Getting started with Amazon GameLift Servers

Purpose-built to power the world’s most demanding games

Choose your starting point

Quick onboarding

Estimated time: 30 minutes*

 ✔ Host game sessions in under 30 minutes with no coding.

​​​​ ✔ Skip game server integration. Deploy your game server with core game session management features, including default actions to start and stop game servers based on requests for game sessions.

​​​​​​ ✔ Experiment with Amazon GameLift Servers hosting options and features such as real-time metrics, automatic capacity scaling, and server performance tracking.

✖ Integrate advanced game session management features, including FlexMatch matchmaking with backfill and player sessions state management.

✖ Use with game engine plugins and full integration/customization tools.

Learn more ↓

Full SDK integration

Estimated time: 60–90 minutes*

 ✔ Integrate your game server to support the full range of Amazon GameLift Servers hosting features.

​​​​​​​ ✔ Fine-tune game session management processes to start, update, and terminate game sessions for optimal player experience.

​​​​​​​ ✔ Configure your game server to use other AWS services at runtime, such as for data management using DynamoDB or content delivery using Amazon S3.

​​​​​​​ ✔ Add game server support for advanced features, including matchmaking backfill with Amazon GameLift Servers FlexMatch, and player sessions.

​​​​​​​ ✔ Streamline integration with game engine plugins for Unreal Engine and Unity, or integrate the server SDK into your game projects.

Learn more ↓

*Time may vary based on your game server requirements and fleet configuration. It does not include time spent in setting up prerequisites like AWS CLI.

Quick onboarding

Get started quickly with simplified development tools. 

Get started with the game server wrapper
01

Download and build SDK Wrapper

After downloading the game server wrapper, follow the instructions in the README file to build the tool on your local machine.

02

Start hosting locally with Amazon GameLift Anywhere

Deploy your game server for hosting with Amazon GameLift Servers. Start by configuring your local machine as a host for testing and iterative development. Then deploy with managed hosting on AWS.

03

Configure SDK Wrapper

Configure your game server settings by entering your specific build and fleet details.

04

Run & test

Launch the game server wrapper and create your first Amazon GameLift Servers game session.

Full SDK integration

Start building a custom hosting solution that's optimized for your player base. Best suited for architecting and deploying production-ready game server hosting.

Unreal Engine
Unity
Custom or other engine

Unreal Engine

Start building your custom hosting solution in four steps with the Amazon GameLift Servers plugin for Unreal Engine.

Get started for Unreal Engine
Read the Plugin guide
01

Download and install plugin

The standalone plugin contains all the necessary libraries to integrate Amazon GameLift Servers into your Unreal Engine game projects. 

02

Integrate your own game

Integrate Amazon GameLift Servers into your Unreal Engine project with the Integration Guide and plugin guided workflows.

03

Start hosting locally with Amazon GameLift Anywhere

Deploy your game server for hosting with Amazon GameLift Servers. Start by configuring your local machine as a host for testing and iterative development. Then deploy with managed hosting on AWS.

04

Monitor on the AWS Console

Use the Amazon GameLift console to watch your game server hosting, including fleet status, performance, and capacity. Analyze usage metrics to gain insights on game session and player activity.

Get the C++ server SDK for Unreal Engine only

When you can't use the full plugin with Unreal Editor support, download the server SDK for Unreal and manually add it to your game project.

Download Version 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 3.4

Unity

Start building your custom hosting solution in four steps with the Amazon GameLift Servers plugin for Unity.

Get started for Unity
Read the Plugin guide
01

Download and install plugin

This standalone plugin contains all the necessary libraries to integrate Amazon GameLift Servers into your Unity game projects.

02

Try the sample game

Start testing Amazon GameLift Servers by using the Sample Game, a learning resource designed to help you understand Unity.

OR

Integrate your own game

Integrate Amazon GameLift Servers into your Unity project with the Integration Guide and plugin guided workflows.

03

Start hosting locally with Amazon GameLift Anywhere

Deploy your game server for hosting with Amazon GameLift Servers. Start by configuring your local machine as a host for testing and iterative development. Then deploy with managed hosting on AWS.

04

Monitor on the AWS Console

Use the Amazon GameLift console to watch your game server hosting, including fleet status, performance, and capacity. Analyze usage metrics to gain insights on game session and player activity.

Get the C# server SDK for Unity only

When you can't use the full plugin with Unity support, download the server SDK for Unity and manually add it to your game project.

Download Version 5.2 | 5.1

Custom or other engine

For all other game engines, integrate the server SDK for Amazon GameLift into your projects. The SDK is available for C++, C#, and Go development environments.

C++ Server SDK

The C++ Server SDK allows game developers using C++ to integrate custom Windows or Linux game servers with Amazon GameLift.

C++ Server SDK Plugin for Unreal

A lightweight Unreal plugin for C++ Server SDK that offers easy integration with projects built on Unreal Engine.

C# Server SDK

The C# Server SDK allows game developers using C# to integrate custom Windows or Linux game servers with Amazon GameLift.

C# Server SDK Plugin for Unity

A lightweight Unity plugin for C# Server SDK that offers easy integration with Unity projects that supports Unity 2020.3 LTS, 2021.3 LTS and 2022.3 LTS for Windows and Mac OS. It supports both Unity’s .NET Framework and .NET Standard profiles.

The Go Server SDK allows game developers using Go programing language to integrate custom Windows or Linux game servers with Amazon GameLift.

C#

The Amazon GameLift Realtime Client SDK allows your lightweight multiplayer games to communicate with your Amazon GameLift Realtime game servers using TCP or UDP. The Realtime Client SDK includes a C# client that can be used with Unity 2020 and custom C# game engines.