Starlink gaming: Can you really play online games via satellite internet?

There are more broadband options than ever for online gaming, and Starlink is rising in popularity. I have personal experience with using Starlink every day for over a year now, after moving to a property which was otherwise limited to 2000s-era internet speeds, and was also unable to access 5G home broadband. While it's a great solution for cases such as these, there are a number of considerations to make before you make the switch.

How does Starlink internet work?

Unlike traditional ground-based broadband, Starlink relies on over 10,000 satellites in low earth orbit. Ground stations operated by Starlink around the world communicate with these satellites, routing data between the satellite network and the wider internet.

On the ground, users connect via a terminal or dish, which needs a clear, unobstructed view of the sky to communicate with the satellites overhead. The clear view is key to achieve the high download speeds that Starlink claim, which typically means the home receiver will need to be roof mounted to prevent obstructions.

Starlink download speeds

For users on the go or in properties which aren't able to get fibre broadband, Starlink can in some cases offer dramatically higher download speeds than solutions such as copper broadband. Starlink claims download speeds of up to 400 Mbps, making it great for updating your games with minimal downtime or for downloading new titles. Exact speeds will vary by location however, with a page on the Starlink website allowing you to enter your address to see estimated download and upload speeds for your location. Some locations may be on waitlists for further sign-ups due to existing congestion on the network.

How to reduce Starlink latency

Starlink works brilliantly for slower-paced or turn-based multiplayer games, such as Civilization VI or Minecraft. However, for more competitive titles such as Call of Duty or Counter Strike 2, the added latency of Starlink can become an issue.

The issue lies in the distance that data has to travel. The low earth orbit satellites that Starlink utilises are over 300 miles above the ground, and every single piece of data has to travel up to the satellite, then back down again, before it even reaches the wider internet. This creates latency that fibre and cable internet don't have to deal with. In the case of Starlink, you can expect latency of around 25 to 60 milliseconds, which is a significant rise over the sub-10 millisecond latency we've come to expect from high-quality fibre connections.

There are still ways to reduce Starlink ping, however. Connecting gaming devices to the Starlink router through ethernet rather than Wi-Fi cuts the potential for further latency. Additionally, it's worth checking that your Starlink receiver has the clearest view possible of the sky, as the Starlink app can help you identify the best position and angle to place the device.

For further performance gains, swapping the included, primitive Starlink router for a dedicated gaming router can unlock Quality of Service (QoS) controls, which aren't available on Starlink's default router. QoS lets you prioritise critical and latency-sensitive tasks such as online gaming over other less important activities on your network, such as downloads.

My experience with Starlink

I've been using Starlink for over a year now, in the South West of the UK. As a household of four, our demand on the internet is pretty much constant, and reliability has been excellent too. I've only experienced one major outage since we made the switch, and that was an international outage that made wider headlines. Its self reliance is another advantage, as any local roadworks or construction will have no effect on your Starlink availability.

Starlink claims download speeds of up to 400 Mbps, and in my case (as of August 2026), our download speeds are closer to the 260 Mbps mark. After Starlink, the second fastest provider at our house could only offer a maximum 53Mbps download speed, owing to the lack of fibre or 5G connectivity at the property.

While roof-mounting the Starlink is the optimal setup, it works perfectly well on the ground too thanks to the legs built into the back of the satellite receiver. We still haven't got round to hardwiring and roof mounting ours, and for now it's sitting on the garden floor with as clear a view of the sky as we could manage, with the cable running through a window seal. The useful Starlink app notes some minor obstructions, which if fixed could bring our speed even higher, but it still delivers decent performance overall - and proves you don't need necessarily to get your roof installation sorted straight away to get up and running with Starlink.

Upload speeds of Starlink are also a known pain point compared to conventional broadband, and in my experience, our upload speed hovers around the 20-30Mbps mark. I also do a lot of 4K filming in my spare time, and that slower upload speed can prove frustrating when backing up files to cloud services such as Google Drive - with multi-gigabyte files often taking at least an hour to upload.

Latency in our location stands at around 24ms, which I find to be perfectly adequate playing games such as Call of Duty casually. However, I can sometimes experience latency spikes multiple times during a 10-minute match, which can make or break a winning streak.

Should I get Starlink or 5G broadband?

Starlink is a strong option if you're in an area where you can't get fibre broadband, or in a mobile setup such as a campervan. However, if you also have a reliable 5G signal, that's also worth considering as an alternative broadband that can handle gaming, in combination with a 5G router. Peak 5G download speeds can exceed 500Mbps, and latency is typically lower than Starlink too, since the signal doesn't need to travel to a satellite in orbit and back.

A 5G home broadband plan also typically works out much cheaper than the cost of the Starlink hardware ($349) and ongoing subscription (from $55 per month with a 100 Mbps cap to $130 per month for uncapped speeds).