In order to take advantage of this vast opportunity for growth, game developers need to be able to create quality multiplayer experiences, ranging in complexity from two-player chess to massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs). They must design and build these games, as well as deliver them on a reliable, scalable platform so that players have positive gaming experiences, regardless of where they are in the world or what device they are using.

In 2009, Exit Games created the Photon Cloud, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering for multiplayer game development and hosting. The SaaS model makes the platform accessible for even independent, startup or student game developers, giving them access to the same tools as the larger studios. To date, more than 490,000 game developers are registered on the platform worldwide, and more than 500 million users play games hosted on the Photon Cloud every month, making it the world’s largest gaming cloud.

“We wanted to make multiplayer game development simple,” says Christof Wegmann, Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Exit Games. “In the past, these types of games were the preserve of the larger development companies as only they had sufficient resources for this degree of complexity. We wanted to create a solution not only for them, but also for the thousands of one-man bands and small game development studios that also have great ideas and lots of creativity.”

Keeping 500 million-plus users happy is not a simple task. Exit Games has a responsibility to its game developers to provide a reliable and highly available cloud service that will keep up with high levels of demand.

If players experience lag or are unable to access their favorite game, they’ll stop playing, generally convinced it was the game developer’s fault. To avoid such complaints, the Photon Cloud’s availability is critical to its customers’ success and reputation.

Exit Games must also ensure that its platform offers the scalability and flexibility needed to incorporate new features and capabilities as gaming technology evolves.

After assessing a number of options, Exit Games chose to use IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers.

“We were impressed that we could provision new servers very quickly with IBM Cloud, and we could have new resources up and running in under four hours, as opposed to the up to ten days it could take with other bare metal providers,” says Wegmann. “We found that we could not only achieve 40% better performance, but also at multiple times less than we would have had to pay for any of the popular cloud platforms.”

While the numbers were compelling, Exit Games was also looking for a qualitative benefit from its migration to bare metal.

“Quality of service is very important for us,” says Wegmann. “We need to respond fast when one of our customers has a request or a problem, so we needed our cloud provider to accommodate that. With IBM Cloud, there’s always someone at the end of the phone if we need them, and the team does all they can to help us get our developers what they need, when they need it.”

This positive impact on the developers’ — and ultimately, the game players’ — experiences is vital.

“Our customers range from the largest game development houses such as Ubisoft to individuals just starting out. They all expect 100% availability and excellent customer service, though, and we can’t afford to let them down,” says Wegmann.