Introduction: The Lobby Connection
When you join a multiplayer match, how does your console connect to the other players? There are two main ways: **Dedicated Servers** and **Peer-to-Peer (P2P)** matches. Your experience (and your IP security) depends entirely on which method the game developers chose.
The Security Flaw of P2P
In older games and many modern fighting games, the match is P2P. This means one player is selected as the 'Host'. Every other player connects directly to the Host's IP address. This is terrible for security. Any player in the lobby can use a standard network sniffer to see the home IP address of everyone else in the match.
The Dedicated Server Standard
Modern games (like Fortnite or Valorant) use Dedicated Servers hosted in AWS or Google Cloud. Every player connects to the server’s IP, not to each other. This hides everyone's home IP addresses and creates a perfectly equal, low-lag playing field.
Conclusion
Dedicated servers are the gold standard for fair, secure online gaming. If a game uses P2P, a VPN is highly recommended to protect your identity. Check your gaming latency here.