharged cloud gaming service lands in the UAE

True gamers know that the real argument isn’t about whether the new Xbox is better than the new PlayStation, it’s over how expensive your graphics card is. Or at least that was the case before cloud gaming came along, revolutionised the gaming scene, and handed access to HD streams of the latest games back into the palms of all PC users, regardless of how much neon and transparent perspex is in your rig set up.

Now, thanks to Playkey.me, The Middle East’s first cloud gaming service, the next generation of videogame streaming starts right here on our doorstep.

READY PLAYER ONE?

The main reason why cloud gaming is such an important development is that it completely sidesteps the requirement for pumping tens of thousands of dirhams into the cost of a top-end gaming PC. Those sorts of set-ups are not one-off investments either – the upgrades bills will keep racking up. Cloud gaming lets you play all the latest AAA titles, on the most basic-spec

PCs through technology specifically engineered to eliminate lag and latency. That means you can perform pixelperfect 360 no-scopes right from your battered old laptop.

Hot picks for mouse clicks in the region include the enduring Battle Royale phenomenon, Fortnite, PUBG, Days Gone, Biomutant and more all on crystal clear max graphics settings.

HOW TO SET UP PLAYKEY.ME

Head to playkey.me, select a subscription package and you’ll also need to download a ‘ lightweight client’ that will help you connect to the service.

You can choose to pay by the hour for a spot of casual gaming or longer subscriptions, with rates from as low as USD1 per hour (around Dhs4).

Based on your internet speed you can access the following processor and graphics speeds — those on a 10Mbps connection will be able to enjoy frame rates of 30FPS, on HD (1280x720). Internet allowances of 15Mbps get 30FPS, in Full HD (1920x1080). Those on 20Mbps can get 60FPS, in Full HD

(1920x1080). And at the top end, if your internet connection allows 25Mbps download speed, you can access the 120FPS, Full HD (1920×1080) service.

Speaking about the new service, popular Abu Dhabi gaming podcast, Adgame.ae said: “We’ve all been waiting for this. The gulf gaming community is just excited for this new development. Cloud gaming is heating up, the service is quite eye-opening and may make you start to consider whether having the latest PC or console in the living room is really necessary.”

If they’re excited, that’s usually a pretty good sign.

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