Two or more people playing a game on the computer and competing with each other over the Internet (cloud gaming) or an in-house local network (LAN). The traditional card games such as bridge and poker emulate a deck of playing cards. However, video games also allow players to compete within a simulated environment that takes them into a fantasy world. Contrast with "console gaming," whereby gamers play against the software in the PC or game console (see
video game console).
Online Gaming Environments
PlayStation Now and NVIDIA's GeForce Now are multiplayer gaming environments introduced in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Apple Arcade, Microsoft's xCloud and Google Stadia are more recent entrants into the multiplayer cloud gaming world. See
MOBA,
e-sports,
MMOG,
MMORPG and
gaming.