Understanding Multiplayer Game Development: Authoritative vs. Peer-to-Peer Models

Multiplayer games provide players with dynamic and engaging experiences that single player games often can't match. To deliver on these experiences, multiplayer games rely on different networking models to synchronize players and ensure a smooth online gameplay experience.

The two most common architectures used are:

• Authoritative (server-based) and;

• Peer-to-peer (P2P).

Understanding these models is crucial for game developers making architectural decisions, and for players looking to grasp the technical differences affecting their experience.

Authoritative vs. Peer-to-Peer: Key Differences

At its core, the difference between authoritative server and peer-to-peer networking comes down to how game data is processed and validated.

• Authoritative (Server-Based) Games: In an authoritative model, a dedicated game server processes all player inputs and enforces game rules.

  • Think of it as a referee in a sports match. Clients (players' devices) send their actions to the server, which validates and broadcasts the updated game state to all participants. This approach reduces cheating, ensures consistency, and handles complex physics or AI calculations.

• Peer-to-Peer Games: In a P2P model, players communicate directly with one another, often electing one device as the host.

  • The host processes game logic and shares it with other players. While this method reduces server costs, it can introduce security risks, host advantage (or host migration issues), and synchronization problems if network connections are unstable.

  • For those types of connections, two (2) network components are needed: STUN and TURN. The first one (STUN) helps game clients discover their public IP address and determine if they can communicate directly with another peer. The second one, TURN, or also called RELAYS, acts as a fallback when STUN fails by relaying traffic through a relay. Relays and TURN are the same.

  • Read our breakdown of peer-to-peer networking, with pros and cons, here.

Different Names, Same Concept & Meaning: Dedicated, Headless, Cloud & Authoritative Game Servers

The gaming industry uses multiple terms to describe authoritative servers, often leading to confusion.

Terms like "authoritative game server," "dedicated game server," and "headless game server" all refer to the same fundamental concept: a server that dictates the game state.

• Dedicated Game Servers: Typically refers to a standalone server running game logic without rendering graphics, used for large-scale multiplayer games. It is typically used by games that allow players to host themselves game servers, like Minecraft. But the concept remains the same.

• Headless Game Servers: Essentially the same as dedicated servers but emphasizes the lack of a graphical interface. Again, same stuff, just different name.

• Authoritative Game Servers: Highlights the fact that the server has ultimate control over game state and player interactions.

• Cloud Game Servers: A deployment model where authoritative game servers are hosted in cloud environments, offering scalability and reliability.

Regardless of the terminology, the function remains consistent: authoritative servers enforce game rules and ensure fair play. Discover a direct comparison between networking model in our breakdown here.

Studio Perspective: Choosing Between Server-Based and Peer-to-Peer Models

For game studios, choosing between an authoritative server and a P2P model comes down to cost, security, and gameplay experience:

• Cost: P2P is cheaper since it avoids server hosting fees, but it comes at the cost of security vulnerabilities, questionable player experience and poor scalability.

• Security: Server-based models prevent common P2P exploits like cheating (e.g., lag-switching, speed hacks) and host manipulation. A studio who wants to monetize its multiplayer game will struggle to prevent people stealing content with a P2P architecture.

• Scalability: Authoritative servers provide structured matchmaking and seamless scaling, especially for fast-paced games, massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) and competitive titles.

• Player Experience: Studios that prioritize fair and consistent experiences often choose authoritative servers to eliminate desynchronization and unfair advantages.

How to Setup a Headless Server, Dedicated Servers, or Dedicated Game Server Hosting

The most common and efficient way to set up a game server is through the use of containerization.

Containerizing a game server allows for efficient use of resources, such as CPU and memory. Containers enable quick scaling and deployment of game servers, making it easier to manage a large player base and provide a consistent environment for the game server, reducing the risk of compatibility issues and ensuring a stable gaming experience.

Edgegap provides plugins for both Unity and Unreal that does all of the work of containerizing your game server and automatically uploading it to our hosting and orchestration platform to get your game online, worldwide, in minutes on the world’s largest network. Check them out!

Player Perspective: How It Affects Gameplay

From a player's standpoint, the choice between P2P and server-based models can impact game feel, fairness, and reliability:

• Latency (Ping): In P2P games, the host may have an unfair latency advantage. In server-based games, a geographically distributed server network ensures more equal pings for all players.

• Fairness: Server-based games are more resistant to cheating, while P2P games can be plagued by hackers modifying local game files.

• Connectivity Stability: P2P games suffer when the host disconnects, often leading to session interruptions or forced host migration. Authoritative servers ensure stable gameplay with uninterrupted sessions.

Conclusion

When developing a multiplayer game, studios must weigh the trade-offs between P2P and authoritative server models. While P2P may be cost-effective for small-scale or casual multiplayer experiences, authoritative servers provide security, scalability, and a fairer competitive environment.

No matter what a studio calls its server—dedicated, authoritative, or headless, the underlying principles remain the same: ensuring smooth, fair, and engaging gameplay for players worldwide.

Edgegap is leading authoritative game server orchestration and hosting. Our free tier allows game studios and help in development game minimize the cost while accelerating time to market.

And game servers are just a start – make sure to add a matchmaking system (including Edgegap’s own matchmaker, which is free to test all its features) to ensure you can group players and deploy games seamlessly.