Activision May Adjust Streaming Speed Of Multiplayer Games Based On Network Quality

Activision has published many patents that aim to improve its games. The company’s new legal document now wants to adjust the streaming speed of back-end downloadable content in multiplayer titles to match network quality. If you’re unfamiliar, the streaming speed is mostly set at a static value, regardless of your network quality. So, we often have a laggy experience in multiplayer games, which drains all the fun from the session.

The patent dubbed “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR REAL-TIME ADAPTIVE STREAMING OF GAMING CONTENT IN AN ONLINE VIDEO GAME” talks about making the streaming speed of multiplayer games dynamic to increase it to match your network speed incrementally.

Instead of simply downloading missing or required gaming content at a preset speed no matter the circumstance, a responsive or adaptive content streaming system and method first sets a content streaming speed and, if the download reaches that streaming speed, the speed is gradually increased while periodically checking for issues,” reads the patent.

Activision argues that multiplayer games can be much smoother if they rely on the fast speed of networks during data transmission. Similarly, a bad network connection could use a slower transfer speed instead of a set value that never changes. It’s unclear if other studios utilize this technology, but Activision games could significantly benefit from this addition.

There is a need for improved systems and methods that enable real-time modulation of one or more parameters of streaming gaming content in response to the variability of the quality or stability of a network connection between a gaming server and a player’s client device in a multiplayer online video game environment.”

For us gamers, this Activision system would make titles like Call of Duty MW2 run flawlessly, provided our internet is good enough. There would be less stuttering and ping spikes, and the overall performance would be immaculate. 

Activision often secures a variety of unique patents before its rivals. The company previously published one for rewarding players if they promote its games to others. Additionally, one legal doc also talked about suggesting users games based on the live streams they watch.