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Amazon GameLift Servers Instances

Amazon GameLift Servers instance costs are the costs associated with the compute resources you need to host your game, specifically the number of concurrent users (CCU) your game servers need to support. Amazon GameLift Servers supports 68 instance families across 24 regions and 9 Local Zones. Amazon GameLift Servers supports game servers that run on Windows Server 2016, and most recently, Amazon Linux 2023. Windows operating systems include an additional licensing cost, which can increase your instance costs by almost 2x over comparable Linux servers. This cost saving makes the Linux server operating system a good choice for most Amazon GameLift Servers customers. Amazon GameLift Servers offers built in options for reducing your overall game server hosting costs. These include Linux instance types, Amazon GameLift Servers auto-scaling, Spot instances, Graviton instance types, and container packing. By using a combination of these cost-saving options, your game server hosting can be reduced down to $1 per user per month. Here is how each of these can help reduce overall costs.

Typical multiplayer games use 50% of their peak server capacity per region on average. This means that half of the time, your game servers have no active players. Amazon GameLift Servers' intelligent autoscaling algorithm can rapidly scale up and down to save costs while preventing players from waiting by quickly responding to rising player demand. Autoscaling can automatically turn off game servers when they are not needed and adds new game servers when more players arrive.

Amazon GameLift Servers offers both On-Demand and Spot instances. Spot instances offer you the same high-performance of on-demand game servers at savings of between 50% and 85% compared to On-Demand prices. Amazon GameLift Servers uses a proprietary algorithm to place new sessions on game servers to optimize for low player latencies, low instance prices, and minimize Spot interruption rates to help with cost savings while maintaining the player experience. This means that with Amazon GameLift Servers, Spot instances can work well for gameplay sessions of 30 minutes or less or for tutorials modes where a possible interruption is less impactful to the overall player experience. Spot Instance prices adjust gradually based on long-term trends in Spot instance capacity.

Amazon GameLift Servers supports AWS Graviton instances, which are ARM-based processors designed to deliver high performance at a more cost-effective price point than x86-based instances. AWS Graviton instances work well for workloads that involve network processing and data compression, which means they are a great choice for multiplayer game servers. They are available in instance types ranging from general purpose to compute-optimized to memory-optimized. Graviton instances are ideal for all Linux-based workloads written in popular programming languages, such C++, C#, and C, and If you are using the Unreal Engine you can easily build to ARM to take advantage of Graviton instances and cost savings!

Amazon GameLift Servers Containers provide a solution for configuring resource limits per game server, enabling multiple game servers to run on a single Amazon GameLift Servers instance without competing for resources. By understanding the resource requirements of your game server container and the available resources of different instance types, you can determine the optimal number of containers you can pack on each instance.

Top 10 Compute Instances for Game Servers

These compute instances are the most popular types for game developers to host their game servers in the cloud due to their optimal price-performance ratio, widespread availability worldwide, and ample supply. They are compute-heavy instances, recommended for running game servers with high player counts and numerous entities, as they offer high-single core performance ideal for resource-intensive tasks like running Unreal Engine games with demanding computational requirements.

Instance Type

vCPU 

Memory (GiB) 

Storage (GB) 

Linux On-demand pricing

c4.large

2

3.75

50

$0.127 per hour

c5.large

2

4

50

$0.109 per hour

c5.xlarge

4

8

50

$0.211 per hour

c5a.large

2

4

50

$0.099 per hour

c5d.large

2

4

50

$0.122 per hour

c6i.large

2

4

50

$0.109 per hour

m4.large

2

8

50

$0.127 per hour

m5.large

2

8

50

$0.122 per hour

m5.xlarge

4

16

50

$0.237 per hour

c6g.large (Graviton)

2

4

50

$0.088 per hour
NOTE: 
  • This is for region US East (Ohio). See the Instance pricing page for the hourly Spot and On-Demand prices for each region and instance type for both Linux and Windows instances. For an overview of instance types, visit the AWS EC2 Instance Types page.
  • You will incur standard public IPv4 address charges associated with a resource launched in an Amazon GameLift Servers. Please read public IPv4 address pricing information for additional details.
  • Contact us if you need additional storage per instance.

 

Pricing Examples

The following are examples games and calculator-produced Amazon GameLift Servers pricing for each. You can also use the pricing calculator to create a custom pricing example based on your exact requirements.

Note: we offer pricing discounts for large scale games, please contact us if your game costs are over $80K per month or just need help estimating your costs.

 Calculator Input and costs

5v5 shooter

1v1 Fighter

1v1 Card Game

100 Player Battle Royale

Game Engine

Custom C++

Unreal 4

Unity

Unreal 5.X

Players per game session

10

2

2

30

Bandwidth per player (KB/s)

20

5

2

20

Game sessions or containers per instance

8

24

24

4

Session length (minutes)

20

5

5

20

Operating System

Linux

Linux

Linux

Linux

% On Demand

100

100

50

100

% Spot

0

0

50

0

Peak CCU in Month

50,000

10,000

10,000

100,000

Average CCU vs. peak (%)

30

30

30

30

Instance type

c5a.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB)

c5a.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB)

c5a.large (1 core, 2 vCPU, 4 GB)

c6i.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB)

Region

Us-east (Ohio)

Us-east (Ohio)

Us-east (Ohio)

Us-east (Ohio)

Compute costs per month

$112,320

$37,440

$3,237

$181,478

Bandwidth costs per month

$43,311

$2,062

$1,391

$82,731

Total cost per month

$155,631*

$39,502*

$4,628*

$264,209*

Savings with Graviton

 

$35,185 
(12% savings)

 

$215,226 monthly
(18% savings)

Savings with Spot

$132,053 (17.86% savings)

 

 

$187,402 monthly
(29% savings includes Graviton savings)

*for an explanation of the total cost, see the expanded examples below

  • An online multiplayer 5v5 competitive shooter game requires a robust cloud infrastructure with specifications like 10 players per session, 20 KB/s bandwidth per player, a 64 tick rate game server running on a custom C++ engine on Linux OS, and a peak of 50,000 concurrent users. For a competitive shooter, results matter since the game cannot tolerate interruptions. We’ll use on-demand instances only and this game requires higher bandwidth per player.

    Pricing calculator inputs

    Input

    Value

    Formula

    Operating System

    Linux

     

    Instance Cost Calculation

    1. Average concurrent players per hour: 

    50,000 * 30% = 15,000

    2. Total player hours per month:

    15,000 * 730 hours = 10,950,000

    3. Session hours per month:

    10,950,000 / 10 players = 1,095,000

    4. Active instance hours per month:

    1,095,000 / 8 sessions = 136,875

    5. Total instance hours (including buffer):

    136,875 * (1 + 10%) = 150,562.50

    6. On-Demand instance hours:

    150,562.50 * 100% = 150,562.50 (no Spot instances used)

    7. Monthly cost for On-Demand instances: 150,562.50 * $0.746 = $112,319.63

    Game engine

    Custom C++

    Peak CCU in Month

    50,000

    Average CCU vs. peak (%)

    30

    Players per game session

    10

    game sessions/containers per instance

    8

    Instance type

    c5a.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB)

    @ $0.746/hour

    % On demand vs % Spot

    100/0

    Bandwidth per player (KB/s)

    20

    Session length (minutes)

    20

    Instance buffer

    10%

    Region

    Us-east (Ohio)

    Compute costs per month

    $112,319.63

    Bandwidth costs per month

    $43,311.20

     

    Data Transfer Out (DTO) Cost Calculation

    Total DTO in GB per month: (10,950,000 player hours * 20 KB/s * 3600 seconds * 0.000001 GB/KB) = 788,400 GB

    Tiered pricing:

    1. First 10,240 GB: 10,240 * $0.09 = $921.60
    2. Next 40,960 GB: 40,960 * $0.085 = $3,481.60
    3. Next 102,400 GB: 102,400 * $0.07 = $7,168.00
    4. Remaining 634,800 GB: 634,800 * $0.05 = $31,740.00

    Total DTO cost:

    $921.60 + $3,481.60 + $7,168.00 + $31,740.00 = $43,311.20

    Total cost/month

    $155,630.83

    Instance Cost (monthly) $112,319.63 + Data Transfer Out (DTO) Cost (monthly): $43,311.20 =

    Total Cost (monthly): $155,630.83

    Spot instances + bandwidth total cost/month

    $132,053
    (17.86% savings)

    For the same competitive 5v5 online shooter game, strategically utilizing 30% AWS Spot instances for lower-priority shorter session game modes or firing ranges reduces the estimated monthly infrastructure cost by over $23,500, a significant savings without compromising the core multiplayer experience.

    Note: we offer pricing discounts for large scale games, please contact us if your game costs are over $80K per month or just need help estimating your costs.

  • An online multiplayer 1v1 fighting game, like the classic Street Fighter series, requires a lightweight cloud infrastructure with 2 players per session, 3 KB/s bandwidth per player, a 60 tick rate Unreal Engine 4 game server running on Linux, and utilizing cost-effective c5a.4xlarge instances to support short, uninterrupted combat sessions.

    Pricing calculator inputs

    Input

    Value

    Formula

    Operating System

    Linux

     

    Instance Cost Calculation

    1. Average concurrent players per hour:

    10,000 * 30% = 3,000

    2. Total player hours per month:

    3,000 * 730 hours = 2,190,000

    3. Session hours per month:

    2,190,000 / 2 players = 1,095,000

    4. Active instance hours per month:

    1,095,000 / 24 sessions = 45,625

    5. Total instance hours (including buffer):

    45,625 * (1 + 10%) = 50,187.50

    6. On-Demand instance hours:

    50,187.50 * 100% = 50,187.50 (no Spot instances used)

    7. Monthly cost for On-Demand instances:

    50,187.50 * $0.746 = $37,439.88

    Game Engine

    Unreal 4

    Peak CCU in Month

    10,000

    Average CCU vs. peak (%)

    30

    Players per game session

    2

    game sessions/containers per instance

    24

    Instance type

    c5a.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB) @ $0.746/hour

    % On demand vs % Spot

    100/0

    Bandwidth per player (KB/s)

    3

    Session length (minutes)

    5

    Instance buffer

    10%

    Region

    Us-east (Ohio)

    Compute costs per month

    $37,439.88

    Bandwidth costs per month

    $2,061.62

     

    Data Transfer Out (DTO) Cost Calculation

    Total DTO in GB per month: 2,190,000 player hours * 3 KB/s * 3600 seconds * 0.000001 GB/KB = 23,652 GB

     

    Tiered pricing:

    1. First 10,240 GB: 10,240 * $0.09 = $921.60
    2. Remaining 13,412 GB: 13,412 * $0.085 = $1,140.02

     

    Total DTO cost:

    $921.60 + $1,140.02 = $2,061.62

    Total cost/month

    $39,502.50

    Instance Cost (monthly) = $37,439.88 Data Transfer Out (DTO) Cost (monthly) = $2,061.62 Total Cost (monthly) = $39,501.50

    Graviton instance + Bandwidth total cost/month

    $35,185.37
    (12% savings)

    Using c6g.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB) @ $.66/hour vs c5a.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB) @ $0.746/hour

    Note: we offer pricing discounts for large scale games, please contact us if your game costs are over $80K per month or just need help estimating your costs.

  • An online multiplayer 1v1 card game that only needs a lightweight infrastructure with 2 players per session, 2 KB/s bandwidth per player, a 10 tick rate Unity game server on Linux leveraging cost-effective c5a.large instances to facilitate short, uninterrupted sessions.

    Pricing calculator inputs

    Input

    Value

    Formula

    Operating System

    Linux

     

    Instance Cost Calculation

    1. Average concurrent players per hour:

    10,000 * 30% = 3,000

    2. Total player hours per month:

    3,000 * 730 hours = 2,190,000

    3. Session hours per month:

    2,190,000 / 2 players = 1,095,000

    4. Active instance hours per month:

    1,095,000 / 24 sessions = 45,625

    5. Total instance hours (including buffer):

    45,625 * (1 + 10%) = 50,187.50

    6. On-Demand instance hours:

    50,187.50 * 50% = 25,093.75

    7. Spot instance hours:

    50,187.50 * 50% = 25,093.75

    8. Monthly cost for On-Demand instances:

    25,093.75 * $0.099 = $2,484.28

    9. Monthly cost for Spot instances:

    25,093.75 * $0.03 = $752.81

    10. Total instance cost:

    $2,484.28 + $752.81 = $3,237.09

    Game engine

    Unity

    Peak CCU in Month

    10,000

    Average CCU vs. peak (%)

    30

    Players per game session

    2

    game sessions/containers per instance

    24

    Instance type

    c5a.large (1 core, 2 vCPU, 4 GB) @ $.099 OD /$.03 Spot

    % On demand vs % Spot

    50/50

    Bandwidth per player (KB/s)

    2

    Session length (minutes)

    5

    Instance buffer

    10%

    Region

    Us-east (Ohio)

    Compute costs per month

    $3,237.09

    Bandwidth costs per month

    $1,391.48

    Data Transfer Out (DTO) Cost Calculation

    Total DTO in GB per month:  2,190,000 player hours * 2 KB/s * 3600 seconds * 0.000001 GB/KB = 15,768 GB

    Tiered pricing:

    1.      First 10,240 GB: 10,240 * $0.09 = $921.60

    2.      Remaining 5,528 GB: 5,528 * $0.085 = $469.88

    Total DTO cost:

     $921.60 + $469.88 = $1,391.48

    Total cost/month

    $4,628.57

    Total Cost Instance Cost (monthly): $3,237.09 +
    Data Transfer Out (DTO) Cost (monthly): $1,391.48 =
    Total Cost (monthly): $4,628.57

    Note: we offer pricing discounts for large scale games, please contact us if your game costs are over $80K per month or just need help estimating your costs.

  • Battle royale games see significant player counts decrease after initial "hot drop" phases, so and on-demand solution optimizes for an average of 30 concurrent players per session rather than the full 100 player capacity, utilizing the high-performance Unreal Engine 5.X on Linux instances to deliver seamless online experiences.

    Pricing calculator inputs

    Input

    Value

    Formula

    Operating System

    Linux

     

    Instance Cost Calculation

    1. Average concurrent players per hour:

    100,000 * 30% = 30,000

    2. Total player hours per month:

    30,000 * 730 hours = 21,900,000

    3. Session hours per month:

    21,900,000 / 30 players = 730,000

    4. Active instance hours per month:

    730,000 / 4 sessions = 182,500

    5. Total instance hours (including buffer):

    182,500 * (1 + 10%) = 200,750

    6. On-Demand instance hours:

    200,750 * 100% = 200,750 (no Spot instances used)

    7. Monthly cost for On-Demand instances:

    200,750 * $0.904 = $181,478.00

    Game Engine

    Unreal 5.x

    Peak CCU in Month

    100,000

    Average CCU vs. peak (%)

    30

    Players per game session

    30

    game sessions/containers per instance

    4

    Instance type

    c6i.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB) @ $.904

    % On demand

    100

    Bandwidth per player (KB/s)

    20

    Session length (minutes)

    20

    Instance buffer

    10%

    Region

    Us-east (Ohio)

    Compute costs per month

    $181,478.00

    Bandwidth costs per month

    $82,731.20

     

    Data Transfer Out(DTO) Cost Calculation

    Total DTO in GB per month: 21,900,000 player hours * 20 KB/s * 3600 seconds * 0.000001 GB/KB = 1,576,800 GB

    Tiered pricing:

    1.      First 10,240 GB: 10,240 * $0.09 = $921.60

    2.      Next 40,960 GB: 40,960 * $0.085 = $3,481.60

    3.      Next 102,400 GB: 102,400 * $0.07 = $7,168.00

    4.      Remaining 1,423,200 GB: 1,423,200 * $0.05 = $71,160.00

    Total DTO cost:

    $921.60 + $3,481.60 + $7,168.00 + $71,160.00 = $82,731.20

    Total cost/month

    $264,209

    Instance Cost (monthly): $181,478.00 +

    Data Transfer Out (DTO) Cost (monthly): $82,731.20 = Total Cost (monthly): $264,209.20

    Graviton instance + Bandwidth total cost/month

    $215,226 monthly
    (18% savings)

    Using Graviton c6g.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB) instance @ .66/hour vs c6i.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB) @ $.904

    Spot + Graviton instance + Bandwidth total cost/month

    $187,402 monthly
    (29% savings)

    Using Graviton c6g.4xlarge (8 core, 16 vCPU, 32 GB) instance @ .66/hour for 70% of workload and Graviton Spot @ $.198 for the remaining 30%

    Note: we offer pricing discounts for large scale games, please contact us if your game costs are over $80K per month or just need help estimating your costs.

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