Metaplay
Server-authoritative backend platform for live service games
Overview
Metaplay is a server-authoritative, source-available game backend platform for building and operating live-service games with Unity and C#. It provides systems for player management, live operations, game economy, and analytics. Game logic is written once in C# and runs deterministically on both client and server, with the server holding authority over all game state — cheat-resistant by design. Includes a Vue.js LiveOps Dashboard and production-grade Kubernetes infrastructure on AWS. Ships with sample projects (Idler, Trash Dash, Wordle, Hello World) and AI tooling: the Metaplay Agent installs SDK skills for coding agents, plus Docs and Portal MCP servers for AI-assisted development.
Architecture
How Metaplay approaches the key architectural dimensions for live service games.
Deterministic re-execution with checksum validation
Client and server execute the same game logic independently. The server validates client actions by re-executing them deterministically and comparing checksums, catching cheats without round-trip latency.
DocumentationSame C# compiles to Unity client and .NET server
Write game logic once in C# and compile it for both the Unity client (via IL2CPP) and the .NET server. No separate server codebase to maintain or keep in sync.
DocumentationSingle integrated platform (actor model)
All features (player state, configs, analytics, matchmaking) run inside a single actor-model server. No service mesh, API gateways, or cross-service coordination needed.
DocumentationFull source: server, client SDK, and dashboard
Complete source code access to the server runtime, Unity SDK, and LiveOps dashboard. Modify, debug, and extend any component without waiting on vendor support.
DocumentationSpreadsheets → typed C# objects → OTA binary delivery
Game designers edit spreadsheets that compile into strongly-typed C# config objects. Configs are validated at build time and delivered over-the-air as optimized binary archives.
DocumentationVue.js source available, designed to be extended
The LiveOps dashboard is built with Vue.js and ships with full source code. Teams can add custom pages, player management tools, and game-specific workflows directly.
DocumentationManaged cloud + self-hosted on your AWS
Start with Metaplay-managed cloud hosting for fast onboarding. When ready, move to self-hosted deployment on your own AWS account with full infrastructure control via Helm charts.
DocumentationStateful actor model; ~1,000 CCU per vCPU
Player state lives in-memory as actors, eliminating database round-trips for reads. This yields high density (~1,000 CCU per vCPU) and predictable per-player resource costs.
Documentationdotnet run starts full server locally
Run the complete backend on your development machine with a single dotnet command. Debug server logic with breakpoints, test configs, and iterate without deploying to the cloud.
DocumentationStrong dev tooling (Agent + MCP); no in-product ML
Metaplay Agent installs SDK skills for coding agents, with Docs and Portal MCP servers and the MetaplayGPT chatbot. Live-game systems (matchmaking, segmentation, analytics) are rules-based, not ML; Metaplay frames its AI as developer tooling, "AI-ready" rather than "AI-powered".
DocumentationAI Capabilities
How Metaplay uses AI — both tooling for the developers building on it and AI/ML features inside the live game.
Metaplay concentrates its AI investment in developer and operator tooling rather than in-game machine learning. Its "Ask / Connect / Build" stack spans a docs chatbot, two MCP servers, and an SDK-skills agent.
MetaplayGPT (a hosted docs chatbot), a Docs MCP server giving tools like Claude Code and Cursor read-only access to documentation, SDK source, and samples, a Portal MCP server for role-scoped access to live environments, and the Metaplay Agent — official SDK "skills" installed via the CLI that turn a coding agent into a Metaplay developer. The Agent is in public preview.
None documented. Matchmaking, segmentation, and A/B testing are rules- and config-based, and analytics events are streamed to external stores (BigQuery, S3) for the studio’s own pipeline. Metaplay positions itself as "AI-ready" tooling rather than "AI-powered" in-product ML.
Live Service Features
Player Management
LiveOps
Economy & Monetization
Engagement & Retention
Analytics & Insights
Multiplayer
Infrastructure
Operations
Platform & SDK
Strengths
- Source-available SDK with full C# game server, Unity SDK, and dashboard code
- Deterministic shared client/server logic in C# eliminates sync bugs
- Data-driven game configs via Google Sheets/CSV with over-the-air updates
- Built-in LiveOps Dashboard for player management, experiments, and broadcasts
- Config-driven player segmentation and targeting via LiveOps Dashboard
Limitations
- Unity-focused client SDK (no Unreal SDK); WebGL builds supported
- No built-in physics engine for FPS-style authoritative hit detection
- Async matchmaker only (no synchronous real-time matchmaker)
Pricing
Free for local development. Starter €195/month (5 DAU), Pre-Launch €995/month, Production €1,985/month+.