This guide shows you how to keep PlayFab for your player accounts and matchmaking queues, and start an Edgegap dedicated game server for each match: when PlayFab finds a match, a Cloud Script deploys a server near the players, and the server hands its address to every player.
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.
PlayFab groups the players; Edgegap hosts the match. The call that starts the server runs in PlayFab's Cloud Script, on PlayFab's side, because it needs your Edgegap API token, which never goes in a game client.
This guide covers:
Preparing a working Edgegap app version and a PlayFab title
Connecting your coding agent to Edgegap (optional)
Setting up a PlayFab matchmaking queue
Adding the Cloud Script that deploys the server
Handing the server's address to the players
Matching players from your game client
Testing 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 writes the Cloud Script and the client and server code, and checks your app version and deployments. You handle your PlayFab and Edgegap dashboards, the secrets, and playtest.
By hand. Every step below also works without an agent.
1. Before you start
A free Edgegap account. Verify your email. No credit card is needed to test.
A working Edgegap app version of your game server: a server you deployed and joined at least once. PlayFab starts that version for every match, so it needs a functional, containerized game server to work end to end. If you don't have one yet, use our guides: Unity Engine, Unreal Engine, Godot Engine or Custom Engine. Note its application name, version name and port name (usually
gameport).A PlayFab title with Matchmaking, and access to its Game Manager (Title ID and a title secret key).
An Edgegap API token, from Dashboard → User Settings → Tokens. It goes only in your Cloud Script's configuration. It is organization-wide, so never put it in your game client, your game server, your project files or a chat.
Optional: Edgegap's PlayFab sample, a Unity project (2021.3, FishNet 3) with the client, server and Cloud Script code below.
2. Connect your coding agent to Edgegap
Skip this step if you're doing everything by hand.
The Edgegap MCP server lets your agent check your apps and versions, deploy test servers and read their logs on your account. The edgegap-deployments-api agent skill gives it the tested rules for backends that start Edgegap servers, PlayFab Cloud Script included.
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 and their versions, with each version's ports."
3. Set up a PlayFab matchmaking queue
In PlayFab's Game Manager, open Multiplayer → Matchmaking and create a queue, or reuse yours. For a first test, a rule that matches any two players is enough.
Under Players, create two test players (for example with custom IDs) so two clients can sign in.
Your match rules stay in PlayFab. Edgegap only starts the server once PlayFab has found the match.
4. Add the Cloud Script that deploys the server
The function. In Automation, deploy a Cloud Script revision with a handler, for example StartEdgegapDeployment, that:
Reads the
MatchIdandQueueNamefrom the match-found event.Gets the match members with
multiplayer.GetMatch, and each player's location withserver.GetPlayerProfile(ShowLocations: true).Calls
POST https://api.edgegap.com/v2/deploymentswith the headerAuthorization: token <your API token>, and a body with yourapplicationandversion, the players asusers("user_type": "geo_coordinates"with latitude and longitude), a tag with the match ID, and the match details asenvironment_variables:PLAYFAB_MATCH_IDandPLAYFAB_MATCH_PLAYERS_ID_LIST(the player IDs, comma-separated).
Edgegap picks the location with the best ping for the whole group and answers 202 with a request_id. Log it with the match ID.
The rule. In Automation → Rules, add a rule: event type playfab.matchmaking.match_found, action Execute Entity Cloud Script, function StartEdgegapDeployment.
With your agent:
"Load the edgegap-deployments-api skill and write a PlayFab Cloud Script handler, StartEdgegapDeployment, for the playfab.matchmaking.match_found event: get the match members and their locations, deploy my Edgegap app version with POST /v2/deployments using geo_coordinates, tag it with the match ID, pass the match ID and player IDs as environment variables, and log the request_id."
Keep the token out of sight: the Cloud Script runs on PlayFab's servers, not in the game, so the token never reaches players. Store it in your title's internal configuration rather than in the script source, and never in client code.
5. Hand the server's address to the players
The server tells each player where to connect, through PlayFab Player Data:
On start, the server reads
ARBITRIUM_PUBLIC_IPandARBITRIUM_PORT_GAMEPORT_EXTERNAL(injected by Edgegap) andPLAYFAB_MATCH_PLAYERS_ID_LIST.For each player, it writes
ip:portinto that player's Player Data with PlayFab'sServer/UpdateUserData, using the match ID as the key.When the match ends, the server stops its own deployment: it calls the
ARBITRIUM_DELETE_URLEdgegap gives every deployment, withARBITRIUM_DELETE_TOKEN.
Server/UpdateUserData needs your PlayFab title secret key. If your server holds it, pass it as a hidden environment variable on the app version (is_hidden: true), never in the image, and never log it. For release, a narrower option is a PlayFab function the server calls to write the address for it.
6. Match players from your game client
The client signs the player in to PlayFab (the sample uses
LoginWithCustomID; use your game's login).It creates a matchmaking ticket in your queue (
CreateMatchmakingTicket, for example withGiveUpAfterSeconds90) and checks it withGetMatchmakingTicketuntil the status isMatched.It then reads its Player Data (
GetUserData) for the match ID key every few seconds, until the server has written its address.It connects to that IP and port. The server can need up to a minute after starting to accept players, so retry the connection for a while.
Once connected, it removes the key from its Player Data (
UpdateUserDatawithKeysToRemove), so old addresses don't pile up.
7. Test with two players
Make sure no test deployment is still running: the free tier runs one deployment at a time.
Sign in two clients as your two test players and start matchmaking on both.
When PlayFab matches them, the rule runs your Cloud Script. In the Edgegap dashboard, a deployment appears tagged with the match ID, in a location near you.
Both clients read the address from their Player Data and connect to the same server.
End the match: the server stops itself and disappears from the dashboard.
Nothing deploys? Check the Cloud Script's logs in PlayFab first. A deployment starts but nobody connects? It's the server: deploy your version by hand and join it directly.
Going live? Ask your agent to run the edgegap-launch skill's checklist: version rollouts, restart policy, maximum duration, cost control. Prefer a hosted matchmaker with no scripts? See Edgegap's matchmaker.
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 PlayFab matches on Edgegap's dedicated servers.
Can I use PlayFab Matchmaking with Edgegap servers?
Yes. Keep your PlayFab queues and rules. When PlayFab finds a match, a Cloud Script triggered by the match-found event deploys an Edgegap server near the players, and the server writes its address to each player's Player Data.
Do I still need PlayFab Multiplayer Servers?
No. Edgegap hosts the dedicated servers. PlayFab keeps your accounts, player data and matchmaking, and Edgegap starts a server only when a match is found, billed per minute while it runs.
How does Edgegap choose the server location for a PlayFab match?
From each player's location, which the Cloud Script reads from their PlayFab profile and sends as coordinates. Edgegap picks the location with the best ping for the whole group.
Where does my Edgegap API token go with PlayFab?
Only in the Cloud Script's configuration, which runs on PlayFab's servers. Game clients and game servers never hold it.
How do players get the server address from PlayFab?
The game server writes its IP and port into each player's PlayFab Player Data under the match ID. Each client reads it, connects, then removes the entry.

Clients
Learn more from clients who integrated Edgegap
31 case studies are available from studios that moved to Edgegap from another platform.

A Flawless Global Launch for Rivals of Aether 2
Aether Studios
Learn how Aether Studios quickly added Edgegap and delivered flawless launch & post-launch to their community.
Case Study

Overcome Latency Introduced by VR’s use of WiFi in Competitive Multiplayer
Halfbrick Studios
Discover how Halfbrick successfully launched & maintains a multiplayer-focused Early Access on META Quest's VR platform.
Case Study

MENA’s Social App Adds Online Games
WOLF
Learn how the highly popular MENA-region social app added matchmaking & multiplayer games orchestration easily to WOLF Qanawat.
Case Study

Hybrid Orchestration Keeps Kickoff Tactics Ready for Any Traffic
Birch Games
How hybrid orchestration helped Birch Games handle traffic, pairing egress-free Fleets with the regionless cloud.
Case Study

7 Days Blood Moons
The Fun Pimps & iLLOGIKA
Learn how Illogika dramatically reduced server costs & ensured the online experience the 7 Days to Die franchise expects.
Case Study

Authentic Online Warfare Requires the Ultimate Orchestration
Highwire Games
Learn how Highwire's need for performance required orchestration only Edgegap can deliver.
Case Study

22,000 Reviews, 4.8 Stars, and Infrastructure That Scaled Automatically
Sinn Studios
How a simple, Slack-supported integration got Sinn Studio's hit VR title online fast and keeps it there.
Case Study

Dynamic Server Orchestration
Under NDA - AAA Studio
Discover how one the world's biggest AAA studio improved its peer-to-peer multiplayer experience through edge computing.
Case Study

Near Zero Latency for AAA Fighting Game
AAA Studio - Under NDA
How an unannounced project delivered the lowest lag possible and improved fairness in its 1v1 game.
Case Study

Play Gods with Multiplayer Physics
Squido Studio
Learn how Squido uses Edgegap's highligh optimized game servers to deliver mind-bending & chaotic VR gameplay.
Case Study

A Fully Managed Solutions that Saves Time for Indies Multiplayer VR Horror
Dirty Pearl Studios
Discover how Dirty Pearl Studios saved development time thanks to Edgegap’s easy integration and automated orchestration alongside its Nakama integration.
Case Study

Instant Global Server Deployment for Collaborative XR Medical Education
AlensiaXR
How AlensiaXR uses Edgegap to deliver low-latency, always-available shared anatomy sessions to medical students worldwide.
Case Study

The Lightkeepers: A VR Social Co-op Game with Dedicated Servers
Spectral Games
How Spectral Games used Edgegap Matchmaking and Server Browser to launch dedicated servers for its VR social lobby, with no prior server experience.
Case Study

Fast & reliable deployments worldwide for PvPvE challenger Gravebound
Crater Studios
How Edgegap’s orchestration and matchmaking helped Crater Studios dramatically helped a small them focus on gameplay instead of infrastructure.
Case Study

Rapid Scaling of Web Metaverse
Hiber
Learn how Hiber eliminated the guesswork out of its server capacity planning with Edgegap.
Case Study

High Hardware Requirements & Custom Game Server Pools
Alderon Games
Learn how Alderon Games instantly leverages a custom pool of game servers across multiple providers worldwide for its popular MMO.
Case Study

Easy Integration for Indie Devs
WhaleFood Games
Read how WhaleFood Games "kicked out" its netcode issues with Edgegap.
Case Study

Cutting-edge tech that powers South-East Asia’s first-ever eSports title.
Anantarupa Studios
Learn how Edgegap transformed South-East Asia’s gaming landscape streamlining complex infrastructure and cutting-edge tech with one seamless solution.
Case Study

One Strike. Global Reach.
Triple Hill Interactive
How Triple Hill Interactive leverages Edgegap's orchestration to deliver low latency and improve fairness in a genre where every millisecond counts.
Case Study

Fast-paced Team Battle Royale... with Gun-totting Animal Plushes!
SANDYFLOOR
Discover how a Korea-based Indie Studio launched it multiplayer worldwide.
Case Study

Mobile Horse Racing Goes Global with Instant, Cost-Efficient Servers
Mirai Labs
How Mirai Labs powers Pegaxy Blaze's worldwide multiplayer races with just-in-time server deployment and fractional vCPU to keep cost per player low.
Case Study

Server Management & Distribution
Matrioshka Games
Read how Matrioshka Games were able to ship a Battle Royale in early access with limited ressources.
Case Study

At my Signal, Unleash Hell!
TyGames
Discover how Indie studio TyGames immerses players in third-person gladiatorial combat multiplayer.
Case Study

Instant Worldwide Orchestration
Soliton Interactive
Discover how Soliton Interactive did the impossible… Ship it's first playable as multiplayer!
Case Study

Competitive play with server-side physics ensures ideal sub-50 ms latency
NS7
Discover why solely Edgegap could enable an indie studio to deliver on its vision for a AAA-quality F2P sports gameplay through server-side physics and authority.
Case Study

Regional Deployments for iGaming
X1 Contra 1
X1 Contra 1 delivers real-time PvP casual games to its Brazilian player base through cost-effective hosting & regional deployments, ensuring data and legal compliance.
Case Study

Pay Only When Players Play: Affordable Multiplayer Infrastructure
Meltdown Interactive
How Edgegap helped indie developer Meltdown Interactive Media solve cost-effective scaling and matchmaking without the complexity, so they could focus on building the game.
Case Study

One Edgegap platform, three very different networking profiles
Warped Games
How Warped Games runs a social hub, real-time co-op, and turn-based co-op, all on the same Edgegap deployment API and the same container pipeline.
Case Study

Pool Live Tour Max
RETA Games
Case Study

Korea’s Web3 POP Extraction Shooter Goes Global, Instantly
NDUS Entertainment
How XOCIETY easily added Edgegap orchestration & integrated custom matchmaking working alongside Edgegap Ping Beacons to optimize latency.
Case Study

Multiplayer in Every Dimension
Arcadia.tv
Discover how Arcadia.tv uses Edgegap's edge network to deliver an innovative, team and location-based athletic VR sport.
Case Study

F2P Mobile Fighter Cuts Infrastructure Costs With Just-in-Time Servers
Game Changers Worldwide
How Game Changer Worldwide hosted Rumble Rush's real-time 3v3 PvP globally on mobile.
Case Study
Key reasons why they chose Edgegap
Discover the impact of Edgegap's automated game server orchestration for a flawless multiplayer experience.









