Live games (games with long term live support) have been trending in the past few years, and more game developers are considering providing live services in their future games. Not all the game developers, though, have enough people on their team to create a robust game backend that includes all of the essential features for a game to be live. That is why game developers and publishers have been looking at backend service providers to help with their games. Below we breakdown the three essential components of backend infrastructure that you should consider before getting help from a backend provider to bring your game live.
1. Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)
Game BaaS is the bridge architecture between Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Games-as-a-Service (GaaS). In order to create cloud-based technologies or toolsets for game development, BaaS uses SDKs (software development kits) and APIs (application programming interfaces). To power up games running on a GaaS model, BaaS features like user account and profile management, push notifications, cloud storage, social interactions, commerce, and game telemetry are made easily integrated into game applications through APIs. This greatly reduces the time and manpower required to build such services from scratch.
Unfortunately, most backend solution companies think that one type of solution should fit the needs of the entire industry. But in reality, with industry demands for novelty and new technologies always emerging, new gameplay types and monetization models are constantly being developed. Game developers have a hard time finding the right solutions for their game since the provided solutions out there limit the game’s creativity and potential. We need more customizable backend services to fit each game’s unique needs.
At AccelByte, we believe that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to game backends. Pick and choose from our wide range of services to create your own customizable game backend platform.
2. LiveOps Support
LiveOps focuses on player experience in all stages, from before the game is released to the point where players who have left the game re-engage. To run events or special promotions, notify players about new content and features, manage the player community, and help players solve problems, a backend solution to support live ops is critical to keeping your players happy. Game developers need to be able to send gifts (digital assets) to players, be it in the form of a game item or virtual currency. Game admins should also be able to easily set discounts for promotions. Players should have a way to contact game developers to let them know of any issues, and game admins need to have access to player data to figure out a solution.
Check out our cost-effective backend platform that supports live operations/administrations. We make it easy to operate with an intuitive dashboard that gives you complete control.
3. Cloud Gaming Infrastructure
Cloud gaming is centered around player experiences directly interacting with cloud service providers, like cloud storage and game servers. In cloud gaming, we enable players to store and update gaming data on the cloud and call the data back to the game client. Keeping player data on the cloud helps players not to lose their game progression. Because player data such as profiles, stats, scores, and achievements need to be recorded in the cloud, the cloud solution used must be both accessible and secure.
With our cloud gaming backend support, you can manage player data across multiple platforms (cross-platform supported) and track player progression and attributes in one system.
Besides game server uptime reliability, game server scalability and manageability are also essential to create an enjoyable cloud gaming experience. As the number of active players is certain to change over time, game server scalability is a must since it creates adaptability to the game’s changing needs and demands. With a game server manager, it is easier to manage auto scaling servers so that the number of servers (as well as the rent cost) is proportional to the number of players. Game developers shouldn’t have to guess the right server specifications for their game, which will likely experience players surge on game release and player churn over time.
Our smart game server manager is the solution for dynamic server management. Beside its smart auto scaling logic, it also gives you the option to mix and match multiple cloud and bare metal providers to get the best performance and lowest latency, with the lowest cost.
Live Gaming Made Easy
Building and supporting a live game doesn’t have to be difficult. You can have active, sustained player engagement with continuous updates to keep players coming back and responsive player support to keep them feeling taken care of, all while dynamically managing your servers to maximize performance while minimizing cost. All it takes is the right backend service provider. If you’re interested in bringing your game live, send us an email at hello@accelbyte.io or reach out to us on our discord server. We’d love to hear about your unique game.
