Unity Multiplay Is Transitioning: Practical Paths Forward for Studios Using Multiplay

Unity has announced that direct support for Multiplay Hosting will wind down, with the service transitioning to Rocket Science Group on March 31, 2026.

This is not new in our industry. We have seen similar transitions across multiplayer infrastructure over the years.  If you are currently using Multiplay, you probably have questions. If you are not, you might be wondering what this signals for the broader server hosting landscape.

Either way, this is a good moment to step back and think about what actually matters when choosing infrastructure for a multiplayer game and the practical paths forward for Multiplay users.

What To Look For When Choosing a Multiplayer Server Provider

After talking to a number of studios, a few priorities consistently come up when re-evaluating server infrastructure:

• Is this their core focus?
  
  You want a provider where the game backend isn't just one product among dozens. When priorities shift at big companies, auxiliary products can get... deprioritized.

• Can it actually handle your launch?
  
  Marketing nailed it, a streamer picks up your game, and suddenly you've got 10x the players you expected. Does your infrastructure just... work? Or are you frantically scaling at 2am?

• Does it support the regions your players care about?
  
  Region coverage and latency have a direct impact on player experience and retention. If your servers cannot be deployed close to your audience, or scaling is uneven across regions, players will feel it immediately.

• Will your team want to work with it?
  
  Good docs, helpful tools, support that actually responds, these aren't nice-to-haves when you're trying to ship.

• Does the pricing make sense?
  
  You need to know what you're paying for and when costs spike. Surprises in your infrastructure bill are the worst kind of surprises.

Practical paths forward for studios using Multiplay

There is no single right move for every Multiplay user. The right approach depends on whether your game is live, in development, or still early.

The key point is choice. That is where backend platforms designed specifically for multiplayer games, especially ones that support gradual adoption instead of all-or-nothing migrations, like AccelByte, matter.

For example, with AccelByte, you can tackle any one or all of these approaches. Use just server orchestration if that's all you need, or go deeper if you're rethinking your entire backend.

We Only Do Game Backend (And That's The Point)

AccelByte is built for one thing: multiplayer game infrastructure. Not game engines, not ads, not seventeen other products, just backend services for games and all the tools around it.

Why does this matter?

Because when backend is your only business, it doesn't get deprioritized when company strategy shifts. Our entire engineering team wakes up thinking about matchmaking, server orchestration, and cross-platform auth. Everything we build, every optimization we make, every bug we fix — it's all for online game developers.

What We Actually Offer

Server Orchestration (AccelByte Multiplayer Servers)

If you just need someone to handle your dedicated servers, AMS does that:

• Spins up servers automatically across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or bare metal
• Keeps warm servers ready so your sessions start instantly (no 30-second waits)
• Scales with your player count; handles launch day and the quiet Tuesday afternoon the same way
• Works with your existing backend or integrates with our full suite if you want it
• Local testing with AMS Simulator so you're not deploying blind

Most teams get this integrated and running in production in 2-4 weeks by following a straightforward setup process:

1. Add the AccelByte SDK to your dedicated server build.
2. Update the server to listen on the ports provided at launch and call the Ready() API once the server is up and ready to accept a game session.
3. Upload the server build to AccelByte.
4. Create a fleet through the admin portal to manage scaling and allocation.

From there, the exact flow depends on how your game handles matchmaking and session management. We support multiple patterns, whether you are using AccelByte matchmaking and sessions or integrating AMS with an existing solution. You can dive deeper into the available scenarios in this quick start guide.

Full Backend Suite (AccelByte Gaming Services)

Maybe you're rethinking your whole backend strategy. If building player accounts, matchmaking, or in-game stores in-house sounds exhausting (because it is), we've got you covered:

• Cross-platform accounts - Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Epic, mobile — all linked
• Matchmaking - Customizable for skill, latency, party size, whatever matters for your game
• In-game economy - Store, inventory, currencies, progression. The stuff every F2P game needs
• Social features - Friends, parties, clans, chat. You know, the standard multiplayer stuff
• LiveOps tools - Season passes, leaderboards, achievements, events

It's modular. Use what you need, ignore what you don't.

Customization (AccelByte Extend)

Every game is different. Extend lets you write custom logic without forking our codebase:

• Override our services via gRPC
• Deploy your own APIs alongside ours
• Write in whatever language your team likes (Go, Java, .NET, Python, Node.js)
• AI & MCP servers for vibe coding
• An open-source app store so you don’t have to build anything from scratch

And whatever you build is fully hosted and managed by us!

Single-Tenant vs Multi-Tenant (And Pricing That Makes Sense)

We offer both, because different games have different needs:

Both options use the same codebase and tools. You can start multi-tenant and move to single-tenant later when you need it. No weird migration or rebuilding anything.

Plus there's a 90-day free trial for AMS so you can test this stuff before committing.

Want to Check It Out?

We built AccelByte, so we naturally think it’s great! If you're evaluating options or want to compare approaches to multiplayer servers, we’re happy to talk it through or you can try it for yourself!

• Try it yourself (90-day free trial, full production features)
• Talk to us if you want to discuss your specific setup
• Read the docs to see if our capabilities makes sense for your game