The evolution story of game architecture: PUBG: Battlegrounds, Krafton (GAM311)

PUBG's Modernization Journey with AWS

Key Takeaways

  1. Modernization Journey: Crafton, the developer of PUBG, has been on a journey to modernize the game's architecture, focusing on containerization and adoption of Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).

  2. Challenges and Solutions: Crafton faced challenges like inefficiencies, decreasing productivity, and limited operational agility in their initial architecture. To address these, they embraced containerization and leveraged EKS, Carpenter, and Agones.

  3. Modernizing Lobby and Session Servers: Crafton started by modernizing the Lobby Server, which was relatively less complex, and then moved to modernizing the more complex Session Servers.

  4. Cost Optimization: Crafton adopted AWS Graviton instances to optimize the cost-performance ratio, achieving around 35% cost savings.

  5. Lessons Learned: The key lessons learned include focusing on what matters, being aware of side effects, and having a robust rollback plan.

  6. AWS Support: Crafton leveraged various AWS services and support programs, such as the Countdown service, operation reviews, and workshops, to ensure a smooth modernization journey.

Modernization Efforts

Modernizing the Lobby Server

  1. Crafton started by moving the QA environment of the Lobby Server to containers in November 2018.
  2. The production environment of the Lobby Server was fully containerized by October 2019.

Modernizing the Session Servers

  1. The Session Servers were initially managed using CloudFormation stacks and Auto Scaling groups.
  2. Crafton adopted Agones, a game server orchestration solution, to manage the Session Servers' lifecycle and resource allocation.
  3. Challenges included boot-strapping delays and CPU contention, which were addressed through the use of Carpenter and optimized image management.

Adopting AWS Graviton

  1. Crafton prioritized migrating the Lobby Server to AWS Graviton instances, which offered a 35% cost-performance improvement.
  2. Migrating the more complex Session Servers to Graviton remained a challenge due to the need for modifications in the Unreal codebase and dependent libraries.

Lessons Learned

  1. Focus on What Matters: Crafton actively utilized AWS managed services and open-source software to eliminate unnecessary tasks, allowing them to focus on delivering real value.
  2. Awareness of Side Effects: Crafton was prepared for unexpected side effects, which helped them address challenges more effectively during the migration process.
  3. Prepare for Rollbacks: Crafton always had a rollback plan ready to address unexpected issues and avoid lasting risks.

AWS Support

  1. Countdown Service: Crafton utilized the Countdown service, which provided comprehensive assistance from pre-planning to execution and post-event analysis for major changes.
  2. Operation Reviews and Workshops: Crafton leveraged AWS's operation reviews and workshops to optimize their current architecture and prevent potential issues.
  3. Feedback and Service Improvements: Crafton's feedback on feature requests, such as the host port configuration for Windows systems, led to improvements in AWS services, benefiting the entire community.

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