Huawei, NetEase team up on 5G cloud-based gaming lab

Huawei Technologies Co and gaming company NetEase announced Tuesday they will work together to establish a cloud-based gaming lab running on the 5G network.

The cooperation between Huawei Wireless X Labs and NetEase Leihuo gaming unit, which was announced in the form of a memorandum of understanding signed in Shanghai, aims to explore new forms of game designs, set standards for gaming experience evaluations, and promote the development of cloud-based games.

Core tasks for the lab include accommodating existing games to the 5G network and 5G-based phones, researching 5G-based gaming experiences through gamers' perception analysis, as well as jointly conducting technical identification of games across different platforms, the duo said.

"Because games can use the cloud, developers will be able to design more complex games without having to squeeze them onto home hardware," said Hu Zhipeng, vice-president of NetEase and president of NetEase Leihuo.

"Meanwhile, gamers can circumvent the hassle of downloading games onto their gadgets and can start playing the game anytime, anywhere," he said.

"Effective tackling of latency is one major feature of 5G-based gaming, because a noticeable lag can make gaming impossible when reaction time is critical," said Peng Honghua, chief marketing officer of Huawei's wireless network unit.

And the cloud-based gaming provides artificial intelligence more room and flexibility to play a role, as programs can be upgraded in real time, he said.

Google Stadia, announced in March, is among the world's first game streaming service that's based solely on cloud server computing. It will enable gamers to play the latest games in ultrahigh resolution on any device that supports a Google Chrome browser or Stadia app.