View a markdown version of this page

GAMECOST02-BP02 Optimize the number of game sessions hosted on each game server instance to optimize costs - Games Industry Lens
Implementation guidance

GAMECOST02-BP02 Optimize the number of game sessions hosted on each game server instance to optimize costs

Optimize the number of game sessions hosted per server instance to achieve better compute utilization and reduce compute infrastructure costs. 

Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established: Medium

Implementation guidance

To optimize costs, game developers should maximize the number of game sessions hosted on the same physical or virtual server, also known as the packing density of their game servers. This is achieved by increasing the number of game server processes that can be simultaneously hosted on an instance.

A single game server process should not usually require the use of the entire resources available on the EC2 instance. This is one of the most important ways to reduce compute costs for a game and requires the use of software that can spawn and manage multiple server processes on the EC2 Instance on separate ports.

For example, Amazon GameLift has a quota on the maximum number of game server processes per instance, which you should strive to utilize so that you can reduce hosting costs. For more information, see Amazon GameLift Servers endpoints and quotas for details on the current quota for maximum game server processes per instance.

As an alternative to deploying game server processes on virtual machines such as EC2 instances, it is becoming popular for game developers to run their game servers as container-based applications using container orchestration solutions. Game developers can use Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) or Guidance for Game Server Hosting Using Agones and Open Match on Amazon EKS. Another option is Game Server Hosting on AWS Fargate, a serverless compute engine that works with both ECS and EKS, enabling you to focus on your game without having to manage the underlying infrastructure.

Container solutions provide job scheduling functionality that can automatically find an available container instance in the cluster to host your game server container based on resource requirements and other placement logic that you specify. However, it is important to consider how you will manage the scaling and player placement behavior in a way that doesn't disrupt active player sessions.

Implementation steps

  • Increase packing density by running multiple game server processes per EC2 instance using separate ports and process management software.

  • Use Amazon GameLift or container solutions like ECS, EKS, or AWS Fargate to manage game server processes efficiently and reduce infrastructure costs.

  • Continuously monitor resource utilization to refine packing density and maintain cost-efficiency without compromising player experience.