The gaming industry is constantly evolving and advancing, and storage technology is an important component of this progress. Gamers require storage solutions that can meet their specific needs and demands. The storage market players are developing cutting-edge storage solutions that can deliver powerful performance and speeds to minimize load times and ensure smooth gameplay. With growing consumption of storage solutions in the gaming segment, the storage solution market is witnessing huge growth. Seagate is one of the leading storage market players and delivers reliable products to meet the needs of gamers. Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal recently interacted with Sameer Bhatia, Director, Asia Pacific, Seagate Technology. The discussion revolved around the new storage tech trends, gaming industry and etc. Read below the full conversation.
Rajeev: What are the current storage technology trends in the gaming industry?
Sameer: The gaming industry is constantly evolving, and storage technology is a crucial aspect of its growth. With the increasing popularity of high-definition games and virtual reality, storage technology plays an important role in delivering seamless and immersive gaming experiences.
Currently, the gaming industry is witnessing several storage technology trends that are shaping the future of gaming. One of the most significant trends is the storage technology PCIe Gen speed - Gen 5. We’re witnessing the next level of solid-state drives (SSD) performance with PCIe Gen5 interface. They will be the fastest and highest performance SSD, that is 1.5 times faster than Gen4 and almost 20 times faster than SATA-based SSDs. Gen5 SSDs offer improved load times, resulting in a superior gaming experience for players. As a result, high-end system integrators will be capitalizing on performance and emerging techs. Many gaming laptops and desktops now come with SSDs as the primary storage option, and the game developers are increasingly optimizing their games for SSDs.
Another growing trend is cloud gaming, which is gaining popularity due to its convenience and accessibility. Processing takes place at the edge instead of the terminal. Content can be streamed to users from the edge. Cloud gaming allows players to access a wide array of gaming content from remote edge servers rather than downloading and storing them locally, regardless of the hardware they’re using, enjoying battery power savings. There will be more real-time data created, processed, consumed, and transferred at the edge, between applications and users to systems. and the demand for mass data storage continues to grow.
Rajeev: How do HDD/SSD storage devices affect gaming experience for players?
Sameer: From PC to console, selecting the right gaming drives, internal to external, enhances one’s gaming journey. Internal drives and external storage are purposely built for gamers to provide the intense speeds, lasting endurance, and large capacity needed for the rigors of modern gaming.
If we look at internal drives for gaming PCs and laptops, the M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe has been giving exhilarating performance and unrivalled endurance. Take the FireCuda 540 for example – it redefines speed up to 7,300MB’s so that the full power of PCIe Gen4 can be harnessed. This SSD adds intense speeds, lasting endurance, and large capacity to improve storage performance.
We’re also seeing SSDs used to expand the console storage. Consoles have limited internal storage space and have specific requirements for interoperability with external storage. Take PS5 as an example, while it has 825GB of internal storage, only 667.2GB frees for games, as system files take up the remaining storage. To optimise the storage space in it, SSDs that are compatible with PS5 consoles can now be used to upgrade the storage capacity. With no additional parts needed. M.2 SSDs such as FireCuda 530 meets PS5 specs on performance and dimensions for an easy drop-in expansion that is easy to be installed.
External gaming storage devices are also adding space and upgrading gamers’ battlestation so they can game harder than ever. Seagate offers PlayStation External Hard Drive and Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S that are designed to work in harmony with PlayStation and Xbox consoles, allowing the gamers to conquer their gaming limits to build their game vault and collect titles without fear or maxing out on space. These drives are also lightweight and offer plug-and-play installation making it easy for gamers to take the whole library with them and play from anywhere.
As the game sizes continue to grow over time and it will continue to with the changing technology dynamics, having the right storage is important as it does affect the gaming experience. After all, no one like sacrificing graphics, latency, load times, or framerates when comes to gaming.
Rajeev: Is Metaverse the future of the online PC gaming industry?
Sameer: Metaverse can revolutionise the online PC gaming industry by providing a more realistic and immersive gaming experience. It offers data ownership of digital assets, which is important for the integrity and security of the data.
The Metaverse is built on a sea of data, and with the proliferation of technologies such as AV, AI, and ML, mass data growth is certain. The massive amounts of data created by IoT devices and processed by the cloud and network infrastructure are required to store and process data both on- and off-device, which is relatively close to the end-users. Therefore, solid physical mass data infrastructure is necessary to support Metaverse.
The evolution of Metaverse will require advances and investments across a wide range of technologies, including cloud and networking infrastructure, to realise its true potential. The Global DataSphere forecast of 221ZB of worldwide data creation in 2026, also reflects the data created on and replicated to AR/VR headsets, indicating that Metaverse is already on its way to becoming a reality. Metaverse can be the future of the online PC gaming industry in the presence of a strong physical mass data infrastructure to support its growth.
Rajeev: What does the storage roadmap for video games look like? Can you provide any forecasts or figures?
Sameer: According to recent KPMG report, India is expected to become one of the world’s leading markets in the gaming industry. Growing steadily for the last five years, it is expected to treble in value and reach $3.9 billion by 2025. With an abundance of data available to make highly personalised and receptive games, we can already see this growth fuelled by the advancements like high-fidelity graphics, streaming, cloud gaming, virtual and augmented reality, and Metaverse already in use.
Seagate understands how gamers like to flaunt their allegiances. To deliver them a personalised experience allowing them to put their passion on full display Seagate seasonally collaborates with partners such as Xbox, PS5, and Disney on licensed and limited-edition drives. Our recent offerings include the Star Wars, Black Panther, and Spider Man special edition collectible drives which are available in India on Amazon and Flipkart.
Rajeev: Can you name a few of your top items that have worked the best for PC gaming storage as popular games demand more and more space?
Sameer: Seagate’s flagship drive for PC gaming goes to FireCuda 530. It is currently Seagate’s fastest and most powerful gaming SSD from our PC gaming devices portfolio. FireCuda 530 dominates the SSD line-up, delivering pure performance, absolute power, the most advanced components, and unrivaled endurance. At up to 7,300MB/s, gamers can harness the full power of PCle Gen4 speeds to dominate next-generation games and applications.
The FireCuda 530 is built with the latest 3D TLC NAND and a Seagate-validated E18 controller to provide the most advanced speed and durability so gamers can push the limits of their machine. With transfer rates 2x faster than PCle Gen3 and 12x faster than SATA SSDs, FireCuda 530 is built for sustained and pro-level gaming.
Available also in the heatsink option, the drive is specially designed by EKWB – the leader in heat management. FireCuda 530 heatsink offers a minimalist design that allows for installation in tighter space, an anodised aluminium body, and a finely textured micropore surface to improve heat transfer and lower SSD temps, which makes it super-efficient at maximum cooling to maximising peak performance for longer periods of time. It is also compatible with PS5 consoles and meets PS5 specs on performance and dimensions.
On top of that, along 5 years limited warranty, it comes with 3 years of Rescue Data Recovery Service, which provides gamers with peace of mind in defending against data loss and retrieval costs.
Other Seagate star products for gaming include Seagate FireCuda Special Edition drives - officially licensed drives in collaboration with Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. These drives feature one-of-a-kind artwork and fully customizable RGB LED lighting that complements any themed in gaming battle station. The 2TB large capacity and lightweight make it a perfect match for gamers looking for eye-catching storage while on the go.
Seagate and Microsoft have bottled lightning with a powerful Storage Expansion Card that is engineered to keep pace with the wicked performance of the Xbox Series X|S. The Expansion Card delivers additional game storage at peak speeds, replicating the console’s internal SSD experience. It is engineered inside out to perfectly match the peak performance of the console. Designed for seamless performance and massive storage space, it is the plug-and-play solution that integrates directly with the Xbox Velocity Architecture so that players can enjoy faster load times, Quick Resume, richer environments, and more immersive gameplay.
Rajeev: We have seen how Seagate and Marvel have worked together to help players creatively improve their gaming setup. Would you mind sharing the items' features? How does it improve the aesthetic appeal?
Sameer: At Seagate, we understand the gaming community in confidence and acknowledge gamers’ passion for personalising their setups and flaunting gaming devices with unique features that support the gaming set up. Therefore, with our collaboration with Marvel, we brought the iconic designs such as Black Panther and Spider-Man to gamers and Marvel fans. We have also partnered with Lucasfilm to bring iconic Star Wars designs to gamers and Star Wars fans.
Each of these drives features designs inspired by the stories and characters from the world of Marvel. For example, with Black Panther collectible FireCuda HDDs, we paid homage to T’Challa aka Black Panther, Shuri, and Okoye. While with Spider-Man, we commemorate Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider aka Gwen Stacy, and Miles Morales. Aside from the design, another exciting feature is each design highlight traits of the characters with customiseable RGB LED lighting: magenta to honour Black Panther, cyan for the innovative style of Princess Shuri, and yellow for the elite strength of the warrior Okoye. Drive owner also has the option to personalise the lighting to cater to different setup and gaming atmosphere.
With 2TB storage capacity, these drives work well with PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox so that gamers can accumulate and store games, media, and files regardless of the operating system. Designed with a USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection for universal compatibility and quick transfer speeds, and USB bus-powered, the lightweight drives make it easy for the fans to take their whole library on the road. These drives come with a three-year limited warranty and Rescue Data Recovery Services, so users have peace of mind as they embark on adventures. They also include Seagate’s DiscWizard and SeaTools diagnostic software which helps monitor the health and performance of the drive.
