AccelByte Gaming Services Is Now Modular

For years, AccelByte Gaming Services (AGS) has helped studios build and ship online games by offering a broad set of backend services through a single platform.

While studios could choose which services to use, AGS was historically adopted as one bundled system.

What’s new is that AGS is now modular by design — technically, structurally, and commercially.

All AGS deployments now start with a shared foundation of core backend services. From there, studios add the modules they need: Online, Multiplayer, or both and pay only for what they use.

Why we did this

Whether you're making a narrative driven puzzler or the next big hero shooter, almost every modern game requires backend services in some form. However the specific needs can vary a lot depending on the type of game you're making.

A single player puzzler might need cloud saves, leaderboards and achievements all working seamlessly across multiple platforms.

A multiplayer hero shooter will need low latency matchmaking and high performance scalable servers as well as parties and chat.

Yet studios are often forced to adopt and pay for a full set of backend features upfront including infrastructure, services, and operational capacity they may not use until much later, if ever.

That model drives unnecessary cost early in development, inflates budgets before real player demand exists, and makes backend decisions harder to justify to production and finance teams.

By making AGS modular, we’ve aligned how the platform is structured and priced with how games are actually built and monetized. Every AGS deployment now starts with a shared foundation of core backend services. From there, studios layer in the capabilities they need, when they need them:

• An Online module for persistent progression, social, and economy systems
• A Multiplayer module for real-time co-op and competitive play

This means teams get the backend systems every game requires by default, and can add Online, Multiplayer, or both as their game evolves. The result is a better fit to their game’s needs, lower upfront cost, and backend spend that scales in line with development milestones and player growth, not ahead of it.

Foundations: What every game starts with

Foundations is the core layer included with every AGS deployment. It provides the essential backend systems most games need before launch and rely on throughout development and live operations:

Foundations includes the following features:

• Identity & Access: Handles how players create accounts, sign in, and authenticate across platforms.
• Legal & Privacy: Manages consent, age checks, and region rules so your game meets compliance requirements.
• Game Analytics: Captures in-game and backend events so you can understand behavior and trace issues.
• Tools & Utilities: Built-in observability and debugging tools you need to inspect, simulate, and test. Learn more
• Extend: Lets you override, modify or extend default behavior with your own  logic without having to manage the infrastructure or forking code. Learn more

Online: Persistent systems for cross-platform games

Online builds on the shared AGS foundation and adds cross-platform capabilities for progression, social, and economy:

Online features work consistently across all supported platforms, so players get a seamless experience and you avoid platform-specific integration difficulties.

• Store & Catalog: Manages offers, bundles, pricing, and product data for your in-game store.
• Wallet & Payments: Power virtual currencies, top-ups, and purchases with secure, compliant payment flows.
• Cloud Save: Saves and syncs player progress across devices with conflict resolution built in.
• Achievements: Tracks milestones and unlocks player rewards across different platforms.
• Inventory: Stores and manages items, currencies, and entitlements tied to each player.
• Leaderboards: Ranks players based on your rules and updates results in real time.
• Friends & Presence: Lets players add, manage, interact and see status of in-game friends.
• Season Pass: Tracks seasonal progression and rewards without maintaining custom logic.
  
  Plus all services in Foundations

Multiplayer: Performance, fairness, and scale

Multiplayer builds on the same AGS foundation and adds everything you need for a compelling co-op and competitive play experience:

Whether you're shipping with multiplayer from day one or adding it later, this module gives you production-ready features without starting from scratch.

• Multiplayer Servers: Automates provisioning and operating dedicated servers across Cloud VMs and Bare Metal. Run low latency matches wherever your players are. Learn more
• Guilds & Clans: Enables stable player communities with join rules, roles, and group progression.
• Matchmaking: Matches players with your rules for fair, predictable player matching.
• Chat: Lets players communicate in real time across parties, lobbies, and active sessions.
• Game Sessions: Manages player flow from lobby to game session with consistent rules across platforms.
• Parties & Presence: Lets players form groups, stay connected, and see live online status.
• Peer-to-peer: Handles P2P connections with fallback logic for unstable networks.
  
  Plus all services in Foundations

Pricing that matches how you build 

Along with the move to a modular architecture, we’ve updated how AGS is packaged and priced.

Instead of a single all-inclusive offering, pricing now reflects the modules layered on top of the shared foundation. Modular packaging and pricing is currently available only for private cloud deployments, with support for shared cloud environments coming very soon.

For more specifics, full pricing breakdowns are on our pricing page.

Get Started with Modular AGS

Whether you're planning a new game or rethinking your backend, modular AGS lets you start with what you need and scale from there:

• Learn more about what's included in each module
• Talk to us about your game
• Try AGS free for 90 days