The game server hosting sector has grown extremely competitive in just the last few years with thousands of hosting platforms joining the market. As an aspiring server host, it can be very hard to decide which platform to use for your server hosting needs especially now that there are dozens of trusted platforms to choose from.
In this article, you’ll learn what are the things you should consider when choosing a game hosting platform.
Latency
No matter how good your server’s hardware is, you’ll still need to have low latency to enjoy gaming. It is what determines how fast and smoothly your game interacts with other players’ games and vice versa. For most titles, delay plays a very important factor in a quality in-game experience.
To know if a hosting platform can provide you with the lowest latencies, there are three things to consider. First, its location should be close to you and your player base’s general location. Second, your server must have enough bandwidth capacity to accommodate incoming traffic from your game. This depends on how many players you have and how much data you’re using. Basically, the higher the bandwidth, the better.
Security
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have been around even before gaming servers, but now, griefers use it to attack game servers as they have found it an effective weapon to make other people miserable while enjoying their favorite games. When a server suffers a DDoS attack, it’s overloaded with illegitimate requests that will cause it to slow down and eventually shut down if not mitigated. It’s something that cyberattackers do to gain an advantage over other players or to simply waste their time. However, on the server side of things, these attacks can cause more than just disrupt gameplay, but also data loss and irreversible damage.
When looking for a server hosting provider, look for one that offers free DDoS protection. This is a feature that you wouldn’t want to not have. It will keep your server safe, your data intact and your players happy.
Customer Support
Like any product or service, you would want responsive and helpful customer support to help you when things don’t work the way they should. If you’re a newbie host, this is very important. With reliable customer support, you’ll be able to handle server-side technical tasks much easier with the help of experts. It would also be nice if customer support are not only knowledgeable but also friendly and approachable. Remember, you aren’t renting a server for a short period and you’re likely going to be stuck with them for months or even years. One way to know if a hosting company’s customer service is good or bad is to look at verified review sites online.
Reasonable Fees
At the end of the day, you will need to consider if renting a server from a particular provider is economically sustainable. You should note that there will be monthly fees to be paid when renting a server. The first thing that you should look at is how much each player slot will cost. Some providers offer discounts when you purchase more slots while some keep the price per slot the same regardless of quantity. You shouldn’t also be fooled by the price of a server package. Some may seem too expensive, but that may just be because of some additional features that will ultimately help you reduce costs in the long run. These features may include automatic backups, mod installers, free migration services, an all-in-one control panel, and more. Lower-priced servers aren’t necessarily better. Always look at the server package details.
Conclusion
When looking for a game server host, make sure that it meets all the criteria mentioned above. It’s important that the server you choose is affordable, secure, functional, and has friendly and knowledgeable staff. In short, make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Also, always keep your players in mind. Will they have a positive experience playing on your server if you choose this provider? If that’s a yes, then you’re probably on the right path.
