Our recommended minimum of 15-25Mbps is a good download speed for gaming, although the ideal gaming experience that perfects console performance requires broadband speeds of 60-100 Mbps or above. These speeds will provide lag-free 4K gaming, support multiple devices at once and enable smooth multiplayer experiences.
The more demanding and technical the console, the more speed is likely required to support smooth gameplay. For instance, a Nintendo Switch may not require as much speed as a PlayStation 5, but a Gaming PC may require more speed than both.
Most console manufacturers recommend a minimum of 3Mbps for broadband download speed to play games. However, if you're looking for a minimum download speed that provides ample online gameplay and modest content download times, 15-25Mbps is a speed range that can cope with the demands of some modern games.
For upload speeds, which are important too, most manufacturers suggest a minimum speed of 1Mbps. We believe 3Mbps is an appropriate minimum upload speed to suit some gameplay on the latest consoles.
Another factor you should also think about is the ping rate, which is the reaction time of your connection, that is also affected by physical distances and broadband traffic. Ping is important as it allows your inputs (your actions through a controller) to register faster, and therefore gives you a better reaction and input time in gaming. Players with a bad ping will suffer from more lag in their communication with the online game, though by using an ethernet cable you may see a slight improvement.
A good ping for gaming is less than 150ms and will also mean that your latency will be low too, as the ping is the measurement in milliseconds taken for a signal to reach two devices (the latency). With our gaming broadband your ping should always be under 20ms at all times. The ping will be displayed on the results page of an internet connection test.
Latency which could also be called lag, is a delayed response time while playing games. A low latency is desired as this means you are experiencing smoother gameplay.
The PlayStation and Xbox consoles introduced 4K video games, and with the release of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, the market for 4K video games is expected to grow dramatically. Currently, you need a download speed of around 60Mbps to enjoy 4K video games online. These speeds can be achieved with fibre broadband, though you can also
cut your carbon footprint each month by 10kg with Your Co-op broadband.
On the newest generation consoles, downloading a full game to your console can require as much as 225GB. A figure that could increase with new releases in the future and larger updates. If you’ve got a data limit, downloading games can eat up all of your allowances very quickly, leaving no bandwidth for other users of broadband.
However, with unlimited downloads players can have all the latest games without worrying about using up the usage limit or hampering others from the broadband. Each of our
climate-positive broadband packages comes with unlimited downloads, so there’s no need to worry about running out of data.
