SpaceX founder Elon Musk isn’t just the richest man on the planet—he’s also a hardcore gamer. In fact, he became a legend in Diablo 4, setting the bar ridiculously high by finishing tier 150 in under two minutes. But Musk’s gaming prowess doesn’t stop there. He’s also shown off his skills in Path of Exile 2, to the point where the game had no option 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 where he played Path of Exile 2 while flying high in the sky, thanks to SpaceX’s Starlink internet.
Known for being the world’s richest man and a notorious gamer, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the experience with his 207 million followers. He proudly showed off his ability to game in real-time from an airplane, emphasizing just how far Starlink has come. According to Musk, the technology is now so advanced that it allows gamers to play Path of Exile 2 mid-flight as if they were sitting at home.
The moment quickly sparked excitement and curiosity about the future of gaming, especially when it comes to the prospect of playing from Mars. Could we really connect in real-time across the vast expanse of space? Musk, however, wasn’t as thrilled by the idea as his fans. While acknowledging that gaming on Mars might be possible, he pointed out the harsh reality of space travel: the speed of light. Because of the immense distance between Earth and Mars, real-time gaming wouldn’t be feasible. He explained that the signal would 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 string of playful responses from fans, with some joking about the insane ping time and others suggesting they might solve the issue by running an ethernet cable between the two planets.
This exchange got many thinking about what gaming might look like in the future, especially when Mars is finally colonized. After all, Musk’s recent announcement of starting an AI game studio has already got the gaming community buzzing. If anyone can pull off interplanetary gaming in the future, it’s probably him—but for now, Earthbound gamers will have to make do with Starlink at 30,000 feet.
So, with that in mind, do you think we’ll ever game across planets, or is it just a pipe dream for now?