It’s 2021, can you believe it? We’ve put together a list of reasons why private game servers should be part of your next game title.
This isn’t a countdown as we can appreciate many of these different points will have differing levels of priority, depending on who’s reading this article; we have tried however to put them into an order that will makes sense for most. I think we can all agree on the number 1 subject, but don’t skip ahead, you might miss something important!
21. Peer 2 peer is not free
There are some games that are totally fine with using peer 2 peer, card games, turn based strategy, etc. However for so many games where players want that competitive edge, peer 2 peer is not fit for purpose. Yet it is chosen by so many studios and the main reason is cost related, because on paper peer 2 peer is effectively free. This is not true though, as players experience disconnects, host migrations, lag, glitches and all sorts of problems that impact on the amount of fun they are having with a game. What does this mean? Less players returning to play, forums littered with bad reviews, and videos on YouTube showing strange glitches – all amounting to a smaller return in revenue over time.
20. Private game servers are free
So now you know that peer 2 peer isn’t free, it’s time you knew that private game servers are free!! That’s right, game studios do not pay for private game servers, the gamers pay for these. You may think that it will impact how many players are willing to pay for their own server, for the vast majority of games that have private game servers over 80% of all servers are rented by individuals or groups. So if a player is unwilling to pay for a server, they’ll be plenty that have already been paid for.
19. Dedicated hardware
Unlike peer 2 peer, which uses part of the consumers hardware to host a playing environment; private game servers are dedicated pieces of hardware. Last time I checked, an Xbox and PlayStation weren’t servers!
18. Region control
If you’ve ever joined a multiplayer lobby that uses peer 2 peer, once you select connect you no longer have any control with who or where you connect to. This is fine if there are 100s of thousands of players online, but for games that have a smaller player count, the peer 2 peer software will keep searching for a game; starting with the best connection and continuing to look until you are into a game. Too many times I have joined games where I’m playing someone in the USA and I’m in the UK!! With private game servers, the player has complete control with who and where they connect, ensuring a better online experience with less lag.
17. The latest hardware
Back to hardware again! GPORTAL and other larger hosting companies use the latest, most stable – fastest chips, and modern just-for-gaming servers. So whilst private game server gamers experience the best connection available, peer 2 peer gamers may have to experience an online lobby setup using processors that are over 8 years old (Xbox One and PlayStation 4).
Here’s an article about private game servers vs other solutions – link
16. Commercial internet
Larger hosting companies have their servers within server centers, which offer unparalleled data speeds. This mitigates the likely hood of a bad connection, which improves the gaming experience for everyone involved.
15. Test servers at no cost
I can’t speak for other companies, but GPORTAL provide test servers at no cost. Why would we do that? For a larger, successful studios with multiple game titles, renting a server to conduct some tests on is just a small amount of their budget; but for smaller studios with a tight budget this could be the difference between hiring extra help or spending a little more on marketing. As long as a company is at the stage to start testing their game on a server and their multiplayer orchestration involves private game servers, GPORTAL will provide test servers at no cost and with no control nor obligation of future business.
14. Dedicated servers
You may have got to this stage in the article and be thinking, private game servers are awesome (just like me!), but what about dedicated servers a lot of games usually provide some vanilla experiences for their players. At GPORTAL we can provide dedicated game servers at no cost, if a game studio is willing to sign an agreement with GPORTAL. This agreement does not restrict other private server companies hosting your game, however it does restrict the game studio to just use GPORTAL to host the dedicated servers.
13. DDoS protection
The one benefit that peer 2 peer has over dedicated and private game servers is that it is very hard to conduct a DDoS attack. If you aren’t aware of what a DDoS attack is, essentially it is when attackers fire data at an IP address, stopping or slowing down official data coming through. Websites, online banks, and game servers can all be attacked. There are various reasons for this: there could be monetary gain, economical gain, rivalry, grudges, political – all kinds of reasons behind these attacks. Larger server hosting companies like GPORTAL provide a DDoS mitigation service or protection, where software analyses the data going to an IP address and stops any data that it identifies as unofficial data.
12. Easy setup
Setting up a server can be very easy, now different companies offer different user interfaces. However the process is typically as follows: identify the game you want to rent a server for, select the duration and number of players that can join that server, pay for the server, name the server, start the server.
11. Piece of mind
Once a game has launched, server hosting companies will look after their own customers. So if a player experiences any issues with their server, they will contact the company where the rented a server from. If there are any larger issues, or ongoing problems, the server company can relay this information back. This means that less support is need at the game studio end to quick fire issues players may be having on their servers.
10. A variety of processors
Games don’t always need the same kind of processor, sometimes games run better on single core and sometimes they don’t. Companies like GPORTAL offer various different commercial grade processors, to accommodate all kinds of games and game engines.
09. Windows or Linux
Whether you prefer the command line based Linux servers, or the feature rich Windows servers; a great deal of server hosting companies can offer both.
08. Save money
When game studios embrace private game servers, we have seen on numerous occasions – private game servers outnumbering dedicated game servers. We have seen up to almost 90% of servers in one game, that are private game servers. Dedicated servers can cost money, the more you need, the higher the cost – private game servers are ideal to supplement the demand from players, saving hard earned cash.
07. Control panel
Unlike peer 2 peer, gamers can have so much more control of a server. The player who has rented the server can assign admins to the server, this way they can kick players who aren’t playing the game in the right way. They can password restrict the server, controlling who can join at any time. The control panel can also provide a number of other elements that can change the way a game plays, like changing the day/night cycle, the amount of loot spawning, weather, currency multipliers, and so much more.
06. Earn revenue
We’ve already discussed that private game servers do not cost game studios any money, however we haven’t mentioned that at GPORTAL private game servers can also be a source of revenue. It is called a license share program, where we pay game studios money for players playing the game studio’s game on our servers. This is part of the agreement mentioned earlier, where GPORTAL host the official/dedicated servers and all we ask is that our logo is incorporated into the game in some way.
05. Content creators
I have mentioned that players rent game servers, but did you know that content creators love private game servers. Whatever type of game it is, content creators love private game servers as they provide the content creator with so much control with who they are playing with and how they are playing the game. This allows content to be made quicker and easier, so that more content is made over a higher frequency. Just look at RUST, so many content creators are playing this game right now and all of them are doing it on private game servers.
Here’s our recent article about RUST
04. New ways to play
When players and content creators rent private game servers, they often find new ways to play. It could be that there’s no shooting on site, it could be a player vs player server, or a player vs enemy only server. More increasingly I am seeing role playing servers appear, where a player is expected to act and behave in a certain why.
03. Communities
Just like content creators, communities love private game servers. And just like content creators, they love the complete control that they have on the server and who can join. Leagues, clans, groups, all use private game servers and often they will find new and exciting ways to play a game.
Build a community with private game servers – further article here
02. Mods
We are almost there! But this article would not be complete without talking about mods. Minecraft, ARK, Conan Exiles, RUST and so many others have thrived with the incorporation of mods. Mods can change a way a game looks, and plays – often bringing in new fans to the game and keeping a game alive for years. Minecraft would not be the most successful game ever if it wasn’t for mods.
01. Game-Life durability
Every single aspect that you have read to this point increases the life of a video game, whether it’s through word of mouth that online play is an enjoyable and stable experience , whether it’s the various different ways to play, the communities, all the awareness created by content creators, or the mods – all of these points contribute to a game being played over and over again for years. This allows game studios to continue to refine and improve their game, it allows studios to embrace mods and release their own official mods, and it allows studios to create DLC and expansion packs that will be continued to be downloaded for years.
If you are interested in discussing private game servers and any of the points within this article, simply click on the Let’s Talk icon in the corner of your screen.
