Discover how Edgegap works

Discover how Edgegap works

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Custom Engine

Custom Engine

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Custom Engine: How to host your own game server on dedicated servers, and add Matchmaking

Custom Engine: How to host your own game server on dedicated servers, and add Matchmaking

This guide shows you how to host a multiplayer game built on your own engine, or a game server written in any language (C++, C#, Go, Rust, Java and more), on Edgegap's dedicated game servers, then add matchmaking so players are grouped and connected to a server near them automatically.

Once your game server is containerized, Edgegap deploys it worldwide to 615+ Edge Cloud locations (on-demand) from a simple API call and billed exclusively on usage: no entire server to rent, provision or keep running between matches. For persistent servers of reserved capacity, Edgegap offers Private Fleets. Edgegap's Matchmaking builds on top of that and is optional.

Edgegap needs no SDK and no engine plugin. If your server runs headless in a Linux container, it runs on Edgegap: you push an image, Edgegap starts a copy of it for each match and gives players its address. This page covers the few rules your server follows to fit that model.

This guide covers:

  1. Preparing your server, your Edgegap account and a containerization tool

  2. Connecting your coding agent to Edgegap (optional)

  3. Making your server fit Edgegap's lifecycle

  4. Containerizing it and creating an app version

  5. Testing it locally, then deploying a test server

  6. Adding matchmaking (optional)

  7. Testing the full loop with two players

You can do it two ways, and mix them:

  • With a coding agent. Connect Claude Code, Cursor or another agent to the Edgegap MCP server and its agent skills. The agent adapts your server, writes the Dockerfile, tests the container, deploys it and generates the matchmaker configuration. You handle the Edgegap dashboard, the secrets, and playtest.

  • By hand. Every step below also works without an agent.

Building with Unity, Unreal Engine or Godot? Start from Unity Engine, Unreal Engine or Godot Engine instead.

No credit card required. Free tier includes the resources to deploy a real game server.

No credit card required. Free tier includes the resources to deploy a real game server.

Step-by-Step Guide

Detailed Integration Steps

1. Before you start

  • A free Edgegap account. Verify your email. No credit card is needed to test.

  • A game server that runs headless on Linux x86-64: no window, no GPU, no input prompts, configured by command-line flags or environment variables. Two players should be able to join it on localhost.

  • A server that owns the game. Clients send inputs; the server decides positions, hits and scores. A server that only forwards what clients claim is an expensive relay, and easy to cheat.

  • A containerization tool, running. We recommend Docker Desktop.

  • For the agent path: an Edgegap API token, from Dashboard → User Settings → Tokens. It is organization-wide, so treat it like a password: never put it in your server, your game client, your project files or a chat.

2. Connect your coding agent to Edgegap

Skip this step if you're doing everything by hand.

The Edgegap MCP server lets your agent create apps and versions, deploy servers, read logs and generate matchmaker configurations on your account. The agent skills give it the engine-agnostic rules: edgegap-server-design for the lifecycle, edgegap-containerize for the image, edgegap-local-testing before you spend money.

Claude Code (run in your own terminal, so the token never passes through the chat):

claude mcp add --transport http edgegap https://mcp.edgegap.dev/mcp -H "Authorization: token YOUR_EDGEGAP_API_TOKEN" --scope user

Then install the skills: /plugin marketplace add edgegap/edgegap-agent-skills, then /plugin install edgegap@edgegap. Restart the session.

Cursor, VS Code and other clients that send headers: add https://mcp.edgegap.dev/mcp with the header Authorization: token YOUR_EDGEGAP_API_TOKEN, and install the skills with npx skills add edgegap/edgegap-agent-skills --skill "*".

Claude Desktop: custom connectors can't send the header, so use the local server instead (Node 18+): { "mcpServers": { "edgegap": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@edgegap/mcp"] } } }. It asks for the token on first use.

Check it works:

"List my Edgegap apps."

An empty list is fine. An error about the token usually means the header reads token token ....

3. Make your server fit Edgegap's lifecycle

On Edgegap, one deployment is usually one match: it starts for a group of players and stops when their match ends. Your server follows six rules:

  • Bind a fixed port on 0.0.0.0, for example 7777/UDP. Edgegap gives players a random external port for each deployment and maps it to yours. Binding 127.0.0.1, or a random port, works on your machine and is unreachable on Edgegap.

  • Read configuration from environment variables. Edgegap injects them into every deployment: ARBITRIUM_REQUEST_ID (the deployment ID; log it), ARBITRIUM_PORT_GAMEPORT_INTERNAL and _EXTERNAL, ARBITRIUM_PUBLIC_IP, and on matchmaker deployments MM_MATCH_ID and MM_TICKET_IDS (who was matched). Your own settings go on the app version or the deployment.

  • Log a clear line once you accept players, for example READY port=7777, to stdout. Logs go to stdout and stderr, never only to files.

  • Stop yourself when the match ends, or after about 30 seconds with nobody connected: DELETE the ARBITRIUM_DELETE_URL with the header Authorization: <ARBITRIUM_DELETE_TOKEN>. An idle server keeps billing until its maximum duration.

  • Handle SIGTERM: save results to your backend, tell players, exit within a few seconds.

  • Cap your tick or frame rate. A headless loop that runs uncapped burns a full CPU core. 20 to 30 Hz suits most action games, 60 Hz fast shooters.

Your server never holds the Edgegap API token: self-stop has its own per-deployment token.

With your agent:

"Load the edgegap-server-design skill and make my game server fit Edgegap: bind 0.0.0.0 on a fixed port, read the ARBITRIUM_ and MM_ environment variables, log READY when it accepts players, self-stop with ARBITRIUM_DELETE_URL at match end or after 30 seconds empty, drain on SIGTERM, and cap the tick rate. Then check it still works with two local clients."

4. Containerize your server and create an app version

Edgegap runs linux/amd64 containers. Build your server outside Docker, or in a builder stage for compiled languages, then copy only the server into a slim image:

  • Start it as the container's main process, in exec form: ENTRYPOINT ["./my-server"]. A shell script that stays in front of it swallows SIGTERM; if you need one, end it with exec ./my-server "$@".

  • Build for Edgegap's platform, even on Apple Silicon: docker build --platform linux/amd64 -t registry.edgegap.com/<project>/<image>:<tag> .

  • No secrets in the image, and never print the environment at startup: it would put the self-stop token in your logs.

  • Push to the Edgegap Container Registry: run docker login registry.edgegap.com yourself, with the username and token from the Container Registry page, then docker push. Use a new tag for every build, never latest. Docker Hub, GHCR, ECR, GCP and GitLab registries work too.

Then create the application and its version in the dashboard: your image and tag, registry credentials (without them, deployments fail with "Unable to pull image from registry"), 1 vCPU and 2 GB to start, your port with its protocol named gameport, and restart policy Never.

With your agent:

"Load the edgegap-containerize skill. Write a multi-stage Dockerfile for my server for linux/amd64, build and push it with a new tag, then create the Edgegap app and app version with my port and protocol, named gameport, restart policy never."

5. Test locally, then deploy a test server

Locally first, with the variables Edgegap would set: docker run --rm -p 7777:7777/udp -e ARBITRIUM_PORT_GAMEPORT_INTERNAL=7777 <image>:<tag>. Connect a client to 127.0.0.1:7777, then stop the container with docker stop and check your server exits cleanly.

Then on Edgegap. Deploy your version from the dashboard (Deploy, pick a location close to you), or ask your agent: "Deploy my latest Edgegap version near me, wait until it's ready, show me the logs, and give me the address and external port."

When the deployment is Ready, connect a client to its Host URL (or IP) and External Port. The external port changes on every deployment. Ready means the container started; your server can need a few more seconds to load, so let clients retry for up to a minute.

Stop the deployment when you're done. The free tier runs one deployment at a time.

6. Add matchmaking

Edgegap's matchmaker is a hosted service: your client sends a ticket, the matchmaker groups players by your rules (match size, teams, latency, skill, mode), deploys your server near them and returns its address to every client. Nothing to link: it's an HTTP API.

  1. Write the configuration: your app and version, players per match, and a rule that lets a lone player get a server after 30 seconds while you test. Your agent can generate it: "Generate an Edgegap matchmaker configuration for my app version: one team of 2 to 4 players, a lone player gets a server after 30 seconds."

  2. In the dashboard, open Matchmaker, select Create Matchmaker, upload the file and select Create and Start. Copy the API URL and Auth Token. The Auth Token is safe to ship in your game client.

  3. From your client, create a ticket with the API URL and Auth Token, then check its status until it goes from SEARCHING to MATCH_FOUND to HOST_ASSIGNED, with the server's address and port. Connect.

Your server finds who was matched in MM_TICKET_IDS. See the matchmaking documentation for the full API.

Have your own matchmaker or lobby service already? Your backend can start servers itself with Edgegap's deployment API: see Nakama, PlayFab or Steam Lobbies for the pattern.

7. Test the full loop with two players

  1. Make sure no test deployment is still running.

  2. Run two clients and start matchmaking on both.

  3. Both reach HOST_ASSIGNED with the same server, and connect.

  4. Leave the match. The server logs that it's stopping, and the deployment disappears from the dashboard. That self-stop is what keeps your bill at zero when nobody plays.

On the free tier, the matchmaker stops 3 hours after each start (restart it from the dashboard), deployments stop after 60 minutes, and one deployment runs at a time.

Next Steps

Next Steps

Servers that must outlive a match, such as persistent worlds? See Private Fleets.

Going live? Ask your agent to run the edgegap-launch skill's checklist: version rollouts, restart policy, maximum duration, cost control.

Stuck? Ask your agent to load edgegap-troubleshoot, or ask our team and other studios on the Edgegap Discord.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about hosting a custom engine's game server on Edgegap's dedicated servers.

Can I host a game server from my own engine on Edgegap?

Yes. Any server that runs headless in a Linux x86-64 container works: C++, C#, Go, Rust, Java, Node.js or anything else. Edgegap needs no SDK or plugin; you push an image and Edgegap runs a copy for each match.

What does my game server need to run on Edgegap?

Listen on 0.0.0.0 on a fixed port, read its settings from environment variables, log to stdout, handle SIGTERM, and stop its own deployment when the match ends. Edgegap maps a random external port to yours for players.

Do I need Docker to use Edgegap?

Edgegap runs container images, so your server needs one. Docker is the usual way to build it, and our agent skills write the Dockerfile for you. Any tool that builds a linux/amd64 image works.

How does a game server stop itself on Edgegap?

It sends a DELETE request to the ARBITRIUM_DELETE_URL environment variable, with ARBITRIUM_DELETE_TOKEN as the Authorization header. Both are injected into every deployment, so the server never needs your API token.

Can I use my own matchmaker with Edgegap?

Yes. Your backend can start servers with Edgegap's deployment API, placing each one near the players. Or use Edgegap's hosted matchmaker, an HTTP API your client calls directly.

Clients

Learn more from clients who integrated Edgegap

31 case studies are available from studios that moved to Edgegap from another platform.

Key reasons why they chose Edgegap

Discover the impact of Edgegap's automated game server orchestration for a flawless multiplayer experience.

Cost

Pricing

Optimize costs and performance with hybrid orchestration

Optimize costs and performance with hybrid orchestration

Optimize costs and performance with hybrid orchestration

Edge Cloud

On-Demand

$0.00115

/ vCPU

/ MINUTE

Billed by the Minute, Only on Usage

Pay only when players play. 0 active servers = $0

Deploy game servers worldwide, per instance, to all 615+ edge cloud locations. Zero commitment.

Simply add a credit card.

Edge Cloud

On-Demand

$0.00115

/ vCPU

/ MINUTE

Billed by the Minute, Only on Usage

Pay only when players play. 0 active servers = $0

Deploy game servers worldwide, per instance, to all 615+ edge cloud locations. Zero commitment.

Simply add a credit card.

Private Fleet (Bare Metal)

Reserved Capacity

$0.0282

/ vCPU

/ HOUR

Billed Monthly, Always On

$280 per host/month (12 mo rate), or $350 monthly

Optimize the cost effectiveness of your game server with egress-free hosting of Private Fleets.

Persistent, available 24/7, exclusive to your studio.

Private Fleet (Bare Metal)

Reserved Capacity

$0.0282

/ vCPU

/ HOUR

Billed Monthly, Always On

$280 per host/month (12 mo rate), or $350 monthly

Optimize the cost effectiveness of your game server with egress-free hosting of Private Fleets.

Persistent, available 24/7, exclusive to your studio.

Your bill varies per rate and usage; which can vary per game type, player count, & more.

Your bill varies per rate and usage; which can vary per game type, player count, & more.

Model your usage with our estimate calculator ->

Model your usage with our estimate calculator ->

Edgegap's features & price: detailed comparison between Edge Cloud & Private Fleets

Edgegap's features & price: detailed comparison between Edge Cloud & Private Fleets

COMPARE

Free Trial

Edge Cloud

Private Fleets

FEATURES

Analytics & Monitoring

Billing Alarms

Click to Expand

28 more rows

Unlocks

Capabilities are unlocked when a credit card is added to the account.

COMPARE

Free Trial

Edge Cloud

Private Fleets

FEATURES

Analytics & Monitoring

Billing Alarms

Click to Expand

28 more rows

Unlocks

Capabilities are unlocked when a credit card is added to the account.

COMPARE

Free Trial

Edge Cloud

Private Fleets

FEATURES

Analytics & Monitoring

Billing Alarms

Click to Expand

28 more rows

Unlocks

Capabilities are unlocked when a credit card is added to the account.