Game on as Optus goes after players

Optus is launching a $10 plan add on as it bets video games will continue to increase in popularity.

Optus VP for TV content and product development Clive Dickens. Picture: James Croucher

Video games have soared in popularity during the pandemic and Optus is betting that gamers won’t be putting down their controllers any time soon as it readies to launch a $10 NBN plan add-on as part of a broader strategy to woo the gaming community.

Optus will next week introduce Game Path, a piece of computer software from Canadian start-up WTFast that it says will automatically route internet traffic over the most optimal path available, for lower latency and faster ‘frags’, otherwise known as video game kills. The telco said internet traffic was up around 75 per cent since quarantine came into effect, with much of that due to games like Fortnite and Call of Duty. Those games often rely on servers overseas, leaving Australian gamers frustrated and at a disadvantage.

“What Game Path does is help Australians get their data across the internet in the most efficient way possible; we have 250 different locations around the world and 60 different regions,” Optus VP for TV content and product development Clive Dickens told The Australian.

“It’s become more important during these COVID times in terms of the amount of time we’re now spending online, and gaming. This subscription product is $10 a month, there’s no contract, it attaches to all our eligible Optus NBN plans and it should significantly improve the gaming experience for those hardcore users.”

Mr Dickens said Optus was ranked as the top NBN provider for download speeds by the ACCC for the past four quarters, and that gaming speeds were a consideration for a growing number of customers. NBN competition is ramping up, with Telstra this week launching a 5G home service.

“This is part of our ongoing strategy to create a personalised adaptive network based around the consumers,” he said. “Look at the growth of Teams and Zoom … it becomes more and more important to have reduced latency and be able to quickly access content that’s overseas.”

Optus’s Queen St flagship store in Brisbane also opened a gaming centre that will show Game Path in action, and will serve as home to Optus’s recent eSports signing, The Chiefs team, where they will conduct their training and streaming. “There will definitely be more (gaming products),” Mr Dickens said. “A year ago, we were the first company to launch 5G internet and the other telcos have followed us on that. We also launched unlimited data days a couple of months ago, which means you can add a day for $5 in your app and binge watch your favourite videos on our mobile network.

“This is about creating experiences that don’t treat every customer the same, but focuses on how they actually want to use their internet. And that will include gaming-based products as well.”