Data centers are fueling eSports industry growth. A recent article from Data Center Frontier highlighted the role played by Continent 8 and other actors in this development.
eSports is a booming industry, and competitive gaming is positioned to become even more popular in the future. Millions of people around the world are eSports enthusiasts, and those devoted players and fans create an ecosystem that is generating huge amounts of data.
Infrastructure is a growing part of this story, as many of the leading gaming esports and gaming companies partner with data centers to deliver online experiences maximally for players and fans. Low latency (“lag”) is crucial in multiplayer games, where a slow connection can leave a player at a competitive disadvantage. A key strategy in addressing latency is moving streaming video closer to the edge of the network, which has huge implications for Internet infrastructure.
Due to the extraordinary interest in eSports, some city officials recognize that building data centers to meet eSports demand could make their destinations more competitive. For example, in Atlantic City, NJ, there’s a project to convert part of the Atlantic City Convention Center into a $5 million data center with the help of a company called Continent 8 Technologies.
Atlantic City does not have the infrastructure to support the eSports industry now, but the city intends to change that. Officials in the area see the new project as something that could boost revenue in a number of ways, whether by enticing gaming companies to relocate to the city or flying players in from all over the world to compete in live tournaments.
