Microsoft doesn't want you to play at certain times

We live in times of change, in which many users are starting to work from home. This means that the consumption of Internet data, the requirements we have, have changed. We have already talked in a previous article about how some streaming platforms, for example, have lowered the quality to avoid a much higher consumption and that can make the network not work properly. Today we echo a news article that informs about how Microsoft is going to ask users not to download game updates at peak times.

Microsoft wants users to control the use of games

When we surf the Internet, not everything has the same consumption, logically. We can make use of certain services and tools that use resources very intensively. This means that in a short time we can end our data rate or make our broadband consume a lot.

Of course, the normal thing is that mobile and domestic Internet operators are trained to meet the demand. The problem comes when there are many users who at any given time make very intense use of the network. Something that increases when we all have to be at home, when there are many users working remotely, etc.

This is why Microsoft has asked its gaming platforms to only open updates for a specified time. In this way they want to avoid being able to play, or more specifically use games that require updates, at peak times. They want to avoid further network congestion and other users being harmed.

The objective, as we mentioned, is to allow correct use of the network and that there are no problems for users. They somewhat follow the trend set by other platforms such as Netflix or YouTube that have already reduced consumption to avoid an even greater overload of the network.

 

Downloads represent a large consumption of the Internet

Keep in mind that updating a game involves downloading a lot of data in a short space of time. This can slow down the domestic connection of our home, for example. We can check it simply by running a speed test while we are downloading many files at once; we will see that the speed drops.

Now, we are going to extrapolate that to all households. We are going to put that there are millions of users at the same time downloading updates for games, watching videos, surfing the net, making video calls ... All, taken together, could mean that the network does not work properly.

This is what has caused some operators to ask certain streaming video platforms such as Netflix or YouTube to reduce the quality of the videos. Thus they avoid the collapse of the network and affecting many users.

Something like this is what Microsoft has now done when trying to prevent its competitor's gaming platforms from offering updates at peak times. Keep in mind that certain games require constant updating. Will this really affect gameplay or will it only be present in certain cases?

Large increase in remote work

As we have indicated in recent weeks there has been a large increase in remote work . This is something that has not only affected Spain, but also many other countries in the world. We live in times when we have all had to change our habits. Many users are starting to work from home and that also means more data consumption.

It is precisely at these times when there are more users working and using the network that Microsoft wants to avoid game updates. A step that they consider important to avoid data overload and that can affect the proper functioning of the network by many users.

In recent times, the use of the cloud has also increased a lot. It goes a bit in relation to what we mentioned about remote work. Many users are starting to use cloud hosting and access certain services remotely. This is also something that can affect the proper functioning of the connection, since it is a type of service that consumes many resources.