Amazon GameLift Servers
Multiplayer game server hosting
Deploy and automatically scale dedicated game servers for multiplayer games worldwide; includes matchmaking (FlexMatch), placing game sessions on low-latency servers, and Spot support.
- Cost$$$ High
- Difficulty●●●●●
- Costs money when idle?Yes
- Managed by AWS
Think of it asLike renting arenas that automatically open more when lots of players show up and close some when it's quiet.
When to use it
✓ Use it when
Real-time multiplayer games that need dedicated, low-latency servers that scale with players.
✗ Avoid it when
Turn-based games or only need a backend API → Lambda + DynamoDB.
Common uses
- Servers for shooter and MOBA games
- Skill-based matchmaking with FlexMatch
- Reduce costs with Spot fleets
What does it cost?
- Pricing model: Billed by fleet instance hours (On-Demand or Spot) plus outbound data transfer; FlexMatch and Anywhere servers cost extra based on usage.
⚠️ Cost traps
Keeping a high minimum instance count during off-peak hours is wasteful.
