Rivet Has a Free API: The Open-Source Platform for Deploying Multiplayer Game Servers and Real-Time Backends

#rivet #api #gaming #serverless

Deploying multiplayer game servers is brutal. Player matchmaking, server scaling, DDoS protection, global distribution — it is a full-time job. Rivet handles all of it so you can focus on your game.

What Is Rivet?

Rivet is an open-source platform for deploying and managing game servers and real-time backends. It provides matchmaking, server orchestration, CDN, DDoS protection, and analytics — everything you need to run multiplayer games at scale.

The Free Platform

Rivet offers a free tier:

Free plan: Generous compute for development and small games
Matchmaking: Built-in player matching and lobbies
Server orchestration: Auto-scaling game servers globally
DDoS protection: Enterprise-grade protection included
CDN: Asset delivery at the edge
REST API: Full API for game backend operations
Docker-based: Deploy any game server as a container

Quick Start

Install the CLI:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rivet-gg/cli/main/install/unix.sh | sh
rivet login

Configure your game (rivet.yaml):

engine:
  unity: {}

matchmaker:
  game_modes:
    default:
      regions:
        na-east: {}
        eu-west: {}
      max_players: 16
      docker:
        image: my-game-server:latest
        ports:
          game:
            port: 7777
            protocol: udp

Use the matchmaking API:

// Find or create a lobby
const lobby = await rivet.matchmaker.lobbies.find({
  gameModes: ['default'],
  regions: ['na-east'],
});

// Connect to the game server
const { host, port } = lobby.ports.game;
console.log(`Connecting to ${host}:${port}`);

Deploy:

rivet deploy --tag latest

Why Game Developers Choose Rivet

An indie studio launched their multiplayer game on bare EC2 instances. On launch day, 10,000 players tried to connect. Their single server crashed, and they had no auto-scaling. After migrating to Rivet, servers scale automatically based on player demand, matchmaking distributes players across regions, and DDoS attacks are absorbed without affecting gameplay.

Who Is This For?

Game developers building multiplayer games
Indie studios without DevOps resources for server infrastructure
Real-time app builders needing low-latency global backends
Teams building competitive games needing fair matchmaking

Start Building Multiplayer

Rivet handles the infrastructure so you can focus on the game. Matchmaking, scaling, DDoS protection — all included.

Need help with game server infrastructure? I build custom backend solutions — reach out to discuss your project.

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