Why 'Fortnite' Players Will Love SpaceX's Internet Satellite Constellation

In the midst of his criticism about the state of the media, Elon Musk provided an update on SpaceX’s satellite global internet project. So far, not only are the prototypes working, but they’re providing a fast enough speed to play video games online.

On Saturday, one of Musk’s followers asked the SpaceX CEO about the status of the global internet project called Starlink, which will send 4,425 satellites into orbit to deliver broadband connectivity to parts of the world with no internet. He responded saying the two prototypes – TinTin A and B that were sent up back in February – are providing high speeds with little lag.

“Pretty good. TinTin A & B are both closing the link to ground w phased array at high bandwidth, low latency (25 ms),” he tweeted. “Good enough to play fast response video games.”

For online gaming, a small amount of lag can ruin a gamer’s experience. The ideal speed to play a game online like Fortnite or Overwatch is 50 milliseconds with some players getting as low as 15 to 20 milliseconds on the fastest broadband, so 25 milliseconds from a satellite connection is remarkable. Above 50 milliseconds can work fine for most games, but players will notice lag on “faster” games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

SpaceX first submitted plans for Starlink back in 2016. The company intends to start launch satellites as early as 2019 and finish in 2024.

Musk has been talking about the media after some less-than-positive media coverage regarding his other company, Tesla. He tweeted his plans to start a site that gives credibility scores to news outlets. During his tweetstorm, Musk tweeted praise for an article critical of mainstream media, but then deleted said tweet when it was brought to his attention that the site was staffed by sex cult members.