Big news for Unity developers. The authors of the engine have launched the Unity Gaming Services platform for open testing. She “gathered under one roof” old and new tools for operating games built on Unity. Unity Technologies sees the task of the new tool as simplifying the development of cross-platform multiplayer games.
“The platform includes everything developers need to operate games in real time, including the ability to synchronize game logic with backend services without releasing a separate release,” Unity‘s official blog says.
In total, Unity Gaming Services has 18 tools divided into four categories: multiplayer, backend, analytics with involvement and monetization with growth.
Multiplayer
This category includes all the tools responsible for online gaming functionality, including working with cloud services and building a network infrastructure:
- Vivox — allows you to implement voice and text chat;
- Netcode (in beta mode) — facilitates the construction of a multiplayer framework;
- Relay (in beta mode) — a tool for linking peer-to-peer players;
- Lobby (in beta mode) — includes support for private and public gaming lobbies;
- Multiplay (access only after contacting) — responsible for hosting and managing game servers;
- Matchmaker (access only after contacting) — a solution for matchmaking players.
Some of these tools already support Unity Netcode and Unity Transport. So they can be connected to the game directly from Unity Editor.
Backend
This includes solutions related to operating games, setting them up in real time on the fly:
- Cloud Code (in beta mode) — allows you to add and modify code online;
- Cloud Save (in beta mode) — tracks and saves user data;
- Economy (in beta mode) — responsible for launching and configuring the in-game economy (including working with in-game currency and balance);
- Authentication (in beta mode) — adds support for user authentication.
Analytics and Engagement
A set of tools that allow you to track both the business indicators of the audience and the stable product:
- Analytics (in beta mode) — a system that displays information about the performance of games and user behavior;
- Cloud Content Delivery — a solution for working with assets and delivering content via the cloud;
- Remote Config — allows you to change game configurations in real time;
- Cloud Diagnostics — identifies and fixes errors that affect the stability of the game.
Monetization and Growth
Unity has included in this category those solutions that are directly related to monetization and user engagement:
- Acquire — a tool for finding target users to purchase;
- In-app Purchases — simplifies the work with the introduction of internal payments into the game on existing platforms;
- Mediation (in beta mode) — Unity’s own mediation solution;
- Monetize is also Unity Ads, which includes advertising support in the game.
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Access to the platform itself is still free. All its tools are available directly from Unity Dashboard and support Android, iOS, Linux, Mac and Windows (console support is by invitation only).
“The demand for cross-platform multiplayer games is increasing now. Unity Gaming Services lowers the entry threshold to this market for developers. Thus, we hope to increase the number of multiplayer titles available for the game,” Ingrid Lestiyo, Senior vice president and CEO of the department of Operate Solutions at Unity, commented on the launch.