Players rubber-band.
Movement and abilities feel fine locally and fall apart with real latency.
Prediction and correction that hold up under lag
Unreal Engine multiplayer development
Many multiplayer problems we see come from a few actor classes replicating too much, too often. We find them in a recorded session, start with the cheapest fix and measure every change.
| Actor | Relevancy | Update rate | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player character | Owner always, others by distance | Full rate; lower priority at range | Character movement prediction; stats via push model |
| Projectile | By distance | Spawn and impact only | Cosmetic copy fired locally; the server spawns the real one and decides hits |
| Loot pickup | By distance | Dormant until changed | Initial dormancy, flushed on pickup |
| Door or switch | By distance | Dormant | Push-model state; dormancy flushed on each change |
In practice
What a network audit involves
We record one representative session, ideally a real playtest, with Unreal Insights on the server and on two clients. From those captures we list every actor class by the bandwidth and server time it costs.
In most projects a few classes account for most of the traffic: characters, projectiles and often something nobody expected, such as an actor with a replicated property that changes every frame. The fix plan ranks those classes and starts with the cheapest change: a lower update rate, dormancy, push-model properties or moving cosmetic effects to the client.
Each change is measured against the same scripted test scenario, so you see its effect in numbers. Latency and packet loss are simulated with the engine's network emulation before anything goes to a public playtest.
Multiplayer work we do
Replication architecture
Ownership, relevancy, update frequency, dormancy and push-model replication planned per actor type, with Replication Graph or Iris where they suit the project.
Movement and ability prediction
Character movement, custom movement modes and GAS prediction tuned for real network conditions.
Dedicated servers
Server target configuration, automated server builds and deployment, and help choosing where to host.
Online services
Sessions, lobbies, friends and achievements with Epic Online Services or Steamworks, plus matchmaking.
Backend
Accounts, progression, inventories and the APIs a live game calls, built in JavaScript with data stored outside the game server.
Network profiling
Unreal Insights captures, including Networking Insights, that show what costs bandwidth and server CPU time.
Problems we are asked to fix
Bandwidth is too high.
Actors replicate more often, and to more clients, than the game needs.
Measured replication budgets per actor
Multiplayer was added late.
The game was built single-player, and now everything assumes one local player.
A plan to retrofit networking safely
Server costs keep growing.
Each match needs more server CPU than planned, so hosting costs rise with every player.
Server tick profiled and budgeted
Your multiplayer team
See the whole team.
Yura
Multiplayer & Online EngineerLeads the network audit, the replication changes and the online services.
Frank
Backend & Web EngineerBuilds the backend services and APIs the game calls: accounts, progression and inventories.
FOUNDER
David
Founder & Lead DeveloperReviews gameplay code that has to change for prediction.
Jordan
QA & Test Automation EngineerRuns the latency and load tests before each playtest.
Unreal multiplayer FAQ
Can you add multiplayer to a single-player game?
Often, yes, but it is rarely cheap. We start with an audit that tells you what has to change and roughly how much work it is.
Do you work with EOS and Steam?
Yes. We integrate sessions, lobbies and accounts with Epic Online Services or Steamworks, and can support both in one game.
Do you host the servers?
We set up and automate dedicated server builds and deployment on the hosting you choose. The hosting contract stays with you.
Related services
Start a project
Tell us about the project
Send us the engine version, where the project is and the work you need done. We reply within two business days with who we would put on it, or tell you it is not a fit.
Prefer email?hello@moduleforge.studio