My mother told me to go play around, so I got an extension cord and took my Nintendo to the courtyard. There’s an old prank from my youth about video games.
is making that figurative backyard a whole lot bigger, delivering speedy internet via satellite where major internet service providers ( ISPs ) may not serve, even in remote and rural areas. With a little ingenuity, you can even purchase so you can utilize it far away from the modern conveniences of running water and the electricity grid.
Gambling has evolved from being primarily a local game ( played by yourself and perhaps a few friends around a TV or desktop computer ) to a global game. Online activities range from free to cheap on phones, pills, and laptops, as well as standard consoles and games desktops. The internet, of course, serves as the core of the whole related gaming experience. And with so many places in the United States and other nations without fibre or cable connections for quick online access, it may feel completely disconnected from the outdoors.
High-speed internet makes it possible to flow media and scan today’s web lag-free, but that raises what might be the most important after-hours question: Is Starlink internet fine for gaming?
( Credit: Brian Westover )We’ve already conducted a thorough analysis of Starlink’s performance in daily work and household use, including what equipment you may require, how to set up your Starlink relation to cover the entirety of your home. But when you are talking about game, it’s not enough just to look at the raw numbers. But, I’ve spent hours of diligent screening at my Starlink-equipped residence in rural Idaho to see when victory is at stake.
Why Do Gamers Want Starlink, and What Is It?
As mentioned above, Starlink is an online service offered by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The service can deliver allegedly fast internet speeds from 25Mbps to 220Mbps using low-Earth-orbiting ( LEO ) satellites and stationary receiver dishes to almost anywhere on Earth. With more than 5 million people and nearly 7 000 spacecraft atop the sky, Starlink services has become extremely well-known in remote areas where local solutions doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for online gaming.
With that kind of communication available in locations where dial-up is still a legitimate online opportunity, you bet players are serious. Importantly, there are a lot of would-be gamers out there who only want to attack some dungeons or combat machine armies but are limited by connections that restrict them to local perform.
We’re here to tell you that Starlink game is not only possible, but it’s also surprisingly good, with some cons.
What Makes an Internet Connection Good for Gaming?
What precisely defines an “unplayable” online connection for game as opposed to an “acceptable” one? Your internet connection must deliver on three fronts in order to be gaming-ready: rate, overhead, and dependability.
Speed
The first and most obvious consideration when it comes to internet connectivity is the speed of your connection’s downloads and uploads, which is measured in megabits per second ( Mbps ). These figures indicate how much data your relationship is simultaneously transfer to your local community or transfer from your computer to the internet every minute.
Fast download speeds are increasingly important for online games because the majority of internet users rely on them for visiting and media consumption. When playing online, you send data about your actions and image place out to whatever server is hosting your game, and if your post speeds are slow, it’s a barrier that results in suggestions lag—and repeated, humiliating losses.
Latency
Of course, download speed is not the only factor that counts. Moving info is one thing, but the rate at which you can take it between your system and the game site and up afterwards is another. For this, we need to look at overhead, sometimes called ip. In seconds, this is a measure of how long it takes for information to travel from one system to the next. High overhead can result in a variety of issues with your game, from delayed actions to false map positioning. Lower overhead reduces or eliminates this problem, so the lower the number, the better.  ,
Starlink is unique among satellite internet providers because it uses low-Earth-orbiting ( LEO ) satellites, which reduce the base dish’s distance from the typical 22, 000 miles of a single geostationary satellite to a much shorter 340 miles. The result is many times faster than competing satellite ISPs have delivered in the past.
Stability
Finally, there is the problem of security, even if you have the frequency and low-latency relationship you need. Low community stability can lead to performance drops, lost data packets in transit, and yet completely lost connections. The culprits are just as varied: A poor relationship can be traced back to everything from business support system to local issues, like obstructed dish views, animals chewing on cables, and interference from cloud cover or precipitation. If your connection doesn’t have a stable connection, you’ll encounter issues if it drops or dips in the middle of the game. Although this one isn’t as straightforward to measure, playing hands-on can tell you just how important a connection is to your connection.
( Credit: Brian Westover )Tested: Starlink Gaming Performance
When I extensive tested for our initial , I observed that the majority of download speeds fell within the 100Mbps to 200Mbps range that Starlink advertises, though some tests found as low as 20Mbps and 250Mbps. These figures are still representative of what I can see at the moment of writing on my home Starlink connection. The charts below are what I saw when last I tested the service using hardware.
Upload speeds ranged between 10Mbps and 40Mbps, with some exceptions spiking to 50Mbps or higher, which is common. These speeds, along with other factors, are more than sufficient for online gaming. If you want to play online, these speeds mean you’ll still have enough bandwidth for other uses.
We measured the ping rate, which was equally crucial. Starlink claims a latency of 20 to 40 milliseconds ( ms ), and the majority of our test results fell between 20 and 30 milliseconds. That’s not only right in line with Starlink’s advertised speeds, but it’s also right-on for gaming, which generally requires 50ms or less.
When comparing the ping results, the majority still came in at under 60 seconds, whether from Google’s 8.8.8.8 domain name servers or Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1. This should also take into account the fact that while I connect to a Starlink dish and router in rural Idaho, my connection is actually routed through Starlink ground stations in other parts of the country ( such as Salt Lake City or Denver ), where it is then connected to the rest of the internet. Actual game performance will also hinge on server proximity…to the ground station, that is, rather than the end user’s location.
In any case, Starlink’s latency may not be ideal, but it is still reliable enough for online gaming.
One crucial, killer flaw does Starlink have, though, that might occasionally surface while you play. As a given single satellite passes overhead, it can maintain a connection for some time, but it eventually moves out of the necessary position to beam information back and forth. When that occurs, the dish must be repositioned so that it can point toward the next satellite in the Starlink constellation overhead. The fact that the dish is motorized is one of the genius of Starlink. It will automatically track the position of overhead satellites and adjust to follow and switch between satellites as needed.
Switching from one satellite to the next is a non-issue for the majority of internet users. Your buffered Netflix video or office Slack chat usually goes through without any discernible interruption, and standard browsing won’t even be impacted by it. But in the middle of a fast-paced game, where your exact map position and split-second actions make the difference between winning and losing? That is significant, and you will notice it.
Starlink’s speed and latency are effective for a lot of online gaming scenarios, but the consistency suffers from a bad reputation. Compared with more stable stationary internet connections, such as cable or fiber, Starlink comes up short. This is because Starlink is not designed to compete with conventional broadband providers. Instead, it’s designed for those who cable and fiber can’t reach, who might otherwise be using home-based services like DSL, 5G, or even dial-up.
Steady Improvement Means Better Gaming
Starlink’s service has consistently improved, especially in ways that make it better for gaming, despite the fact that those performance metrics are adequate for gaming. Since I’ve tested the service in a formal manner more than once since 2022, the performance trends are as obvious as can be: Starlink has become more and more trustworthy.
When we look at the raw averages across our semi-annual Starlink tests, we have seen steady improvement across every metric: download speeds, upload speeds, and even latency.
The service’s download speeds have increased from 89Mbps to 148Mbps since we first tested Starlink for gaming capabilities. In our most recent testing, upload speeds increased consistently from 10Mbps in 2022 to 23Mbps.
But the really impressive change is in latency, which has dropped from 60ms down to a speedy 29ms. That faster connectivity affects gaming performance in particular.
My Hands-On Impressions: Starlink Gaming
Raw data about connection speeds and ping rates don’t tell the whole story about gaming on Starlink, though. So, I set the challenge of personally testing Starlink’s gaming prowess.
Mainstream single-player games like and are playable without any issues after being downloaded. That’s to be expected, given that the only real online component reliant on Starlink is the actual downloading of the game. You even have the option of playing offline once the game is installed, so the quality of your internet connection doesn’t really matter here.
( Credit: Riot Games )Online games are a different beast. I can jump into a mission in team shooters like and without any issues at all. I can simply hop into a lobby and join a match for the majority of the game sessions, playing without any issues. During these sessions, I haven’t seen any significant lag issues, and the gameplay is smooth.
Similar things are true in combat free-for-all games like . While there is no team-based dynamic making lag that other players find to be a problem, your survival still relying on being able to move quickly and without hampered by a weak connection. While I may not be great at the game itself, that generally isn’t due to my Starlink internet speeds.
( Credit: Psyonix )is quick-paced fun despite not having heart-pounding combat or no-scope headshots. The madcap vehicular soccer games are more casual than the kill-or-be-killed FPS genre, but a speedy connection is no less important.
Despite all this testing, I can see performance that is in line with what we saw in our review, with ping rates typically between 20 and 30 meters per second and numbers typically between 160 and 200 Mbps.
Unfortunately, consistency continues to be a problem, with the oddly dropped connection and a few instances where performance drops so much that it could as well have dropped. Due to the structure of Starlink’s constellation-based satellite service, some of these disruptions are simply unavoidable, as the dish has to move from one satellite to another to reacquire the signal.  ,
In slower games, such as turn-based MMOs like Wizard 101 and space sims like Elite Dangerous, these interruptions will be less of a problem, but fast-paced games will have a Russian-roulette element, since you never know when a satellite hand-off is about to occur.
Can You Play Cloud Games on Starlink?
The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE ( 2025 ), the most popular gaming-focused Chromebook we’ve reviewed, was also available during my gaming-testing period. I needed a quick and stable connection as part of this testing, as well as one that could handle the GPU acceleration and off-loading the gaming hardware muscle to the cloud. ( Check out the full review, linked above, for more about cloud gaming on ChromeOS. )
( Credit: Nvidia )Some gamers see cloud gaming services like as the new frontier. With nothing locally supporting my gameplay apatr from a Chromebook and an internet connection—no GPU or local game files here—this was the ultimate test of gaming on Starlink. And you are aware of what? It functions very well.
I can play real games, like Rainbow Six: Siege, Cyberpunk 2077, and Chorus. I enjoy decent frame rates throughout, with little to no lag or other buggy issues. I did experience an unexpected disconnect, but other than that, I was able to enjoy 1080p gaming that was streamed from the cloud at 120Hz without any issues.
At one point, in the name of, ahem,” thorough testing”, I may even have fired up a game while I was on a Zoom call for work. I was able to play and stay informed during my meeting, and my entire gaming experience was being piped through the Starlink connection, with no discernible lag or stutter at all.
Consider this a new age if playing games online was once impossible with Chromebooks and satellite internet. I’ve seen the promised land, and it’s pretty awesome.
Starlink vs. the Competition
Although this isn’t intended to cover all of the differences between Starlink and other significant ISPs, it is worthwhile to examine how the SpaceX service stacks up against other gaming-related internet service providers.
( Credit: Brian Westover )Fiber
The best home internet option you can get these days—if you are fortunate enough to have access to it—is a fiber-optic internet connection. It’s the supercar of connections, and it’s as affordable as$ 50 per month in some parts of the country. It has blazing-fast speeds of 1 to 8 gigabits per second ( Gbps ) or more, synchronous download and upload speeds, and single-digit latency. It’s a no-brainer if you’re in a location that is served by Verizon FIOS, AT&, T Fiber, or Google Fiber.
Cable
The next-best option is cable internet from providers such as Comcast Xfinity, Sparklight, or Cox. It uses the same coaxial connections as cable TV. Most residential cable internet is closer to 500Mbps, while some regions will offer up to 6Gbps of cable-service speeds. Though speeds may vary, a latency of under 20ms is fairly common, making even more modest cable connections a better choice for those who can get it. Additionally, because cable uses a physical wired connection, it isn’t affected by the consistency issues Starlink encounters occasionally when shifting focus between satellites.
DSL
Not necessarily the next-best option is the next-most-popular choice. Digital subscriber line ( DSL ) internet is actually the most commonly used option in many parts of the country, particularly in rural areas where cable and fiber aren’t available. DSL is technically a high-speed internet connection, but it is still a phone-line connection. It’s not dial-up; instead, it uses a phone line’s unused frequency spectrum to maintain connectivity while you make calls or fax faxes. But it’s still limited by the copper lines used for phone calls.
( Credit: Starlink )Service speeds will vary greatly depending on where you are located, as well as what service level you’re paying for. Nationally, you can find some DSL providers offering up to 100Mbps, but in my area, the best option from local DSL plans tops out at 40Mbps. With ping rates ranging from 40ms to 100ms, the latency makes gaming a distant possibility, provided your local provider supports those speeds, but that’s fast enough to enjoy HD Netflix movies and Zoom calls.
Other Satellite Providers ( HughesNet and Viasat )
For a very long time, the only option for those beyond the reach of even DSL internet was satellite internet, but it did not offer the speed and capability of Starlink. The major players in this space are HughesNet and Viasat, and the connections were not at all ideal.
These other satellite ISPs delivered significantly slower speeds and enormous latency in our annual tests. Suffice it to say, these options aren’t going to let you game at all, let alone at competitive speeds. However, this was frequently the best ( or only ) choice for rural areas prior to Starlink.
This helps to put the excitement surrounding Starlink’s gaming experience into perspective because it offers gaming-ready connections at speeds unheard of in rural and remote areas where satellite internet is the best option.
Wireless 5G
Finally, smartphones and smartphones are connected wirelessly via the same cell towers. Sometimes this is accomplished by using a phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot or, more recently, an in-home internet connection that connects directly to the wireless 5G network. While 5G has massively improved the speeds offered on mobile networks, it’s still a heck of a lot slower than Starlink, with speeds of 70Mbps or less for download, and upload speeds rarely cracking double digits. With 60ms times being offered on most carriers, pricing isn’t as bad as you’d expect, but it’s still a good idea if you’re in a perfect coverage area for it and have no better options.
So, is Starlink a Good Gaming Site? Absolutely— Just Not All Gaming
Starlink offers respectable speeds, playable latency, and affluent subscription terms. But will it also satisfy your particular gaming requirements? The answer to that is “maybe”, which has everything to do with the times during which its dishes have to find satellites to connect with as they pass in orbit. Sometimes those dish-repositioning delays simply cause you to feel uninspired at the wrong moment.
Stick with the tried-and-true if you live in a place with cable or fiber networks. You’ll get reliable performance complete with a level of consistency that Starlink can’t offer due to its underlying technology and infrastructure.
Starlink is a slam-dunk if you’re one of the millions of people who are stuck without a reliable ISP option or have been making do with DSL or a less impressive satellite internet service. It offers a significant increase in speed for all of your internet usage, and its latency is low enough to allow you to enter the world of contemporary gaming. Starlink is not a perfect online gaming solution, but it’s a heck of a lot better than what was available before, especially for those without access to much better.