Virtual worlds have become very popular in recent years, with trends toward larger worlds and more user-generated content. The growth of 3D content in virtual worlds will make real-time content streaming (or 3D streaming) increasingly attractive for developers. To meet the demands of a large user base while lowering costs, peer-to-peer (P2P) content delivery holds the promise for a paradigm shift in how future virtual worlds will be deployed and used. The authors define both the problem and solution spaces for P2P 3D streaming - by outlining its requirements and challenges - and categorize existing proposals.
