IPv4 vs IPv6 in Gaming: Which Delivers a Better Online Experience?

When it comes to gaming, your success is not just dependent on your ability to navigate quests and achieve game goals. Rather, the speed and overall functionality of your gameplay are often dependent directly on your internet connection. IPv6 vs IPv4 for gaming – which one is better, and how should you choose?

Gamers can improve their gaming results by better understanding IPv4 vs IPV6 as it applies to gaming. Gaming experiences, including latency, connectivity, and peer-to-peer connections, play a direct role in how well you perform. When it matters, consider your IP as a starting point for improving your performance.

What is IPv4 vs IPV6 for Gaming Purposes?

Internet protocol (IP) is a group of rules about how data is transferred between devices over a network or the internet. It’s much like the address on your home that helps the mail person know where to drop your mail. IP provides not just an address but also the route for transmitting data across a network boundary.

When this data transfer, or route, is more efficient, you get there faster, just like the route the mail person takes to get to your home directly or if they go around the city first. IPv4 and IPv6 are two different methods currently in use.

When you establish a connection to start gaming, your device will connect to the internet using a unique IP address following either the IPv4 or IPv6 ruleset. Which ruleset it follows will ultimately determine how the data transmits from the game to your device and back. For a more complex breakdown of the differences and how they work, check out our article on IPv4 and IPv6.

You can most often choose between IPv4 or IPv6 by adjusting your network and router settings. However, before you make that decision, you may be wondering which is better for gaming: IPv4 vs IPv6.

IPV6 Vs IPv4 Gaming: The Differences

As we specifically consider gaming IPv4 vs IPv6 differences, we need to take a closer look at the key advantages and disadvantages of both options. While IPv4 is the most widely used ruleset, there are advantages to moving to v6 (if you haven’t figured it out yet, v4 and v6 refer to the version).

IPv4 accepts 32-bit addresses, which allows for 4.3 billion unique addresses at one time. The good news is that it is quite a bit, but the bad news is that it has been used for years, and the number of available addresses is dwindling. That’s why people are starting to move to v6, but that’s not a fast process, and as noted, most are still using an IPv4 address. That’s because the move to IPv6 is possible, but it can take time and be expensive, and for some online gaming platforms and servers, it may not be worthwhile.

The first key consideration, then, is the application’s design. Some middleware software products and services connect various systems and apps designed specifically for IPv4. That means if you try to use those services between systems, they may not function as well as they could if you move to v6.

One of the key areas of concern here: VPNs. A VPN allows you to hide your actual IP address, and in doing so, you can navigate online gaming with more anonymity. If you are using such a VPN and you try to utilize IPv6, a number of risks exist, including the potential for security issues and leaks of your actual identity, defeating the purpose of the VPN.

So, when we get down to it, then why would you want to consider v6?

• More addresses available: With 128 bits, v6 brought with it 340 undecillion unique IP addresses, far more than v4. That’s a critical need, thanks to the incredible growth of technology like smart homes and IoT devices.
• IPSec protections: IPv6 also has Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), which is a type of encryption and authentication designed to protect against specific threats, such as man-in-the-middle attacks.
• Mobile device connectivity: Also notable, IPv6 has improved support for mobile devices. If you’re gaming on a tablet or a smartphone, that could play a role in the long term, depending on which version you use.
• Native NAT: You also have Network Address Translation (NAT) natively supported on v6, though there are other workarounds for v4.
• QoS traffic prioritization: Quality of Service (QoS) traffic prioritization is also better supported. This can help improve real-time traffic, including gaming activities, more efficiently.

You’ll find a wide range of other smaller differences that matter, including multicasting improvements and smaller headers and routing tables. Even plug-and-play support is enhanced on v6. These are all excellent reasons to choose IPv6, but when you take this in the context of gaming specifically, you may notice a few key concerns. Let’s break down the gaming differences you can expect.

The Gaming Differences in IPv4 vs IPv6 to Consider

If you are going to invest in IPv6, you want to be sure it’s actually going to enhance your gameplay. In the simplest of statements, yes, IPv6 could be the better option for gaming because of its efficiency and reduced ping. However, the amount of improvement in these and other areas is not necessarily so significant that you would directly notice it in your gameplay – in most cases.

You will see some benefits in many situations, but consider why IPv6 is the long-term goal and not necessarily a must-have upgrade today in the following areas.

Quality of Service: One key reason you may want to hold off is Quality of Service (QoS). Many routers have built-in settings that prioritize various types of traffic that come into the network. In your case, that’s gaming traffic. If you make adjustments to these settings, you can improve the way the gaming traffic is viewed as important. You can configure the settings in your router’s web interface.

IPv6 has built-in support for QoS in a field in the IPv6 header. That directly reduces latency, a common concern for many online gamers. However, this is a small improvement, though it may be noticeable in some games you play. In short, gaming speed improves as a result, even at a minimal level.

Gaming Servers: The gaming server is a big component of how fast the internet can move to get you into the next round of your game. In fact, IPv6 benefits can be seen not just on your own hardware but also on the servers themselves. With IPv6, there’s built-in support for multicasting. This is the process of broadcasting data across not just one but multiple devices – like your gaming friend you’re connecting with.

In online gaming, where you are working with at least another person in a different location, this type of broadcasting efficiency is quite important. It allows both players to move and interact at the same time. However, this isn’t something you can change. It is dependent on whether the gaming servers use IPv6 or not.

VPNs: As noted, many people are using VPNs to gain some protection and privacy while interacting in the online gaming world. Having some type of protection like this is smart, whether you are using a VPN or a proxy service to do so. If you are using VPNs, you should not use IPv6. That is the simple, straightforward answer here.

VPNs mask game traffic from ISP throttling. Because many VPNs only support IPv4, if you move to v6, you risk exposing your data. Using IPv6 could lead to leaks and expose your traffic to your ISP, which will then begin throttling your connection.

Also notable is that VPNs may try to disable IPv6 in your settings and then push it back to IPv4 – some VPN apps do this behind the scenes. If it does that, having IPv6 does nothing for your gameplay because you’re not using it.

IPv6 Adoption: The best outcome for IPv6 is when all components of the gaming experience are using it. That’s not happening yet in most gaming worlds, and that typically means you cannot get the most benefit out of it just yet. The best IPv6 results will come when all hardware, devices, and networks you are using are linked to IPv6 – which includes the device you are gaming on, the router, the platform the game runs on, the gaming services, and every other player.

Will that happen? Yes, in the future, but it is not happening just yet. The bottom line, then, is that you will not see the best outcome or best performance just yet.

Game Compatibility: Another factor to consider is IPv6 game compatibility. IPv6 is not being used exclusively right now, and that means you can always count on IPv4 being available to you in your game, but not necessarily IPv6. There are a few instances in which a game only supports IPv4, though that is far from common as the world moves closer to IPv6 adoption. If you have a game that does not allow that type of connectivity, you can adjust settings to disable IPv6.

Is IPV6 Faster Than IPv4 for Gaming?

People often have questions about IPv6 vs IPv4 gaming speed. The bottom line is that yes, IPv6 is faster for gaming, but to get those benefits, all of the above scenarios may work in your favor.

As you think about whether to make the move to IPv6, it is best to consider how it may improve or optimize your gaming performance. Of course, the measurement of gaming performance is dependent on a variety of factors itself.

To find out if it could help you, you may want to measure ping. This can give you some indication of where you are specifically seeing bottlenecks and performance slowdowns in your connection. By measuring ping with just IPv4 enabled and then doing the same thing with IPv6 enabled, you will be able to see the difference.

There are dozens of ping tests out there that you can use to do that, and most operating systems make it possible to do so by using the ping command. Follow these steps to do so:

• Press the Windows key + R, typing “cmd” and Enter
• You will need the gaming server’s address, or if you do not have it, close every other program you are running on your device. Type “netstat -n” into the command box and hit enter. This will provide you with all of the addresses being used, including the gaming server.
• From here, type “ping with the server’s address.” This will run a ping test and provide you with results.

Compare this to determine if you are getting a better ping on IPv4 vs IPv6 for gaming. If there’s no real improvement, moving to v6 is not likely to make a significant difference in the way you play the game, at least just yet. The good news is that this will likely improve over time as more people move to IPv6.

Is IPv6 Better for Gaming?

When you consider IPv4 vs IPv6 for gaming, is one better? There’s no doubt that IPv6 can be the better option, and it can enhance your gameplay. However, there are limitations to this, especially if you are using VPNs to mask your identity.

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