One platform, three very different networking profiles
Written in collaboration with
Warped Games
Key Highlights
Warped Universe isn't one server workload. It's three. A latency-tolerant social hub, frame-sensitive real-time co-op, and RPC-driven turn-based co-op each carry different scale and latency needs. One engineer wired all three to the same Edgegap deployment API and the same container pipeline, varying only the version template per mode.
Warped Universe combat is real-time and server-authoritative. That means core gameplay ingredients like damage, hit detection, and AI need authoritative confirmation, and a distant server running 150 to 250ms round trips would weigh on the moment-to-moment experience. Edgegap places a server near each connecting player automatically, and manages the multi-region fleet on Warped Games' behalf.
Sessions spin up per mission, matchmade or party-invited, then wind down when the mission ends. Warped Games' matchmaking backend calls Edgegap's deployment API per mission, which instantly deploys a game server nearest the players so the lobby can jump straight into play. Capacity follows real demand, mission by mission.
The same engineer who owns the backend microservices also owns orchestration. Deploying a new build is a single CI step that posts a version-controlled JSON template. A local Docker loop runs the exact production container shape, so the team tests a server build locally, then deploys its game server worldwide for players to jump into.
The Studio
Warped Games is an independent studio of 12, built from the creative synergy of veterans with credits on iconic projects like LEGO Universe, Dragons & Titans, and Jumpgate, and collaborations with industry leaders such as Star Citizen, Pixar, and Disney. No publisher. No investors telling them what to make. Just developers building the game they wanted to play.
That game is Warped Universe, built in Unreal Engine 5: in the studio's own words, a free-to-play sci-fi PvE looter shooter set in a volatile and expanding universe where every mission drives progress forward for the player and community together. Every mission feeds a season-wide meta-goal. Secure a facility, unlock a permanent buff for the entire community. Discover a new planet, open up more of the map for everyone. And every mission can be played as real-time action or turn-based tactics, on the ground or in space, the player's choice each time.
Under all of it sits a dedicated-server, server-authoritative multiplayer model. That's where Edgegap comes in.
The Challenge
Warped Games came to Edgegap with three problems, and they'd already scoped each one precisely.
A global player base, where single-region hosting doesn't cut it. Co-op combat is real-time and server-authoritative, so latency lands directly on the player. A US-only or EU-only fleet would leave everyone else with 150 to 250ms round trips, felt in real-time combat and in turn-based sessions that stay live. The servers needed to come to the players, not the other way around.
Bursty, unpredictable demand. This isn't a persistent world server. Sessions are mission-scoped, four-player, matchmade or party-invited, spun up on demand and torn down at mission end. Warped Games wanted capacity that tracked that rhythm, ready the moment a wave of parties hits "Start," without carrying always-on servers the rest of the time.
A team without a dedicated ops role. Orchestration needed to be something the engineer who owns the backend microservices could also own. It had to slot into the existing CI pipeline and stay light to run.
"We needed servers to land near each player, not the other way around, without standing up and managing our own multi-region fleet." Scott Brown, Co-Founder / President / Lead Game Dev, Warped Games
The Solution
Regionless edge deployment. Instead of Warped Games picking regions upfront, Edgegap places each server near the connecting player automatically. The latency question is answered at deploy time, and the multi-region fleet is managed for them.
On-demand deployment. Warped Games' Beamable backend, which runs matchmaking and lobbies, calls Edgegap's deployment API per mission. A server is deployed near the players and ready as the lobby loads, then released when the mission ends. Capacity follows real demand, mission by mission.
"Our matchmaking backend calls Edgegap's deployment API per mission and gets a server placed and booted in the time it takes a lobby to finish loading. No idle fleet to pay for or manage." Scott Brown
One pipeline, owned by one engineer. This is where the integration paid off. Deploying a new build is a single CI step: the pipeline posts a small, version-controlled JSON template with the image tag, resource limits, and ports, and Edgegap builds and publishes it as a running version, with no manual console work per release. To iterate quickly, the team built a local Docker loop that runs the exact Dockerfile and startup script Edgegap runs in production, same container shape, same env vars, same memory limits. And when they want to check on a live server, Edgegap's deployment and container-log APIs, plus a durable log export to S3, give clear evidence of what happened during a session, with no separate observability stack to stand up.
"We built a local Docker loop that runs the exact same Dockerfile and startup script Edgegap runs in production. That local parity is what let a small team iterate fast without burning cloud deploys on every change." Scott Brown
Every merge produces a new container image and Edgegap version automatically, and because it's always "latest," triage stays simple. The team always knows which build is live.
"Every merge produces a new container image and Edgegap version automatically. Because it's always 'latest,' we never have to ask 'which build is this bug on.'" Scott Brown, Co-Founder / President / Lead Game Dev, Warped Games
One platform, three very different networking profiles. Warped Universe doesn't have one server workload. It has three, each with different scale and latency needs, and all three run on the same Edgegap deployment API and the same container pipeline:
Station hub, the social lobby. Many players in one persistent-feeling space at once, handling chat, presence, and party formation. Latency-tolerant, but it needs a server that can hold a crowd.
Real-time combat co-op, ground and space. Small four-player parties, server-authoritative movement, damage, and AI, latency-sensitive down to the frame. It wants a server placed close to each player, spun up fresh per mission and torn down after.
Turn-based combat co-op. The same four-player, server-authoritative model, but action resolves through RPC-driven turn exchanges rather than continuous real-time state. Far less bandwidth and tick pressure, and the same session lifecycle: deploy on lobby start, tear down on mission end.
One integration point flexed to fit all three. Warped Games varies the version template per workload, resource limits, boot map, and mode, and nothing else changes.
"Warped Universe doesn't have one server workload, it has three, each with different scale and latency needs, and Edgegap covers all of them without us needing a different provider or a bespoke setup per mode." Scott Brown
Conclusion
The team wired deployment and orchestration into an existing microservice backend and CI pipeline, with region selection and fleet management handled by Edgegap. Three distinct networking profiles, one integration point. Capacity that tracks spiky, mission-scoped play.
"The pay-per-deployment model matches our actual usage shape, spiky and mission-scoped, rather than forcing always-on capacity we'd be paying for at 3am with nobody online." Scott Brown
That's what a studio needs to keep pushing an ambitious, community-driven universe forward. The infrastructure gets out of the way, and the team gets back to the game.
