2022 review: Building multiplayer games with Unity
Product updates
We launched new and updated services that are focused on quick setup and easy access for developers working on any kind of multiplayer game, using any tech stack they want to.
Developer stories
Want to know what it takes to build a successful multiplayer game? This year we worked with some great studios to tell their stories.
Learn how Hi-Rez Studios and Red Beard Games paired Unity Gaming Services with the Unreal Engine to prep for success with their latest multiplayer title, Divine Knockout.
A talented young team without multiplayer experience utilize UGS Multiplayer Solutions to deliver a fast-paced, physics-heavy multiplayer title with rock-solid infrastructure.
Learn about Ramen VR’s process and discover some of the Unity tools and solutions they used to bring Zenith: The Last City to life.
Samples
Want to see what you can do with these tools in a real environment? In 2022, we published new samples to get you started quickly and easily.
Unity has teamed up with Photon to launch a new asset to help you produce peak performance on Unity’s Game Server Hosting (Multiplay) orchestration platform and Matchmaker.
Learn more about building a small scale cooperative game with Unity’s Netcode for GameObjects in our sample project Galactic Kittens.
Boss Room is a small scale cooperative game sample project – built with Netcode for GameObjects, Relay, and Lobby – designed to help you explore the patterns behind a multiplayer game.
Unreal SDKs
UGS Multiplayer Solutions also integrates with the Unreal Engine. This year, we published some guides to make sure developers know how to set up our tools if they’re building in Unreal.
In this Game Server Hosting (Multiplay) integration guide for Unreal, we’ll show you how to initialize the Game Server Hosting SDK, create a build, build configuration, fleet, and test allocation.
In this Vivox integration demo for Unreal, we’ll show you how to initialize the Vivox SDK, log into the Vivox surface, and join an “echo” channel.
Insights
We published a landmark report in 2022 to help you understand what consumers want from their multiplayer games and arm you with the knowledge to make the best decisions for your projects in 2022 and beyond.
As the market expands and more complex multiplayer games are made, the list of areas to focus on and understand grows.
Unity surveyed more than 1,500 multiplayer gamers in the US, UK, Japan, and Korea to provide you with data to improve your game
52% of the population play games, and 77% of those play multiplayer games
61% of multiplayer gamers purchased DLC in the thirty days before being surveyed
56% of gamers prefer creating chat parties in-game
Download the full report to dive into practical takeaways on a huge range of topics like genre popularity, player communication trends, must-have in-game features, and more
Getting to know UGS Multiplayer
As we launched our new suite of tools, we made sure that we had some short and snappy videos to tell developers what our services are all about.
When players can talk – they stay in your game longer. Improve your retention with Vivox, one of the most popular and feature-rich comms technology in the gaming industry.
Unity’s in-house expert Caleb gives you a quick overview of how our Game Server Hosting solution works and how to get started.
Software Engineer Caleb gives you a quick overview of what Matchmaker does and how to get started with it.
Unity’s Lobby service lets game devs implement a multiplayer lobby for their players to communicate and collaborate before – and during – game sessions.
Unity’s Relay service allows players to connect and enjoy immersive, cooperative multiplayer gaming experiences without the need for a dedicated game server.
Netcode for GameObjects is a networking library and netcode foundation for the Unity Engine that you can depend on – customizable and extensible to meet the needs of your next multiplayer project.
Learning resources
From introducing concepts and use-cases, to getting hands on and showing you how to integrate features you want for your multiplayer games, the guides we published this year feature some of the greatest multiplayer minds at Unity.
