Use a VPN for Gaming?

Visit websites or listen to podcasts and you're likely to run into ads for VPN (virtual private network) services. Thanks to a renewed focus on privacy and security, they are everywhere these days.

The promise of privacy protection and improved performance has always appealed to gamers. Here's what you need to know.

What a VPN Does

VPNs come in two basic types. The first is a corporate VPN provided by your employer. A VPN is an encrypted tunnel that connects you to a company's network for access to private resources, such as corporate documents or the back end of a website.

Consumer VPNs can be classified into two types, for which all those ads are targeted. A VPN is also an encrypted tunnel, but instead of connecting directly to the Internet, it connects to a server first. From the outside, it appears that the VPN server is your PC. By doing so, you remain anonymous.

You can use a VPN like this to watch Netflix shows that are only available in the U.S. while you're in Europe. If you're on a public Wi-Fi network at a coffee shop or airport and want to secure your connection, a VPN will prevent the Wi-Fi network operator from spying on your traffic.

Is a VPN able to protect you from DDoS attacks?

Protection is the primary reason why gamers, or those who advise gamers, recommend VPNs. Peer-to-peer technology is used by some games to assist with multiplayer networking. It is sometimes possible to learn an opponent's IP (Internet Protocol) address when that is the case.

Computers and routers on the internet have IP addresses, much like a street address. The IP address of another device can be used to connect to it. This information is used by bad actors to carry out distributed denial-of-service attacks, where they flood an IP address with so much internet traffic that the connection goes down. The threat of a DDoS attack is very real since it is easy to rent time on botnets to carry out DDoS attacks (as long as you have a target IP address).

Major internet companies, gaming companies, and a number of VPN services all have to deal with DDoS attacks on a daily basis. A home internet connection is, however, not equipped to handle this—hence the need for a VPN. If you become the target of a DDoS attack while connected to a VPN, you may still be taken offline, but getting back online won't be a problem since your actual IP isn't affected.

There seems to be a lot of fear on the internet about getting hit by a DDoS attack while gaming. If you check the forums of any game that includes an online multiplayer component, you'll see DDoS concerns, including games like CSGo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Destiny 2, and League of Legends.

Certainly, some of these concerns are legitimate, and (hopefully) game makers will do everything they can to prevent DDoS attacks, as Bungie did with Destiny 2 in early 2020. The bigger fear, however, is that someone will try to take down the company's servers and knock the game offline, as happened to World of Warcraft in late 2019. Using a VPN does absolutely nothing to make the game more playable, since the DDoS attack targeted the game servers, not your internet connection.

Another way to become the victim of a DDoS attack is not through the game itself, but through everything around it. In some cases, starting a chat with you is enough to determine your IP address. So try to lure you to a website or chat room that they control to learn your IP address. Such attacks are rare. Don't take the bait if you receive an unsolicited chat request before or just after a game.

These days you shouldn't need a VPN to withstand DDoS attacks, but there may be exceptions. When you believe you've been targeted by a DDoS attack while gaming, check to see if others have experienced similar experiences and what you were doing on your machine immediately prior to the attack. You can check the game developer's forums and support pages to see if this is a problem. A VPN might be a good option if this is the case.

Can a VPN Improve Gaming Performance?

Furthermore, gamers like the idea of a VPN because it can improve performance if they use a server that's close to the game's servers. VPNs don't offer the same bandwidth speeds as a bare internet connection, so this almost never works out. Unless there are other circumstances in which a VPN improves performance, you'll almost always experience higher latency and worse network performance when connecting to a VPN. (However, a fast VPN may minimize the slowdown.)

You might benefit from a VPN if your internet service provider throttles gaming connections but not VPNs. If you were connecting through a public Wi-Fi network that blocked gaming connections but allowed VPN connections, you could use a VPN to tunnel around that restriction and connect to the game server.

Alternatively, you might want to play in a different region, such as Europe or Asia. Make sure the game doesn't automatically connect you regardless of your region if you are playing with friends. In games that do region locking, make sure that changing regions with a VPN will not get you kicked out of the game.

In addition, IP filters at university or corporate firewalls may be bypassed. Bypassing your company's firewall just to play a game is a terrible, terrible idea that could cost you your job. A better option for students would be to contact the campus IT department. They may not always try to block gaming, but traffic that looks similar, and they can help you figure out what's wrong.

Is a VPN Necessary for Gaming?

You can use VPN services to access streaming services overseas or to secure your connection on public Wi-Fi networks. Do you need one for gaming? Most likeYou definitely don’t need it for blanket protection or performance issues for all online games, but there are some situations where it might come in handy.

Before spending money on a VPN subscription, do some research to see if the game you play uses peer-to-peer networking or if the chat platforms you use are a concern, and then see what the developers are doing to prevent DDoS attacks. Consider whether you might need one to bypass throttling or limitations on the networks you use.

If you’re looking for a VPN, we generally recommend ExpressVPN, but be sure to check out our guide on how to choose the best VPN for your needs.