Decentralization: a Solution to Trust

A decentralized system is one in which dependencies are distributed amongst a variety of service providers so that those who depend on the services aren’t exposed to risks if any one of them discontinues services or changes their business model. Decentralization addresses the problem of centralized dependencies, such as those inherent in the backend service providers discussed above.

Beamable is a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) product that helps developers rapidly implement and deploy Live Services for their games. The platform has added more distributed and decentralized interfaces, including a “Private Cloud” version that allows the software stack to be deployed on a game’s self-hosted infrastructure.

Beamable intends to fully decentralize its microservices architecture and distribute it to a network of independent node operators. This has been done in the past for projects like Seti@Home and Folding@Home, where the underused computational capacity in everyday computers was tapped to search for extraterrestrial life and solutions to disease. Indeed, during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Folding@Home aggregated compute from enough computers to create a 1.5 exaflop virtual supercomputer.

Beamable will aggregate unused computational capacity to do the same for computer gaming, freeing game developers from reliance on centralized tech, expensive backend buildouts, and the whims of larger infrastructure companies. This benefits developers in multiple ways:

• De-risk by giving developers a network of standardized service providers

• Scale by distributing gaming workloads over a diversified network of node operators

• Interoperate: Grow an ecosystem of interoperable software that shares the same compute, deployment, and scale-out architecture

Beamable’s architecture is ideal for such a network. It is already built around highly scalable microservices, which means it distributes and orchestrates software modules across a networked virtual machine infrastructure. These modules are independently deployed, executed, and scaled up as demand requires. This means capacity may be added to the network using independent node operators, expanding beyond the current centralized and on-prem networks it operates on.

In addition, Beamable has the advantage of a deep investment in workflow and tooling that speeds adoption. This includes an SDK for Unity and Unreal that makes it easy to create server code for a game or metaverse applications for inside the native authoring environment. In addition to a game’s custom code, this also includes a marketplace ecosystem of plug-in components enabling microservices to interoperate with other third-party software ranging from blockchain integrations to generative AI, analytics, real-time multiplayer features, and any number of other flexible use cases.