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What is a Dedicated Game Server?

In multiplayer gaming, a dedicated game server is an authoritative, standalone server that runs the game logic. Unlike player-hosted games where one player’s machine acts as the server (peer-to-peer), a dedicated server runs in a professional data center. This model is the standard for most commercial multiplayer games because it provides a fair, stable, and secure environment for all players. Key Benefits:
  • Authority & Security: The server is the ultimate source of truth, preventing common cheats like aimbots or speed hacks that manipulate the game on a player’s local machine.
  • Performance & Stability: Hosted on powerful hardware with high-speed internet, dedicated servers provide a low-latency, reliable connection for all players, unaffected by any single player’s network issues.
  • Persistence: The server can run 24/7, allowing for persistent game worlds that exist even when players are offline.
  • Scalability: You can spin up as many server instances as you need to handle a growing player base.

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How PlayFlow Manages Game Servers

PlayFlow is a platform designed to completely remove the complexity of managing your own dedicated server infrastructure. We handle the hardware, networking, and scaling, so you can focus on building your game. The lifecycle of a game server on PlayFlow is simple:
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1. Upload Your Build

You package your game’s server executable and assets into a .zip file and upload it to PlayFlow. For Unity developers, our plugin can do this for you automatically.
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2. Configure Your Server

In the PlayFlow dashboard, you define the network settings for your server, such as which ports need to be open (e.g., 7777 UDP for gameplay traffic).
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3. Deploy an Instance

You can launch a server instance with a single click in the dashboard or via an API call. You choose the geographic region and the server size, and PlayFlow handles the rest.
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4. Connect Players

PlayFlow provides you with an IP address and port. Your game clients use this information to connect to the running server instance and play the game.

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PlayFlow Networking Architecture

PlayFlow simplifies networking by providing a global proxy layer. This means you don’t have to worry about public IP addresses, port forwarding, or firewalls. Your server simply listens on its specified port, and PlayFlow handles the rest. Here’s how it works:
  1. When you deploy a server, PlayFlow assigns it a public IP address and port on our global network.
  2. Your game clients connect to this public address.
  3. PlayFlow’s proxy automatically and securely forwards the traffic to your game server running in our data center on its designated internal port (e.g., 7777).
This architecture provides several advantages:
  • Simplicity: Your server code doesn’t need to know its public IP.
  • Security: Your server is not directly exposed to the public internet, protecting it from common attacks.
  • Scalability: The proxy layer can handle massive amounts of traffic and distribute it efficiently.

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Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics, you’re ready to get started.

Quick Start Guide

Follow our step-by-step guide to deploy your very first game server.

Game Servers API

Learn how to programmatically start, stop, and list servers from your game client or backend.