Pocket Pair’s Palworld, described as “Pokemon with guns,” gained over 25 million players within a month, with two million players on its first day. However, the overwhelming demand caused many players to struggle to access the game. The backend support for Palworld came from Xbox’s Playfab, which collaborated with the development team to optimize the gaming experience across Xbox platforms.
Arrowhead Game Studios’ Helldivers 2 also faced server strain during its explosive launch, resulting in stability and connectivity issues for players. The game’s success led to difficulties in joining the game and receiving rewards or purchasing new weapons. Both Palworld and Helldivers 2 were developed by small companies, highlighting the challenges faced by smaller teams in handling their own online services.
To address these challenges, third-party service providers like Pragma, Hathora, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft’s Playfab, and more have attempted to tackle the problems of managing large numbers of players. However, no post-mortem analysis has been published on what happened with these games and their backend services.
The article also highlights the importance of advanced preparation and infrastructure review before game launches. Google Cloud’s Jack Buser emphasizes the need for developers to focus on making their games better rather than reinventing technology that already exists. He suggests addressing problems before launch through infrastructure reviews and a combination of technology and experienced game developers who have faced similar challenges.
The article explores various strategies used by game developers to handle large numbers of players. Games like Call of Duty and Battlefield stage their users, allowing VIP players early access to multiplayer gameplay to make adjustments before the mass influx of players. Google Cloud offers solutions for concurrency, matchmaking, AI, crashes, and cheating, stressing the importance of addressing these issues individually.
The analysis also touches on the importance of load testing and the potential for unforeseen technical issues during launches. It emphasizes the need for adequate server capacity, timely communication with players about known issues and fixes, and preparation for unexpected traffic.
The article further discusses the experiences of game developers such as Unchained Entertainment, Thatgamecompany, and Frost Giant Studios in tackling multiplayer challenges. It highlights the significance of clever game design, underestimating demand, and customizing backend services to accommodate large numbers of players.
Backend-as-a-service companies like Hathora and Snapser offer solutions to help game developers customize their backend services. They provide matchmaking, server hosting, and orchestration, reducing the burden on development teams and ensuring a smooth launch.
The article concludes by acknowledging that there are still many problems to solve in gaming before moving on to the metaverse. Addressing issues like cheating, toxicity, increasing player capacity, and optimizing network infrastructure are essential for the industry’s future growth.
Overall, The DeanBeat’s article provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced by game developers during game launches. It highlights the need for advanced preparation, infrastructure review, and collaboration with third-party service providers to ensure smooth gameplay experiences for millions of players.
