Creating multiplayer games is complex. As the 3D market accelerates its evolution into live games, it is becoming more common for creators to feel overwhelmed by the technology and steps required to build those games. At Unity, we strive to push the boundaries of game development and equip developers with the best tools they need for building great gaming experiences.
To that end, we are thrilled to announce the release of Megacity Multiplayer, our new competitive-action multiplayer sample. This release marks a significant milestone for our team, as it showcases how creators can build ambitious multiplayer titles that support more than 64 concurrent players while leveraging Unity Gaming Services (UGS) solutions like Game Server Hosting, Authentication, Voice Chat, and Matchmaker.
Players will begin Megacity Multiplayer by hosting or joining a game server, which can either be set up locally on a player’s device or via Game Server Hosting.
Once connected, players will join a lobby and be transported into the massive game world of Megacity Multiplayer, which features an immersive environment to play and chat with others. In Megacity Multiplayer, players earn points by shooting other cars while competing for the top spot displayed on the leaderboard.
Our Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) adds much power to the Unity engine so that creators can build more ambitious games. A key feature of DOTS, the Entity Component System (ECS), shipped with Unity 2022 LTS. With this release, the Megacity Multiplayer sample demonstrates built-in features for supporting more than 64 concurrent players.
Megacity Multiplayer illustrates how Unity and the Netcode for Entities package can work together to power large-scale multiplayer games without compromising performance. Seasoned creators are able to achieve an unprecedented and extensible level of control and determinism with ECS for Unity.
Megacity Multiplayer helps you learn how to structure, network, and operate a competitive-action multiplayer game with solutions from the Unity ecosystem. It also showcases how creators can leverage UGS to develop engaging multiplayer games. For example, Game Server Hosting offers a streamlined approach to maintaining resiliency and scalability in gaming infrastructure, and Matchmaker, Voice Chat, and Authentication are used to connect your players and facilitate in-game communication.
We eagerly await your feedback so we can further refine and enhance the multiplayer developer experience. Your insights and suggestions ensure we provide useful samples that inspire and empower our creators.
Our current planning includes porting the Megacity Multiplayer sample to the Universal Render Pipeline (URP) to aid in the demonstration of how true, crossplay competitive action can be built with Unity tools. Stay tuned.
Get the sample and request features or updates via our public roadmap. Then, keep up with the latest on Megacity by staying in touch with us and sharing your experience (or asking questions) on Discord or in the forums.