SpaceX founder Elon Musk is not only the richest man on the planet, but he is also an avid gamer. In fact, he became a legend in Diablo 4, raising the bar ridiculously by finishing level 150 in under two minutes. But Musk’s gaming prowess doesn’t stop there. He also showed off his skills in Path of Exile 2, to the point where the game had no choice but to kick him out for playing “too well”.
Now, Elon Musk has raised some eyebrows with a surprising warning about gaming on Mars, following an unexpected gaming session in which he played Path of Exile 2 while flying high in the sky, thanks to SpaceX’s Starlink internet.
Known to be the richest man in the world and a notorious gambler, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the experience with his 207 million followers. He proudly showed off his ability to play in real time from an airplane, highlighting how far Starlink has come. According to Musk, the technology is now so advanced that it allows players to play Path of Exile 2 mid-flight as if they were sitting at home.
The moment has quickly sparked excitement and curiosity about the future of gaming, especially when it comes to the prospect of playing from Mars. Could we truly connect in real time across the vast expanse of space? Musk, however, wasn’t as enthusiastic about the idea as his fans. While he acknowledged that gambling on Mars might be possible, he emphasized the harsh reality of space travel: the speed of light. Due to the immense distance between Earth and Mars, real-time gaming would not be feasible. He explained that the signal will take anywhere from 4 to 20 minutes to travel, making any kind of live gaming experience a non-starter for now.
Naturally, Musk’s comment led to a number of playful responses from fans, with some joking about the crazy ping time and others suggesting they could solve the problem by running an ethernet cable between the two planets.
This exchange has many thinking about what gaming might look like in the future, especially when Mars is finally colonized. After all, Musk’s recent announcement to start an AI game studio has already got the gaming community buzzing. If anyone can make interplanetary games in the future, it’s probably him, but for now Earth gamers will have to make do with Starlink at 30,000 feet.
So, with that in mind, do you think we’ll ever play planet-to-planet, or is that just a pipe dream for now?
