Game Backend Setup: Dedicated Servers & Managed Platforms
We integrate and configure game backend tailored to your genre and budget. A real-time game server processes 20–60 ticks per second from each of 16 concurrent players — latency, throughput, and uptime requirements differ fundamentally from typical web backends. Choosing between a managed game backend and a custom dedicated server often reveals mistakes only during the first load test.
How to choose between a managed backend and a dedicated server?
For turn-based and casual games (card games, puzzles, party games), a managed backend like PlayFab (Microsoft) or Nakama Cloud (Heroic Labs) is sufficient. They cover authentication, economy, leaderboards, chat, and matchmaking without writing server code. For real-time action (shooters, fighting games, racing), you need a dedicated game server — a process that runs Unity or Unreal in headless mode and authoritatively handles physics, AI, and game logic.
Dedicated game server architecture
Unity Dedicated Server build is a separate build target without graphics, available in recent LTS versions. Server-side code is marked with #if UNITY_SERVER. Physics, collision, AI, and damage calculation are executed exclusively on the server. The client only sends input and receives state updates.
Hosting options for dedicated servers
- Unity Gaming Services Multiplay: managed, auto-scaling, pay-per-hour (~$0.015 per hour per server).
- AWS GameLift: mature solution with server fleets, auto-scaling, and FlexMatch matchmaking (starting at $0.005 per hour per instance).
- Own VPS via Docker + orchestrator: cheaper but requires DevOps skills (e.g., $10/month for a small server).
GameLift FlexMatch matches players by skill, latency, and region, spins up a server per session, and provides connection info to clients. Integration in Unity via AWS SDK.
Nakama as a game backend
Nakama is an open-source game server that covers 80% of mobile and PC multiplayer needs without writing custom backend code. Out-of-the-box features: real-time multiplayer (WebSocket), matchmaking, chat, leaderboards, tournaments, player profiles, virtual economy, and push notifications.
Deploy via Docker Compose in a few hours. Official Unity SDK with documentation. Custom logic via server-side modules in TypeScript or Go (Lua deprecated). TypeScript modules are compiled and deployed without restarting the server.
Real-world case: a mobile card game with PvP 1v1. Requirements: matchmaking, ELO rating, replay storage, anti-cheat via action validation. We chose Nakama self-hosted on VPS (for 500 MAU) plus a custom TypeScript module for move validation and ELO calculation. Backend development took 3 weeks instead of an estimated 8 weeks for a custom backend — a saving of 62.5% in development time. Peak load of 500 concurrent users with latency below 50ms confirmed stability. Our team's 5+ years of game backend experience confirms Nakama is ideal for indie and mid-core projects.
PlayFab for casual and mobile games
PlayFab (Microsoft) is a managed game backend with rich functionality: Player Profiles, Cloud Scripts (Azure Functions), Economy V2 (currency, catalog, inventory), Leaderboards, Segments for push and A/B testing, and Matchmaking.
Pricing: first 1000 MAU free, then per MAU (e.g., $0.02 per MAU for standard tier). For a hyper-casual project with 100k MAU, cost can be significant (~$1,980/month), but for mid-core with monetization it's usually justified.
Important: Cloud Scripts run server-side, allowing safe currency operations, IAP receipt validation, and promo code application. As Microsoft states in their docs: Cloud Scripts are executed server-side — never trust the client with economy operations; only through Cloud Scripts.
When to choose Nakama vs. PlayFab?
Nakama is 1.5x faster to set up than PlayFab for projects that require custom real-time logic, and costs 3x less at 500 MAU (self-hosted vs. managed). PlayFab offers 2x more built-in economy features and a wider managed infrastructure.
| Feature | Nakama | PlayFab |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time multiplayer | WebSocket | Photon / Direct |
| Matchmaking | Built-in | FlexMatch (GameLift) |
| Economy | Virtual economy | Economy V2 |
| Cloud functions | TypeScript | Azure Functions |
| Pricing | Self-hosted / Cloud | pay-per-MAU |
Nakama suits indie projects with strict data control and custom logic. PlayFab fits rapid integration into the Microsoft ecosystem and managed infrastructure.
Typical multiplayer backend architecture
Client (Unity) ↕ WebSocket (real-time game data) Game Server (Unity Headless / Custom) ↕ REST/gRPC Game Backend (Nakama / PlayFab) ↓ Database (PostgreSQL / CockroachDB) Game Server: authoritative game logic, lives only during a match, then dies. Game Backend: persistent — profiles, economy, leaderboards, authentication. Separation is mandatory: the game server should not know about monetization, and the backend should not contain game physics.
Our workflow
- Analysis: determine genre, target player count, real-time requirements, infrastructure budget.
- Design: choose stack (Nakama/PlayFab/dedicated server), design data schema and API.
- Implementation: set up backend, integrate with Unity/Unreal, develop custom modules.
- Testing: load testing with k6 or Locust, simulate peak load, check latency and stability.
- Deployment: deploy staging identical to production (Docker Compose/Kubernetes). Production differs only in scale — not configuration.
Estimated timelines
| Task Scope | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nakama self-hosted + basic Unity integration | 1–2 weeks |
| PlayFab integration (auth + economy + leaderboards) | 2–3 weeks |
| Dedicated game server (Unity headless) + hosting | 3–6 weeks |
| Full multiplayer backend (server + meta-layer) | 6–12 weeks |
What's included
- Documentation: API schema, endpoint descriptions, deployment guide.
- Access: code repository, staging and production credentials.
- Training: session for your team on working with the backend.
- Support: 1 month warranty after delivery.
Cost is calculated individually after analyzing requirements and infrastructure budget. Get a consultation on stack selection — contact us.