Can a VPN help with my ping in games?

So I’m from latam and for most games I have high ping because the servers are located in the us so I was wondering if I used a VPN my ping would get better, I have a good internet speed but I’m no really sure

Short answer

Almost always no, but occasionally yes in rare edge cases.

Long answer

The Internet is a network of networks, and it works by one machine sending traffic to another machine, and then that machine sending it to a third machine, and then that machine sending it to a fourth machine, and so on, until the packet (data) reaches its destination or gets dropped. You can see that for yourself by using the traceroute command. Do it with a domain name or IP address, such as a game server, and you’ll see what steps (hops) your data traffic has to take to get from your machine to that server.

Different ISPs have different peering arrangements with other Internet companies, so depending on which one you use, your traffic could get routed differently. By definition, using a VPN will add at least one additional hop, so as a general rule it will increase latency, not decrease it. However, it does give you an opportunity to take advantage of the VPN provider’s peering arrangements. If your ISP has good peering with the VPN server you choose (an efficient path to them), and if that VPN server happens to have a significantly more efficient path to the game server than your ISP directly does, and if your VPN is using a fast and efficient protocol like WireGuard, then I suppose in some rare edge cases, a VPN may be able to reduce your latency to some sites. One example of this would be if your ISP is violating net neutrality, deliberately throttling traffic to/from some sites but not others, and if your chosen VPN provider allows you to get around that throttling.

Conclusion

It’s probably not worth the time and money to experiment with this. You’d almost certainly be better off doing things like using a wired connection instead of WiFi and also taking steps to reduce bufferbloat on your home router.

VPN will increase your ping - you’re increasing the distance of the signal. You want to find a server closer to home to reduce the ping. If that’s not possible, contact your ISP and explain your situation - might be an issue on their end.

TIL about bufferbloat.