Eight of the most popular PC and console games in the world have no local server options in South Africa, a MyBroadband analysis has found.
South African gamers often have to play popular online multiplayer games at a competitive disadvantage. This is the consequence of being at the southernmost tip of the poorest continent on the planet, while most of the world’s gaming servers are in the northern hemisphere.
Professional gaming site Dot Esports said while the average first-person shooter (FPS) player has a reaction time between 300-500 milliseconds, professionals can clock reaction times between 100-250 milliseconds. A South African gamer’s reaction could be 50ms faster than his rival in London, but the latter’s proximity to the server means his action is detected first.
The table, in the linked article, shows which popular multiplayer video games had official South African and community servers as of May 2022, and also some that have locally hosted community servers.
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These top games have servers in South Africa#
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gaming Highly competitive South African gamers are at the mercy of game studios when it comes to getting a good online playing experience.