Working With Game Server Providers

Working with a Game Server Provider (GSP) can help your multiplayer game by adding recurring revenue, offloading customer support, and even help with technical implementation. This guide aims at setting expectations so that a smooth launch is possible.

What is a Game Server Provider?

GSPs are companies that provide the server infrastructure and access directly to consumers to host multiplayer game servers. Most professional GSPs will offer a website subscription-based model where players pay for access to the hosting & some level of customer support.

How To Launch With GSPs

GSP hosting providers will often rapidly work to launch your title as soon as they get access to do so. This can be at or immediately following launch. This is because they want to be able to offer your game to their customers as soon as possible. However, this can lead to a rushed launch that may not be ideal for your game or your players.

The single best thing you can do to help your players and the GSPs they rent from is to establish early access for testing & feedback. It’s standard practice at Nodecraft to establish a mutual NDA with any studio we work with and we highly recommend that you do the same with any GSP your studio/publisher is working with. This allows you to share early access builds, co-marketing, and other essential launch activities that can help ensure a smooth launch for your players. This process should be started as soon as your team can provide Server Executables for testing. The earlier you can get your game into the hands of the GSPs, the better.

Most active GSPs will reach out to your business email or via Discord. We recommend creating a process to manage GSPs as that process looks like:

1. Identify GSPs and ask for early technical details about their platform, control panel, & co-marketing. GSPs should have material for you to review that is easy to understand and evaluate.
2. Establish NDA with GSPs that you’ve identified you may want to work with.
3. Provide early access to your game and server files for testing.
4. Get a full demo from the GSP & provide feedback on any issues or concerns you have with the hosting.
5. (optional) Request an extensive co-marketing launch plan from the GSP.
6. Select & sign agreements with the GSP(s) you want to directly partner with.
7. (optional) Provide early access to your game and files for testing to any additional GSPs you want to have access to sell your game servers.

Advice on GSP Partnerships

When selecting a GSP to partner with, there are a few things to consider:

Professional GSP VS Identifying Resellers

Reseller GSPs are the most common type of GSP and are often the easiest to identify. They are simply reselling game servers from a budget hardware provider and may not have a bespoke control panel. They may also have little to no tangible co-marketing capacity. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s important to understand what you’re getting into when partnering with a reseller GSP.

Common Reseller Attributes:

• Budget hardware providers (e.g. OVH, Hetzner, etc.)
• Generic control panels (e.g. TCAdmin, Pterodactyl, Multicraft etc.)
• WHMCS based billing system
• No SDK or API for your game to integrate
• Little to no tangible co-marketing capacity outside of email/social blasts to their existing customer base
• Does not have a standing NDA or standard legal agreement or is not interested in signing one
• Does not value 3rd party reviews from Trustpilot, Reddit, etc. and may even have a poor reputation on those platforms

Professional GSPs, are less common but often stand out in contrast as companies that have your game’s best interest in mind. They will often have a bespoke control panel, a dedicated team for your game, and a willingness to work with you on co-marketing efforts. They may also have an SDK or API for your game to integrate with their platform. This can be a huge benefit for your players as it can provide a seamless experience when renting servers for your game.

Important Professional GSPs Attributes to look for:

• Uses premium hardware providers or owns their own hardware
• Has a custom control panel and/or platform that isn’t based on Pterodactyl mods or other generic solutions
• Has a custom/whitelabeled billing solution that doesn’t fall into the same problems WHMCS creates
• Offers an SDK, API, and other tools for your game to integrate with their platform outside of a simple affiliate relationship
• Provides early legal agreements for your legal team to review and is eager to sign an NDA
• Has other studio relationships and can provide references of other studios they work with
• Has a dedicated team for your game that can provide support and co-marketing efforts
• Openly shares their review score & customer feedback on platforms like Trustpilot, Reddit, etc. and has a good reputation on those platforms

Exclusivity & Preferred Partnerships

A small number of GSPs may offer paid exclusivity as an incentive to be the only GSP that can sell your game servers. While the financial incentive can be attractive, it’s important to carefully consider the impact of exclusivity agreements on your players and your game’s community. Exclusivity agreements can limit your players’ options for renting servers and may not be in the best interest of your player base. It’s important to weigh the financial benefits of exclusivity against the potential drawbacks for your players.

Preferred Partnerships is another alternative where more GSPs have the rights to sell your game server while still giving your game the financial upside of generating revenue from the GSP. Typically, this is done by giving the preferred partner(s) a higher revenue share or other incentives to sell your game servers. This can be a good way to get additional support and co-marketing from a GSP without limiting your players’ options for renting servers.

Things to consider when evaluating exclusivity or preferred partnership agreements:

• Does the GSP(s) cover all relevant & marketable portion of your playerbase with their existing customers?
• Does the GSP(s) have a strong marketing plan to promote your game servers to their existing customer base and beyond?
• Will the technology and support provided by the GSP(s) be sufficient to provide a seamless experience for your players?
• Does the GSP(s) offer a meaningful recurring revenue share or a one-time payment that makes the financial aspect of the partnership attractive?
• Is there a technical license key that allows your game to integrate with the GSP’s platform in a way that provides a seamless experience for your players?

There are a lot of online discussions and opinions on exclusivity agreements with GSPs. It’s important to carefully consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of exclusivity before entering into any agreements. It’s also important to consult with your legal team to ensure that any agreements you enter into are in the best interest of your game and your players.

Many game studios have found success with partnering with multiple GSPs and/or still giving early access to non-partnership GSPs to ensure all players can have a seamless launch experience. We recommend building your own internal process for evaluating GSPs and managing those relationships so that you can ensure a smooth launch for your players.

Work with Nodecraft

This guide is meant to help you understand how to work with GSPs in general, but Nodecraft is always here to help if you have any questions or need assistance with your GSP partnerships. We have a dedicated team that can provide support and guidance on working with GSPs, and we are always happy to help you navigate the process of partnering with GSPs for your game.

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