Cross-planet online gaming impossible, says Elon Musk after streaming Path of Exile 2 from an airplane
Elon Musk shocked the gaming world by playing Path of Exile 2 on a plane using the power of Starlink. This has made gamers wonder if playing across planets will be a possibility now. To this, Musk replied said that while it is possible to get a connection in some planets of our system, playing real-time games with it is not.
The renowned billionaire is a prominent figure in the gaming community. He has previously expressed interest in the gaming industry and even announced his own AI-powered gaming studio, “Make Gaming Great Again.” However, the studio has been embroiled in controversy due to its views and opinions on modern gaming practices.
Elon Musk has been singing quite a lot of praises about Path of Exile 2, and now playing the game on a plane, he has once again become a hot topic in the community.
Can Elon Musk play Path of Exile 2 from outside the planet using Starlink?
On December 17, 2024, Elon Musk shared on X that he was playing Path of Exile 2 remotely using Starlink while on a moving plane. He expressed his fascination and gratitude, noting that people can now play online, real-time games even while in flight.
Read more: Elon Musk finds Path of Exile 2 to have "very impressive rate of improvement"
This made people wonder if this technology can be used to play games from different planets, e.g. Mars. To address this, Musk said that while it is possible that users can run real-time games from Mars, the massive distance (of up to 250 million miles) would mean incredibly high latency.
So, in simple words, while you can get an internet connection on Mars, online gaming is impossible due to absurdly high ping. This, of course, is a hypothetical scenario, and we don't know what technological breakthroughs await humanity in the future.
How much will it cost you to play games on Starlink?
While Starlink is quite capable, its power comes with a price, and it can put quite a dent in your pockets. First of all, Starlink is currently not available in most Eastern countries. If you're from China, India, or Russia, you will have to wait a while because the service is currently unavailable in those regions.
Also read: Elon Musk gets kicked from Path of Exile 2 for allegedly being too efficient
However, if your country has access to Starlink, the service will cost you a whopping $120 per month. On your first month, it will cost you around $349 due to the hardware charges, first-month subscription price, and service charges. The highest speed for the $120 package is 100 Mbps, which many other providers offer for a much cheaper price, so do your research before opting for Starlink.