Discover how Edgegap works

Discover how Edgegap works

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Manus Multiplayer Runs on One Server. Here's How to Scale It.

Manus Multiplayer Runs on One Server. Here's How to Scale It.

Manus builds a playable multiplayer browser game and can host its server on a Cloud Computer. That hosting doesn't include a matchmaker, a server browser or scaling: one machine runs every match, at the same size and price, whether the game is busy or empty. When players who don't know each other need a match, move the game server to Edgegap. Edgegap starts a dedicated server for each match close to its players and stops it when the match ends. Edgegap Matchmaker groups players and sends them to that server.

This guide covers:

  1. Splitting the game into a client and an authoritative server

  2. Connecting Manus to Edgegap

  3. Giving Manus the Edgegap playbook (optional)

  4. Deploying one test server

  5. Playing on the test server

  6. Adding Edgegap Matchmaker (optional)

  7. Testing the full loop in two browser tabs

How the pieces fit together:

Manus --(Edgegap MCP)--> Edgegap: app, version, deployments

Browser client --HTTPS--> Edgegap Matchmaker --starts--> dedicated server (one per match)

Browser client <== wss:// (TLS Upgrade) ==> dedicated server

What Manus does through the Edgegap MCP

What you do

Splits the client and the server, writes the Dockerfile, pushes the image, creates the app and version with TLS Upgrade, deploys and stops test servers, reads logs, and generates the matchmaker configuration.

Create the Edgegap account and API token, connect the MCP, create and start the matchmaker in the dashboard, and playtest.

What Manus gives you today

Manus 2.0, launched on September 28, 2026, turned the desktop app into Manus Studio with a Game Dev environment. You describe a game, Manus builds a playable version, and you adjust movement, art, scenes and code by hand in the Edit panel. Manus says multiplayer "works for racing, head-to-head, competitive, and 3D games."

To take a game online, Manus's launch post gives this path (as of October 15, 2026):

Configure → Multiplayer → Select Cloud Computer → Buy one

Manus handles the server deployment, the networking and keeping game state in sync. You publish the game as a website and share the link, and your friends join. For a first multiplayer game, that's genuinely the easiest path we've seen.

What one Cloud Computer is

A Cloud Computer is a persistent virtual machine that keeps running when your laptop is closed. As of October 15, 2026, Manus's billing page lists two plans:

Plan

vCPUs

RAM

Storage

Price

Standard

2

4 GB

70 GB

$30 / month

Advanced

2

8 GB

120 GB

$50 / month

 Both run Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS, come with one dedicated public IP, and are billed monthly.

Here's what that means for a multiplayer game:

  • Every match shares the same 2 vCPUs. Upgrading from Standard to Advanced adds memory, not CPU. When ten matches run at once, they all compete for the same two cores, and the server's tick rate drops for everyone.

  • One machine, one place. Players connect to wherever that machine runs. A player across an ocean pays that distance on every input, which racing and head-to-head games make obvious.

  • A flat bill, busy or not. You pay the same at 3 a.m. with nobody online as you do on launch night, and launch night gets no extra capacity.

  • One point of failure. If the machine has a problem, every match goes down together.

What's missing between "share a link" and a launch

As of October 15, 2026, Manus hosts the game server on a Cloud Computer, but its launch post and billing page describe no matchmaker, no server browser and no scaling, up or down. One Cloud Computer runs every match, and its capacity and monthly price stay the same whether 2 or 2,000 players are online. Players join through a shared link. That's a good fit for prototypes and playing with friends.

A link works when you know who you're playing with. When a stranger opens your game, they expect to press one button and be placed in a fair match with players near them. That's a matchmaker's job.

The alternative: one server per match

Edgegap runs your game server as a container and starts a fresh copy for each match, at the best available location for the players in it. The server stops when the match ends.

For a Manus game, that changes the picture:

 

Manus Cloud Computer

Edgegap

Servers

One VM runs every match

One dedicated server per match, started on demand

CPU per match

Shared by all matches (2 vCPUs total)

Reserved for that match

Location

Where the VM runs

Picked per match, close to its players

Busy night

Same machine, more load

More servers

Quiet night

Same monthly price

Close to zero: no matches, no servers

Getting players together

Shared link

Matchmaker, server browser or a link

 The two can work together: keep building and iterating in Manus, and move the game server to Edgegap when you're ready for players you don't know.

Browser games need secure WebSockets

Manus games run in the browser, and browsers can't open raw UDP connections. They talk to game servers over WebSockets, and a page served over https:// may only use secure WebSockets (wss://). Edgegap's TLS Upgrade gives each server a secure WebSocket endpoint without you buying or renewing certificates. The Edgegap MCP server turns it on when it creates your server version.

Matchmaking for strangers

The Edgegap Matchmaker groups players by rules you choose: match size, teams, game mode and skill, then starts their server close to them. Edgegap's latency rule relies on ping beacons, and browsers can't ping them, so for browser games the matchmaker places servers using the players' locations. Rules can relax the longer a player waits, friends can queue as a group, and backfill replaces a player who leaves mid-match. You can test it for free.

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. Split the game into a client and an authoritative server

Ask Manus first:

"Split this game into a browser client and an authoritative WebSocket game server that runs on its own in a Linux container. The server decides movement, collisions, hits, scores, timers and who wins. The browser only sends inputs and draws what the server says. Read the listening port from an environment variable. When the match ends, or when every player has left, have the server stop its own Edgegap deployment."

"Authoritative" means the server decides what happens, so a player can't edit the browser's code to win.

Edgegap runs this server, once per match.

2. Connect Manus to Edgegap

Manus can use remote MCP servers. Add Edgegap's by URL (Connectors → Create → Add MCP by URL; Manus's docs also show Settings → Integrations → Custom MCP Servers):

  • URL: https://mcp.edgegap.dev/mcp

  • Authentication: choose Bearer token and paste your Edgegap API token, from Dashboard → User Settings → Tokens. Paste the token itself only, without the word Bearer or token in front.

When you save, Manus connects and lists the Edgegap tools.

Keep your API token private. It controls your Edgegap account. Keep it in Manus's connector settings and never put it in game code. If it leaks, revoke it in the dashboard.

3. Give Manus the playbook (optional)

Manus supports the open Agent Skills standard. In the Skills tab, choose + Add → Import from GitHub and paste https://github.com/edgegap/edgegap-agent-skills. Then invoke a skill by typing / in chat.

For a Manus browser game, these engine-agnostic skills fit:

  • edgegap-server-design: an authoritative server that starts, plays and stops cleanly, once per match.

  • edgegap-containerize: the Dockerfile, the image push and the app version.

  • edgegap-local-testing: run the container locally before spending money.

  • edgegap-troubleshoot: servers that won't start, restart, or can't be reached.

4. Deploy one test server

"Deploy my game server on Edgegap with TLS Upgrade so browsers connect over wss://. Make the server stop itself when a match ends. Then give me the test server's address."

Manus writes the Dockerfile, pushes the server image, creates the app and version, deploys a test server and returns its address.

Edgegap tells the server its ports through environment variables, including the internal port to listen on. The browser connects to the external port that Edgegap returns, which changes with every deployment.

5. Play on the test server

Point your game's client at the address Manus returned: wss://, the host name and the external port. Open the game in two tabs and play a round.

Then ask Manus to stop the test server. The free tier runs one deployment at a time, and a leftover test server blocks matchmaking.

If the game doesn't connect, check:

  • The page uses ws:// instead of wss://, or TLS Upgrade isn't on for the port.

  • The client uses the internal port instead of the external port Edgegap returned.

  • The server listens on a different port than the one in the app version, or on 127.0.0.1 instead of 0.0.0.0.

  • The deployment is still starting. Wait until it shows Ready, and let the client retry for up to a minute.

  • A test server is still running and blocks the free tier's single deployment.

  • A background tab missed the click. Bring each tab to the front.

  • The server crashed and keeps restarting. Stop it, fix the cause, and deploy again.

  • Ask Manus to read the deployment logs through the MCP before stopping a deployment: logs are deleted when it stops.

Here, Manus picked the location and you shared the address. To place players who don't know each other in matches automatically, add a matchmaker.

6. Add Edgegap Matchmaker (optional)

"Generate an Edgegap matchmaker configuration for my game: 4 players per match, with teams if my game has them, a game mode players can pick, friends able to queue together as a group, and backfill to replace a player who leaves mid-match if my game needs it. Allow my game's website as an origin, and don't use a latency rule."

Edgegap's latency rule relies on ping beacons, and browsers can't ping them. For browser games, the matchmaker places servers using the players' locations.

Then, in the dashboard (this step has no API):

  1. Open Matchmaker and select Create Matchmaker.

  2. Name it, upload the configuration Manus generated, and select Create and Start.

  3. When it's ONLINE, copy the API URL and the Auth Token.

The matchmaker's Auth Token is separate from your API token. Game clients use it to request matches, and it can't manage your Edgegap account. If it's abused, regenerate it in the dashboard.

Back in Manus:

"Add a Find Match button that sends a ticket to my Edgegap matchmaker with this API URL and Auth Token. Show the queue status while searching, let the player cancel, stop with a clear message if no match is found after 2 minutes, and connect to the assigned server over wss:// using its host name and external port."

Games that already have their own backend can call the matchmaker from that backend instead of from the browser.

7. Test the full loop in two browser tabs

  1. Make sure no test server is still running.

  2. Open your game in two browser tabs. Bring each tab to the front before you click: background tabs can miss clicks.

  3. Select Find Match in both. Both tabs join the same server.

  4. Finish or leave the match. The server stops itself and disappears from the dashboard, which keeps your bill at zero when nobody plays.

  5. Leave a match in progress to test backfill, if you enabled it.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about scaling a Manus multiplayer game with dedicated servers and matchmaking on Edgegap.

Can a Manus game handle lots of players at once?

On one Cloud Computer, every match shares 2 vCPUs on one machine, so capacity is fixed. To handle more, run one server per match on a platform that starts servers on demand, like Edgegap.

Does Manus have a matchmaker or lobbies?

Manus hosts the game server on a Cloud Computer, but as of October 15, 2026 it doesn't provide a matchmaker, a server browser, or scaling up or down. Edgegap provides all three: the Edgegap Matchmaker, the Server Browser, and one dedicated server per match.

How much does a Manus Cloud Computer cost?

According to Manus's billing page, $30 a month for 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM, or $50 a month for 2 vCPUs and 8 GB, billed monthly.

Is Edgegap cheaper than a Cloud Computer?

It depends on how much people play. A Cloud Computer is a flat monthly price. On Edgegap you pay while matches run, so a game with few players costs very little, and a busy one costs more but gets the servers it needs. Testing is free, with no credit card.

Will my Manus browser game work over WebSockets on Edgegap?

Yes. Edgegap supports WebSockets, and TLS Upgrade gives each server a wss:// endpoint so browser games on https:// pages can connect.

What engine does Manus use?

Manus Game Dev builds browser games, and the stack can vary by project. Edgegap runs any server that fits in a Linux container.

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.