Everyone’s favourite yellow mobile network operator recently announced MTN CloudPlay, its own local cloud gaming platform. In partnership with European mobile tech company Telecoming, MTN is offering South Africans access to a wide range of ‘console-quality’ cloud-based games that can be streamed to a smartphone, tablet, or PC.
MTN CloudPlay is already available at cloudplay.mtn.co.za, or through MTN Play. The service costs R80/m and already boasts a vast library of “over 300 games” which currently includes popular titles like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Fallout 4, and Elden Ring. The platform’s webpage also states that the catalogue will add new games every month.
MTN CloudPlay’s reign
“MTN CloudPlay will allow MTN users in South Africa to access a wide range of cloud-based video games, providing a high-quality gaming experience without the need for downloads or high-end gaming consoles,” explained Telecoming in a press release sent to Hypertext.
One R80/m subscription allows for up to four profiles – although it isn’t clear if all four profiles can be accessed simultaneously – and promises a responsive gaming experience with a 60fps framerate, ‘Full HD’ resolution, and no restrictions for game session length. As great as that sounds, you’ll need to make sure you have the internet bandwidth to support it.
“Although the bandwidth consumed on average is lower, it is recommended to have at least 20 Mbps available, and disable all VPN networks and firewalls in your device, to enjoy the best gaming experience,” reads the website.
The fun doesn’t stop there. Apparently, MTN CloudPlay will allow subscribers to stream gameplay from games in their Steam library. If you think this sounds too good to be true, you aren’t alone. We’ll need to spend some time on the platform to check this out for ourselves.
The platform is accessed through a web browser. Chrome, Firefox and Safari are listed as supported but MTN ‘high;y recommends’ using Chrome. Compatible devices need to be running Android 7.0 or higher, Windows 7 or higher, or iOS 14 or higher.
The only catch we could find is the requirement for an MTN number but we’ll keep on the lookout for any others that arise.
