Presented by Akamai
To succeed, a new game studio needs the right tech infrastructure – and a focus on security to avoid the recent increase in attacks. Join this VB Live event and our panel of technical and operational experts for help on the tech and security strategies you need to start strong, scale smart, and more.
Register here for free.
From mobile to console to computer, the game industry is booming like never before. It’s never been a better time to launch a new game studio. The market is ripe, the built-in audience is eager for new content, and innovative new tech, from content delivery systems to the security you need to keep your game safe, is better and more affordable than ever.
Starting a new studio is a tremendous opportunity to get your tech infrastructure right — right from the start. Here’s a look at just some of the issues and challenges you need to keep in mind when you’re building your studio, and your game, from the ground up.
Content distribution
A global audience means that seamless digital distribution needs to be among your first priorities. Gamers expect to be able to download regular updates, patches, additional level packs, match information and more as easily and quickly as they downloaded the game initially.
It’s important to put a scalable content delivery network (CDN) in place from the outset. Your vendor should have a large concentration of servers available as close as possible to your targeted end-users. Servers at the edge cache content to user devices in order to circumvent cloud server bandwidth limitations. This is especially important in countries where Internet access is limited, giving broader audiences a way to get to your content.
Dynamic content and microservices
To keep gamers engaged over the long term, developers need to offer frequently updated dynamic content. Things like game data, matchmaking multiplayer connectivity, and leaderboards are often bundled together as gaming microservices.
Microservices are API endpoints that are queried hundreds if not thousands of times per second. That means you need to make scalable, reliable API architecture one of your major priorities. When your matchmaking API is unavailable and your players can’t join a match, they’re liable to write your game off.
Because the majority of games today rely on a mix of Internet protocols such as HTTPS and UDP, and these microservices require high scalability as well, it’s also important to use edge servers to scale your core origin infrastructure by offloading logic such as authentication, caching, and redirects for you, ensuring that your APIs don’t get overloaded. Again, players today are impatient, and downtime can make or break a game, especially if it’s new.
Mitigating security threats
Security is too often just an afterthought, or an issue to respond to. However, it’s more important than ever to be proactive in your security protection. Security should be embedded in the design phase of your game and your gaming infrastructure, right from the start, because the size and number of security threats are growing quickly.
That’s everything from griefers, who want to disrupt your game by attacking with high-volume attacks against multiplayer servers, to cheaters who manipulate game code or microservices to get ahead, to the fraudsters who steal your gamers’ accounts with targeted takeovers to sell on marketplaces.
Security issues don’t just pose direct financial threats — they also undermine the integrity of your game, the trust of your users, and your long-term success. In a recent study from Akamai and DreamHack, 76% of players said that the gaming company is responsible for the game’s security, and the safety of their accounts.
Security solutions have evolved. Game studios can implement AI-powered digital security platforms on the edge to surround and protect all their assets, including sites, users, devices, data centers, and clouds.
Widely-distributed edge networks of servers deployed as close as possible to your gamers offer the ability to to deliver your content, increase the performance of your microservices, as well as secure your gamers’ accounts, financial information, and in-game items. That means offering protection against high-volumetric attacks such as DNS, TCP, HTTPS attacks with anti-DDoS solutions, and bot and identity management solutions that can offer additional security, and help establish a fair, equal, and safe playground for your gamers.
Establishing well-architected, scalable, and secure gaming infrastructure from the start gives your game the foundation it needs to grow, and to succeed. Player loyalty is among the most important factors in a game studio’s success or failure, and you can earn their trust by establishing a reputation for being reliable, safe, and on their side by offering a fast, always-available, and always safe experience.
Don’t miss out!
Registration is free here.
Attendees will learn about:
- Optimizing Time to Play: removing obstacles from the player experience
- Basic account security practices: building a more secure player base from day 1
- Zero Trust: starting with modern enterprise security practices
Speakers:
- James Dobrowski, Managing Director, Sharkmob
- Jonathan Singer, Senior Manager – Global Games Industry, Akamai
- Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat (moderator)
More speakers to be announced soon!
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