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 Starlink. This has got people wondering if playing video games across planets is a possibility. Regarding this, Musk said that while it is possible to get an internet connection on some planets in our solar system, playing real-time titles using 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 on modern gaming practices.

Elon Musk has been singing praises of Path of Exile 2, and now that he's played the game on a plane, he has once again become a hot topic in this title's community.

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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 had played Path of Exile 2 remotely using Starlink while on a moving plane. He expressed his fascination, noting that people can now play online, real-time games even on a flight.

This made people wonder if Starlink can be used to play games from different planets, like 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 could get an internet connection on Mars, online gaming would be 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.

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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 pocket. 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.

However, if your country allows access to Starlink, the service will cost you a whopping $120 per month. For 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 at a much lower price, so do your research before opting for Starlink.