Flawless video game delivery — from the latest new game download to a simple update or patch — is often a make-or-break moment. A lot of hard work is at stake and more than a few things can go wrong. To make sure each new release is as reliable, easy to scale, and stress-free as possible, it’s never a bad idea to look for new ways to support the successful delivery of the games you create.
In this five-part series, we address several aspects of the video game deployment process, their key considerations, and, most importantly, how to solve them with edge computing. In this article, as mentioned, we’re examining deployment challenge number two, delivering downloads, updates, and patches.
It’s worth noting that there’s a reason we covered how to prepare for surges in demand first. As you may have noticed, too many game developers identify how to deliver games but fail to properly plan for how to handle unexpected demand until it’s too late. If you’re the proactive type who hopes for the best and plans for the worst, don’t deploy until you’re prepared for the various scenarios that may quickly arise if a new release exceeds expectations.
Now, it’s time to examine how to deliver even large game files reliably and quickly. The sections below detail a couple of key areas that, if addressed properly, will enable the successful delivery of even the largest runaway hits.
The file sizes for new games continues to grow rapidly as developers push the limits of audio, visual, and overall quality in the experiences they create. For example, the size of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is around 175.2GB, an increase of over 75% after dozens of updates since the popular battle royale’s original release[1].
And although some limitations, such as hard drive sizes, can or have been expanded, getting the files to their intended recipients can still be an issue depending on whether or not your CDN has file size limits. Not every CDN supports large object delivery.
In comparison, because of the way that StackPath’s CDN was developed at the edge and with a private backbone, it can reliably and quickly deliver even the largest video game files. Additionally, when file segmentation is the desired approach to distribution, it can keep track of the sections of large files that users request and have received; delivering an optimal experience even in the event of an interruption.
When your gamer fires up their PC, mobile device, or console and discovers that a new update is available, they’ll probably have one or both of the following reactions – either excitement because of the new content or dismay because of the delay. If you can create a reputation for not only offering regular updates but also the lowest possible latency updates that make the most of the time they have available to play, your players’ love for you will only grow.
To avoid excessively delaying your player’s entrance, pay careful attention to where the PoPs are located in the CDN you choose, assuming you’ll use one to reduce the demand on your own servers. You can estimate that every ~60 miles of distance adds 1ms of latency to the delivery of a gaming file from where it originates[2].
A caching layer enabled by a CDN is a helpful way to speed things up a bit as well as alleviate a significant number of scalability problems. Additionally, StackPath’s edge based global CDN offers a unique competitive advantage in the fight against latency because its network is comprised of PoPs in population-dense areas around the world. Therefore, it delivers files of any size from locations much closer to where your gamers are likely to be gaming. As mentioned earlier, you’ll essentially save precious milliseconds by the mile with this approach.
Player retention is a multi-faceted issue for the gaming industry – they face competition for playing time from multiple angles including other games and life responsibilities in general. To keep their attention, they often expect an ongoing stream of new costumes, characters, levels, and challenges long after a games release, especially as they become more of a service.
By using a content delivery network to distribute new features or experiences, you can cut costs and increase download speed, especially when your updates are cached at high-performance edge locations around the world. The PoPs are most effective when they are located in highly-populated areas because they’ll reach the majority of your gamers in a more cost-efficient and rapid manner.
Beyond reducing latency issues, it’s important to note that Edge Computing can help ease the overall cost of delivering your game in three primary ways:
As you’re probably aware, preparing for success and the long-term sustainability of a project requires planning for scale, distribution and taking advantage of cost efficiencies as you grow; the edge can help you do just that.
StackPath’s fully distributed edge cloud was built specifically to support applications that are sensitive to user latency and bandwidth, and video games are certainly at the top of that list. Still, for game developers, it’s not uncommon for latency concerns to focus primarily on delays in synchronizing game play or generally registering actions.
Instead, it’s important to not forget that a low-latency experience starts at the very beginning, from the first download and continues with every update. By delivering your files closer to the end user, you can make the most of the customer’s available bandwidth because of the lower-latency delivery capabilities. The next time you’re deciding how to deliver your next creation, take a close look at how delivering from the edge of the internet can help you get and keep your gamers on the edge of their seats.
Learn how TeamSpeak reduced downloads times by over 68% with StackPath’s CDN
Read the Case Study
Additional Resources:
What is Edge Computing?
Why Game Companies use Content Delivery Networks
Top Game Delivery Network for Faster Downloads and Smarter Patches at GCD 2018
[1] Avard, A., & Wilson, I. (2020, April 24). The biggest PS4 games that’ll eat up your hard drives with hundreds of gigabytes. Retrieved August 29, 2020, from https://www.gamesradar.com/biggest-ps4-install-size-games/
[2] Blackledge, Elias, Osborne, Synesael, Williams, and Yako. (2020). Livin’ On the Edge, Part 1: Evolving Tomorrow’s Internet (p. 34, Rep.). Cowen.
