Dev Fleets: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How AccelByte Makes Them Better

Most studios run development servers the same way they run production: always on, always billing, always expensive. But development work is different. You're testing branches, trying new builds, and running QA sessions that only need servers for a few hours at a time.

AccelByte Development fleets solve this by scaling down when idle and spinning up on demand. One shared server pool can serve every branch and build configuration you're testing. No more paying for capacity you're not using.

What Development Fleets Actually Do

Dev fleets use late binding instead of baking everything into the fleet upfront.

That means, the fleet defines the infrastructure (instance types, regions, scaling rules). Build configurations define what runs on that infrastructure (game version, server arguments, maps). When you request a server, the system combines them at claim time.

This lets you:

• Test multiple game versions on the same infrastructure pool
• Add new configurations in minutes without touching the fleet
• Spin up exactly what you need when claims come in
• Scale down to zero servers when nobody's testing

Why Development Fleets Matter?

Traditional development servers are expensive and inflexible. Studios provision for peak testing capacity and pay 24/7, even though most testing happens during business hours. A typical studio uses development servers 30-40 hrs per week but pays for 168 hrs per week. Development fleets solve this by:

• Lowering costs: Scale to zero when not testing. Hibernate overnight and on weekends. Pay only for active usage instead of paying for idle capacity.
• Speeding up iteration: Switch between builds, maps, or game modes instantly without redeployment. Late binding combines infrastructure with configurations at claim time.
• Increasing flexibility: One instance pool serves every branch and configuration. Teams test multiple builds in parallel without competing for dedicated resources.

Example: 50 servers at $0.50/hour running 24/7 costs $18,000/month. The same capacity scaled to actual usage (40 hours/week average) costs $4,000/month.

When Development Fleets Make Sense?

Use development fleets when you're iterating frequently but don't need instant server availability around the clock. For other scenarios, standard fleets with pre-warmed servers still make more sense. Examples include:

 How AccelByte Makes Development Fleets Better

AccelByte’s server orchestration platform makes development fleets far more impactful, turning them into a real driver of faster iteration and lower spend. Here’s how:

• CI/CD Integration for Build Configurations

Connect your build pipeline directly to fleet configuration. When your CI system produces a new build, it can automatically create or update a build configuration. Your QA team can start testing new branches without waiting for DevOps to provision servers.

• Automated Capacity Management

The platform handles host allocation, monitors usage patterns, and adjusts buffer sizes automatically. You see exactly what you're spending and why, without manually tracking instance hours across different configurations.

• Smart Hibernation with Auto Wake‑Up

Configure how long the fleet waits during periods of inactivity before hibernating. Once the timeout is reached, servers scale to zero. When claims arrive, capacity spins back up automatically. This naturally follows your team's testing schedule without manual intervention.

• Hybrid Fleet Setup

We uniquely support hybrid setups where you can run development and production fleets in the same orchestration system. This enables:

- Flexible routing: Send playtests to production infrastructure while keeping experimental builds on development fleets.

- Automatic fallback: Testers always get a server whether the dedicated fleet for their build is running or not. No need to track which fleets are active or manually switch between them.

- Unified management: Control everything through one system instead of maintaining separate tooling for different fleet types.

What this means for your studio:

• Faster testing cycles: Add configurations in minutes. Test multiple branches simultaneously. Get feedback before the workday ends instead of the next morning.
• Lower server bills: Pay only for active testing time. Shared infrastructure means different builds run on the same hosts for more efficient utilization. Hibernation eliminates idle costs.
• Less DevOps overhead: Automation handles provisioning and scaling in real time based on usage. Your team focuses on building games instead of managing servers.
• Better resource utilization: Match server capacity to actual usage patterns instead of guessing at peak requirements.

Ready to Test Faster and Spend Less?

The development phase is where you validate ideas and refine gameplay. Your server infrastructure should support rapid iteration, not slow it down.

Check out the documentation to create your first development fleet, or contact our team for a walkthrough of how this works with your existing setup.