Maybe we'd like to use some of that CPU to run the game instead of pushing packets.
Maybe if we can push the packets more efficiently, we save $$$.
Maybe game servers get DDoS'd and it's great to be able to quickly drop packets without any linux kernel overhead.
Maybe I would like my games to not bypass my firewall and VPN?
Also, eBPF is not a way to shave CPU cycles, you would use DPDK/Netmap/BSD BPF for that, it's a way to lower latency. And we're talking single digit microsecond latency, where a typical internet link has millisecond jitter.
If it's for servers then the article still doesn't make any sense. See my other comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39939876
https://www.cablelabs.com/10g https://www.nngroup.com/articles/law-of-bandwidth/
Most of the world doesn't even have 100M internet: https://www.speedtest.net/global-index
By the time your game can use even 1G per client, XDP won't even be helpful for 100G. (Which, depending on use case, it already isn't.)
According to Neilsen's law, we should see 10G internet become more common than 1G internet is today within 10 years.
That's a cool thing. Let's look forward to it, and the rising tide that lifts all boats. The world will be a much more connected place 10 years from now, and the 10G target from CableLabs.com as well as DSCP packet tagging, L4S and other technologies will make the internet a lot better than it is today.
Why the negativity. Embrace the future :)