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Bandwidth

Unlike singleplayer games, multiplayer games have ongoing server and bandwidth costs. When we created Easel, we wanted to make it as easy as possible for developers to create multiplayer games that scale up to thousands if not millions of players, without it costing them a fortune.

We have seen too many multiplayer games go down because the individual business model does not seem to work for small multiplayer games. One-off purchases are not a long-term solution, and subscriptions do not work for small games because it is difficult for a small game developer to make enough content to justify a long-term subscription.

That is why we created Easel+, our premium subscription, that lets game developers unite and collectively fund the costs of running multiplayer games. The funds from Easel+ gets directed back into bandwidth for all Easel games, helping both you and other game developers on Easel reach more players.

If every Easel developer incentivises their players to subscribe to Easel+, then players always have a reason to stay subscribed, even if their favorite Easel game changes month-to-month. This collective funding model allows small games to reach big audiences.

Bandwidth usage​

What contributes to bandwidth usage?​

Easel is intended as a multiplayer platform, and so only the multiplayer bandwidth costs are counted towards your quota, as they are the most expensive part of running a game. Singleplayer games do not cost bandwidth on Easel, and Easel also does not charge you for hosting and serving your game's assets.

Why do multiplayer games cost bandwidth?​

Each input from each player must be relayed to all other players in the game. The more players there are in the game, the more data must be relayed, which is why bandwidth increases with the square of the number of players in the game. Double the number of players, and you quadruple the bandwidth usage.

tip

As a rough estimate, a 6-player multiplayer game costs approximately 60 MB bandwidth per hour.

Viewing your bandwidth usage​

To see how much bandwidth your games have used:

  • Click the Launch Editor button at the top right of this page, then click your account name at the top right of your screen.
  • Scroll down to the section titled Bandwidth

Bandwidth boosts from Easel+​

When other Easel+ players play your game, you get a bandwidth boost. You get a bigger boost if they play your game for longer periods of time, or if they are subscribed to a higher tier of Easel+.

How much boosting do I need?​

The exact number is dynamic as it depends a lot on player behavior, but as a rough estimate, you need approximately 1% of your player base to subscribe to Easel+ in order to break even on bandwidth boosts vs bandwidth usage.

tip

Easel dynamically reallocates unused bandwidth according to Easel+ playtime, and so the bandwidth boosting rates change depending on the total number of Easel+ subscribers, their total playtime, and the bandwidth usage of other games.

Encouraging players to subscribe to Easel+​

We recommend you use the PremiumRewardLevel function to give perks to Easel+ subscribers in your game. This encourages them to subscribe to Easel+ and help cover the costs of running your game. Use the SubscribeToPremiumIntent to prompt players to upgrade.

We recommend PremiumRewardLevel in particular because it is a cumulative, and so encourages players to stay subscribed to Easel+ for longer periods of time. As the funds from Easel+ are directed back into bandwidth quotas and other running costs for all games, this helps both you and other game developers on Easel reach more players.

What happens when you run out of bandwidth?​

At this stage, Easel is in beta and we are not enforcing bandwidth limits. However, in the future, this is our plan for when you run out of bandwidth:

  • Your game cannot be played in multiplayer mode anymore, except by people who are Easel+ subscribers.
  • When someone who is not an Easel+ subscriber attempts to play a game that has exceeded its bandwidth quota, they will be instead assigned to a singleplayer game. A message will be displayed to players saying that game is out of bandwidth and that they can play multiplayer by subscribing to Easel+.