Skip to main content
PlayFab Multiplayer delivers real-time multiplayer capabilities for matchmaking, grouping, networking, and dedicated server hosting.

Understand multiplayer

What is Multiplayer?

A tour of PlayFab’s multiplayer capabilities.

Multiplayer servers

Dedicated server hosting for real-time gameplay.

Lobby

Group players together before a match.

Matchmaking

Find opponents based on skill, latency, and custom rules.

Party networking

Secure low-latency P2P networking and voice.

Get started

Basics of a PlayFab game server

How dedicated servers are modeled in PlayFab.

Lobby quickstart

Create and join a lobby end-to-end.

Matchmaking quickstart

Ship your first match ticket.

Party SDK quickstart

Connect players with the Party SDK.

Integrate with the GSDK

Wire your game server to the PlayFab Game Server SDK.

Enable PlayFab Party

Turn on Party for your title.

Matchmaking scenarios

Configuration examples for common matchmaking patterns.

Lobby + Matchmaking together

Combine lobbies and matchmaking in one flow.

Local server debugging

Debug game servers locally against PlayFab.

Deploy server builds

Ship a multiplayer server build to the cloud.

Operations

QoS beacons

Measure player latency to Azure regions.

Azure EA billing

Enterprise Agreement billing for PlayFab services.

Multiplayer Servers 2.0 billing

Billing details for the current server platform.

Incident response

PlayFab incident response and communication procedures.

API reference

Party C/C++ API

Complete Party C/C++ reference.

Multiplayer Servers API

Server API and PowerShell quickstart.

Lobby C/C++ API

Complete Lobby C/C++ reference.

Matchmaking C/C++ API

Complete Matchmaking C/C++ reference.

Pricing

Meters overview

How multiplayer usage is metered.

Consumption best practices

Reduce cost for high-volume multiplayer titles.
Last modified on August 6, 2026