TL;DR
Multiplayer games often face high server hosting and bandwidth costs, especially with large player counts. Glenn Fiedler discusses the implications of a new Amazon service that could reduce these costs.
✦ Why It Matters
Engineers can leverage Amazon's new service to reduce bandwidth costs for large-scale multiplayer games.
Key Takeaways
Full Summary
Multiplayer games, especially those with large player counts, incur substantial server hosting and egress bandwidth costs, which is the cost of data sent from servers to players over the internet. Glenn Fiedler, a game developer working on a 1000-player multiplayer space game, highlights that his game requires 10-20 megabits per second per client, significantly more than traditional games like Apex Legends, which typically use 256 kbps to 1 Mbps per client.
Recently, Amazon announced a new service aimed at reducing these costs, which could be a game-changer for developers facing similar challenges. This service allows for more efficient data transfer, potentially lowering the bandwidth costs for high-demand games.
Fiedler emphasizes that this could enable developers to create richer, more immersive multiplayer experiences without the prohibitive costs. The implications for engineers include the ability to scale games more effectively and innovate without financial constraints.
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