What is AWS GameKit?

Build AWS-powered cloud features from your game engine.

AWS GameKit is an open-source SDK for developers who want to build high quality, cloud-based features into their products. Cloud features bring some significant benefits to a game, including greater security, scalability, cost reductions, and player experience improvements such as greater flexibility in where and how people play.

Our goal with AWS GameKit is to give you the power of cloud features while removing the major challenges. We designed AWS GameKit for developers who don't have deep knowledge of AWS or cloud architecture design, but still want well-architected features that they can customize for their projects. With AWS GameKit, you get complete cloud architecture templates and the tools to build your infrastructure. Choose the features you want for your project, set up a cloud backend in two or three steps, and add feature functionality to your client apps. Work at your own pace to extend and customize the cloud backend for your customers.

AWS GameKit provides solutions for the following game-related features.

• Identity and authentication – Protect players with secure registration and robust identity management for your game. Verify player logins to manage access to player sessions, and use authentication for AWS GameKit cloud features.

• Achievements – Create goals that players can achieve to earn recognition, win rewards, or initiate game events. Manage players' achievements in the cloud and track their progress toward long-term goals.

• Game state cloud saving – Synchronize game saves in the cloud so that players can resume their play from different locations and devices, or recover game progress as needed.

• User gameplay data – Maintain gameplay data for each player, such as inventory, statistics, and cross-play persistence, and make it available to players wherever and whenever they log in to the game.

AWS GameKit benefits

Developers and architects tasked with building cloud-based backend infrastructure for their game projects can take advantage of these benefits:

• Build and maintain a cloud backend from your game engine. Use AWS GameKit for Unity engine with its streamlined workflows to create and manage an AWS cloud backend for your game project. Use tools to incorporate feature functionality. Set up backend infrastructure in multiple environments and maintain each independently.

• Start with expertly designed cloud architectures. The AWS solution for each AWS GameKit cloud feature is designed by cloud architecture experts and based on the AWS Well-Architected Framework for secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient solutions. The solutions incorporate game development best practices and customer feedback.

• Learn as you go. AWS GameKit provides customizable solution templates and APIs for your backend. This means you get started fast with a production-ready backend, and then . From this point, you have wide flexibility to modify the templates, experiment with alternative AWS features and services, and build a custom cloud infrastructure for your projects.

• Integrate feature design with rapid prototyping. With a cloud backend in place, use pre-configured UI components, example code, and example games to integrate the features using iterative design and development.

• Customize the AWS GameKit SDK and tools. AWS GameKit SDK components are available on a "source- available basis, so you can modify or build tools to fit your development process. Customize the existing AWS GameKit for Unity engine package or create versions for other game engines. Modify or extend the core C++ API functionality.

Get started with AWS GameKit

New to AWS GameKit? We recommend that you start here:

• Try the example game project

  • Work with AWS GameKit sample games for Unity

• Set up AWS GameKit for your projects

  • Download AWS GameKit for Unity engine

  • Install the AWS GameKit

  • Set up an AWS account and users for AWS GameKit

• Learn about the AWS GameKit UI

  • Explore AWS GameKit in the Unity Editor

• Keep up with the latest news and releases

  • AWS GameKit forum. Share questions and comments with the developer community.

  • AWS Game Tech blog. Learn about new features and get developer tips for all AWS Game Tech offerings.

  • AWS GameKit releases. Monitor version updates and known issues.

Related services

AWS GameKit is a solid choice for building fully customizable AWS Cloud-based features into your games while retaining the ability to customize those features going forward. Also consider these game-related AWS offerings:

• Amazon GameSparks – Amazon GameSparks is a fully managed AWS service that provides a multi-service backend for game developers.

• Amazon GameLift – GameLift provides solutions for hosting session-based multiplayer game servers in the cloud, including a fully managed service for deploying, operating, and scaling game servers.

• Open 3D Engine (O3DE) – O3DE is an open-source 3D development engine for game, simulation, and multimedia creators. It is modular and cross-platform.

• Amazon Nimble Studio – Amazon Nimble Studio is a virtual studio that empowers visual effects, animation, and interactive content teams to create content securely within a scalable, private cloud service.

Related AWS topics

AWS Well-Architected

AWS GameKit solutions are based on AWS Well-Architected and its six-pillared framework: operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimization, and sustainability. To learn more about how well-architected AWS solutions are built, use the resources on this site, which include best practices, design principles, and industry-specific whitepapers.

AWS for Games

Learn more about other AWS services and solutions for game development, including Amazon GameLift for multiplayer services and specialized solutions for game analytics and AI.