As a developer and video game administrator, you naturally want to protect your code and network infrastructure. However, you are also responsible for ensuring the security of your players’ data and providing them with a good experience.

Why is security important in video game development?

One of the main reasons is the protection of sensitive data;  both the game’s source code and any personal information that can be collected from the community.

Source code is the backbone of any video game,  so it is essential that it remains secure to prevent unauthorised access or tampering. If an attacker can access the source code, they can exploit its flaws, demand a ransom, or publicly release it – all of which are a disaster for the targeted company.

Security is also vital given that video games often collect and store personal information about players, such as their name, age and email address. It is therefore important to implement strong security measures to protect this data against unauthorised access or theft by external parties.

Ignoring the issue of system security as a whole can compromise a development team’s ability to deliver a game in its final version.

The role of cybersecurity in video game development

Cybersecurity plays a crucial protective role when developing video games, and one of the main methods of protection is to use secure coding practices.

This approach involves the use of best practices and clear guidelines when writing code in order to reduce the risk of vulnerability or exploitation. This may include elements such as input validation, error handling, and the use of secure libraries and frameworks.

Another important aspect of cybersecurity in video game development is the use of secure protocols and encryption to protect data as it is transmitted between devices. This is a key requirement for online games, where players can join from anywhere in the world. Strict controls are also essential to ensure that only authorised personnel can access sensitive data and systems. This may include the use of strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and regular audits to monitor access.

Protecting video games during deployment

DDoS attacks have become commonplace for hackers seeking to disrupt online services, with the gaming industry often becoming a target due to the immense popularity of certain game titles.

When a DDoS attack is launched against a game, the flood of traffic can cause the servers to overload. This results in lags and connection loss, making it impossible for the user to play the game. In some cases, the attack can continue for a prolonged period of time, causing frustration for players.

Preventing these types of attacks

It can be difficult to defend against DDoS attacks, as they usually involve a large number of devices spread across several locations. But game developers and hosting providers can implement certain measures to mitigate the impact of DDoS attacks. These include traffic filtering to identify and block malicious traffic, deploying additional servers to absorb excess traffic, and using specialised DDoS protection services.

It’s important for developers to be proactive in protecting their games against DDoS attacks, as the disruptions caused by these attacks can have serious consequences for their game’s reputation and financial success. By implementing measures to prevent and mitigate these attacks, developers can help ensure a stable, uninterrupted gaming experience.

Protecting your game infrastructure: OVHcloud Anti-DDoS Game

A gaming solution designed by gamers

At OVHcloud, we have developed an Anti-DDoS solution specifically designed for video games. Unlike our standard anti-DDoS protection, which is activated on our entire global infrastructure, it specifically targets attacks carried out with the protocols used by video games. This protection is included with our dedicated servers in the Game range.

On this page, you can find out more about how our anti-DDoS protection works, and a current list of games and applications protected by it.

TrackMania Cup 2022 and OVHcloud Anti-DDoS Game

The tenth ZrT TrackMania Cup took place in June 2022, bringing together 15,000 people at the Accor Arena in Bercy, France. The event was also broadcast live, attracting tens of thousands more people, with a peak of 170,000 viewers. OVHcloud was a partner in the tournament, and during the month-long qualifier stage, provided servers from its Game range. Our Anti-DDoS Game solution, combined with the performance of our servers, ensured that participants had smooth sessions with minimal latency. Plus, the organisers had the satisfaction of a tournament that ran without a hitch. Read the interview with Thimotée Malossane, Technical Director at ZQSD Productions, as he talks about their collaboration with OVHcloud during TrackMania Cup 2022.

The fast-moving video game market

The gaming industry today represents a global market of more than $180 billion. The vast variety of video games and the increasing accessibility offered by multiple platforms, including the smartphone, mean that gaming is becoming more and more popular. This accessibility, coupled with improved graphics performance and high-speed Internet, makes online gaming a big attraction for gamers. The video game industry is also benefitting from the growth of streaming, e-sports and other emerging markets.

Skills and budget

Developing a video game is a collaborative process that brings together a range of different roles, and often includes a strict budget. Specialist skills in the development field is costly, so it’s important to let developers focus on what they do best, while automating non-value-added tasks. Developing a game also requires agility to scale it in line with its needs and target, and in line with its established budget.

From development to launch

Before its official launch, a video game goes through different stages of development. Each design phase collects player feedback and/or identifies bugs and improvements. However, the launch of the game does not necessarily mean that the development is over – downloadable content, updates and bug fixes could still be added. During these stages, it is necessary to collect, store and process data in order to be able to use it effectively. This is also referred to as data processing.

Using the cloud to resolve game developer issues

Scalability

The cloud offers concrete solutions for a better use of resources and budget, but can also ensure more flexible development infrastructures and the smooth running of video games.

With cloud computing, you get a scalable infrastructure that can handle any requests – even the unexpected. The infrastructure adapts to development, not the other way around. It is the ideal solution for absorbing an issue such as sudden high traffic to a game server.

Cost control

Rather than provisioning servers or additional resources, you pay only for the resources you need. The cloud billing system helps you manage your budget, so you can allocate it to what matters most in your projects.

Multiple solutions

With the Public Cloud, you get access to a number of solutions, such as storage, computing resources, machine learning, data processing, managed databases, and container orchestration. Use adapted solutions and APIs to automate all the time-consuming infrastructure tasks that are usually carried out by your teams.

Simplified deployment

The cloud facilitates the deployment of games across multiple platforms, such as computers, smartphones and consoles, without the need to maintain a separate infrastructure for each one.

OVHcloud cloud solutions

Using a cloud service provider like OVHcloud brings you large-scale solutions based on a globally distributed infrastructure. This is an essential element, both for international developer teams and for ensuring that users can play a powerful and reliable game regardless of their location.

A cloud solution adapted to every need

If you work in the gaming industry and you’d like to know more about the benefits of the cloud for your business, read our white paper!

La ZLAN, c’est quoi ?

La ZLAN est une compétition e-sport francophone des plus singulières au monde. Par son aspect « émission TV », elle bénéficie de moyens dignes des plus grosses productions e-sport. Par son côté fun et décalé, elle a la particularité d’être multi-gaming sur des jeux, compétitifs ou non, mais dont les formats ont été adaptés par les équipes. Le tout en fait un événement agréable, à la fois pour les joueurs, les téléspectateurs et les équipes. C’est également l’un des événements e-sport les plus importants en France : il regroupe chaque année des streamers extrêmement connus et des joueurs (professionnels ou amateurs) qui s’affrontent pour tenter de gagner le cash prize de 50 000€ !

La première édition a eu lieu en 2019. On est maintenant à la troisième et, depuis le début, on attire plusieurs millions de viewers et on espère que ça va continuer, en tout cas on fait tout pour !

Les particularités de la ZLAN versus une LAN classique

La ZLAN est une LAN de taille moyenne construite autour de 200 participants choisis à la fois parmi les streamers les plus connus et tirés au sort parmi plusieurs milliers d’inscrits. Tout est adapté au format TV : la décoration, le placement des joueurs, les conditions de jeu, pas de détritus, de papiers, de câbles qui trainent partout. La ZLAN est l’inverse même de l’ancienne LAN de garage.

Le premier défi concerne les jeux choisis eux-mêmes. Le principe même de la ZLAN est de sélectionner des jeux non destinés à la compétition e-sport ou peu connus. Les équipes techniques doivent donc, d’une part, configurer les serveurs dédiés pour accueillir des centaines de joueurs et, d’autre part, adapter les outils de tournois « classiques » pour sortir les résultats et statistiques des matchs.

La compétition repose sur des fondamentaux IT majeurs :

• Une équipe technique expérimentée capable de répondre aux moindres demandes et problèmes (il y en a toujours) rapidement
• Un réseau rapide, fiable et capable de résister à des attaques DDoS
• Des serveurs dédiés fiables capables de recevoir les serveurs de jeux

Des équipes techniques expérimentées, proactives et réactives

Le réel défi technique des équipes de ZQSD Productions est de gérer le réseau pour plus de 500 personnes (joueurs, régie, presse, visiteurs) qui doivent d’abord télécharger chacun 80 GB de jeu à moins de 30 minutes de l’installation, puis maintenir des latences très faibles de jeu.

S’ajoutent à cela les attaques DDoS à répétition sur les événements e-sport. Avec plusieurs ingénieurs réseaux et sécurité, nous mettons en place des réseaux locaux comprenant plus de 60 switchs, le cœur de réseau, le routage et les protections anti-DDoS en moins d’une journée.

Plusieurs outils nécessaires ont été développés tout au long de la ZLAN :

• Un serveur de cache ultra-puissant permettant à plusieurs utilisateurs qui téléchargent un même fichier sur Internet de le télécharger en réalité en local, et donc beaucoup plus vite
• Un RTMP.ME qui permet la multi-diffusion des flux sur les plateformes externes
• Des outils internes de production destinés à l’automatisation des différents softwares et hardwares
• Des outils de liaison Jeu <> Production destinés au transfert automatique de données des jeux vers le broadcast
• Des outils de liaison Spectateurs <> Production destinés au transfert de données spectateurs (sondages, questions, interactions, retours injectés automatiquement en broadcast)
• Des outils de liaison Joueurs/Stats <> Production destinés au transfert de données joueurs (remontées capteurs, résultats, historique injectés automatiquement en broadcast)
• Les sites Internet et Intranet

Une architecture réseau fiable et capable de délivrer la meilleure expérience de jeu

Mettre en place un réseau pour une LAN d’une centaine de joueurs semble facile : quelques switchs, des câbles réseau… En réalité, la ZLAN est une LAN avec plus de 80 streams sortants, 11 jeux complètement différents, 200 joueurs qui nécessitent une connexion parfaite avec une latence minimale, et surtout une protection contre les potentielles attaques DDoS qui se multiplient sur ce genre d’évènement depuis quelques années.

En 2021, chaque joueur a de fortes demandes en réseau pour consulter et interagir sur les réseaux sociaux, ouvrir plusieurs streams, parler sur Discord, Skype, Slack et autres. Tout le monde veut télécharger tous les jeux en moins d’une minute, car certains sont habitués à avoir jusqu’à 1 Gbps chez eux facilement grâce à la fibre, sans oublier les téléphones qui ont besoin d’un Wifi pour les usages du quotidien (quand la 4G ne fonctionne pas bien pour autant de personnes sur le lieu de l’événement).

Il est difficile de se rendre compte que bénéficier d’une telle connexion dans une salle est une chose rare en France. Une salle de plusieurs milliers de m² nécessite des interconnexions et rocades sur des centaines de mètres et plusieurs étages. Le matériel de la salle a pu être posé par un opérateur il y a 5 ans et plus personne ne maîtrise l’environnement (ça fonctionne et c’est déjà bien !). Rajoutez les joueurs et les usages et vous avez un aperçu des défis techniques pour organiser une LAN de cette ampleur aujourd’hui.

Des serveurs dédiés optimisés pour le Gaming, stables et performants

Pour la compétition cette année, nous avions besoin de beaucoup de puissance processeur et mémoire sur nos serveurs. Avec Valheim et Trackmania, nous avions besoin d’un minimum de 128 serveurs de jeu à mettre en place en simultané pour les phases de poule. Nous avons estimé nos besoins à environ 96 cœurs cadencés à 4 GHz ainsi que 500 Go de RAM. Grâce à notre expérience, au vu des jeux et compte tenu de la manière dont sont codés les différents serveurs, la vitesse du processeur est le plus important. Nous nous sommes naturellement tournés vers OVHcloud et leur gamme Game pour répondre à nos besoins de puissance. Nous avons d’ailleurs pu tester en exclusivité 16 serveurs Game-1 basés sur les processeurs AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.

Nos critères de sélection :

• Des années d’expérience avec OVHcloud, un contact commercial rapide et efficace
• Une stabilité à toute épreuve : nous n’avons jamais eu aucun souci de disponibilité sur tous nos événements !
• La mise à disposition rapide des serveurs, critère essentiel pour nous qui travaillons à flux tendu et sur des deadlines évènementielles e-sport très courtes
• La position géographique en France, proche de notre LAN, avec une bande passante largement suffisante qui n’implique pas de surcoût, ce qu’on demande en réalité 😉
• « Last but not least » malgré tous ces critères : un prix pas délirant

Pour aller plus loin dans le monde du Gaming et du e-sport

Ces dernières années, les attaques DDoS à répétition se multiplient sur les évènements e-sport. La maîtrise parfaite des subtilités et des besoins des jeux est essentielle. Les attaques DDoS du monde Gaming sont bien différentes des attaques DDoS qu’on peut retrouver sur un site Internet classique.

Utiliser des serveurs distants implique qu’ils doivent être tout aussi protégés que le réseau LAN. Or, l’anti-DDoS Game OVHcloud est aujourd’hui l’un des seuls à proposer un anti-DDoS réellement efficace pour les jeux, testé et éprouvé lors de plusieurs Trackmania Cup, avec plus de 6 000 joueurs en simultané !

L’anti-DDoS Game est, par ailleurs, intégré par défaut sur l’ensemble de la gamme de serveurs dédiés Game. Il a été développé entièrement pour et par les équipes d’OVHcloud et bénéficie d’une communauté importante d’utilisateurs.

Les équipes OVHcloud ont été ravies d’accompagner une nouvelle fois cette saison e-sport au travers des événements organisés par ZQSD Productions.

Retrouvez la gamme de serveurs dédiés Game basés sur les processeurs AMD Ryzen architecture Zen 3 sur notre site web.

What is ZLAN?

ZLAN is a gaming event based in France, and is one of the world’s most unique e-sports competitions. With its TV-show format, its production quality matches some of the biggest e-sports productions across the globe. The event has a quirky, off-the-wall vibe, and stands out because it streams multiple competitive and non-competitive games at once. The formats have also been adapted by the teams. All this makes it a fun competition for players, viewers and teams. It is also one of the most high-profile e-sports events in France. Every year, it brings together the most well-known streamers and players (professionals and amateurs) who compete to win the €50,000 cash prize.

The first edition took place in 2019. We have now held its third edition — and since the beginning, we have attracted several million viewers. We hope that it will continue to grow in popularity, and we will always keep up the same level of entertainment.

The difference between ZLAN versus a standard LAN

ZLAN is a medium-sized LAN event built around 200 participants. They are selected from among the most well-known streamers, and chosen by several thousand subscribers. Everything is adapted to the TV format: the decoration, the placement of players, the conditions of play, and rules against litter, paper, and cables lying around. ZLAN is the opposite of the LAN parties that became popular from around the early 2000s.

The first challenge involves choosing the games for the event. The goal of ZLAN is to select games that are not intended for e-sports competition, and games that are not very well-known. This means that on the one hand, the technical teams must configure dedicated servers to host hundreds of players. On the other hand, they must also adapt standard tournament tools to get the match results and statistics.

The competition is based on the most fundamental IT requirements:

• An experienced technical team that can quickly resolve even the smallest requests and problems (there always are).
• A fast, reliable network that can withstand DDoS attacks.
• Reliable dedicated servers that can host game servers.

Experienced, proactive and reactive technical teams

The real technical challenge for ZQSD Productions teams is managing the network for more than 500 people (players, management, press, visitors) who must first download 80GB of game each, within 30 minutes of installation — then maintain minimal latency for the games.

In addition to this, e-sports events get hit repeatedly by DDoS attacks. With several network and security engineers, we set up local networks that include more than 60 switches, the network core, routing and anti-DDoS protection in less than a day.

Several necessary tools have been developed throughout the ZLAN:

• An ultra powerful cache server that enables multiple users who download the same file on the internet to actually download it locally, with optimal speed.
• An RTMP.ME that enables multiple broadcasting of feeds on external platforms.
• In-house production tools for automating various types of hardware and software.
• Game <> Production linking tools for automatic data transfer from games to broadcast.
• Spectator <> Production liaison tools for transferring spectator data (surveys, questions, interactions, feedback automatically injected into the broadcast).
• Player/Stats <> Production linking tools for transferring player data (sensor feeds, results, logs automatically injected into the broadcast).
• Internet and intranet sites.

A reliable network architecture that delivers an optimal gaming experience

Setting up a network for a LAN of about 100 players may seem easy, as it just involves connecting some switches, network cables, and other bits of hardware. In reality, ZLAN is a LAN with more than 80 streams, 11 completely different games, 200 players that require a perfect connection with minimal latency — and above all, protection against the growing number of DDoS attacks that have targeted e-sports events in recent years.

In 2021, every player had high demands in terms of network requests to view and interact on social networks, opening multiple streams, and chatting on Discord, Skype, Slack and more. Everyone wants to download all the games in less than a minute, as some are used to having up to 1Gbps at home easily with a fibre connection. We also need to take into account that the phones that need Wi-Fi for everyday use (when 4G connection is weak for many people at the event venue).

It is hard to understand that having this level connection in a room is a rare thing in France. A room of several thousand m² requires interconnections and backbone cabling that covers hundreds of metres, and several floors. The room’s equipment was installed by an operator 5 years ago, and no-one has any control over the environment (it works and it’s already good!). Once you take into account the players and the resource usage, you get an idea of the technical challenges we face organising a LAN of this scale today.

Stable, high-performance dedicated servers optimised for gaming

For this year’s competition, we needed a lot of CPU and memory power on our servers. With Valheim and Trackmania, we needed a minimum of 128 game servers to be set up simultaneously for the knockout rounds. We estimated our requirements at about 96 cores with 4GHz and 500GB RAM. With our experience in terms of video games and the way the various servers are coded, we know that processor speed is the most important factor. Naturally, we opted for OVHcloud and their Game range to meet our power needs. We were also able to test 16 Game-1 servers exclusively, based on AMD Ryzen 5600X processors.

Our selection criteria:

• Years of experience with OVHcloud, with a quick and efficient sales contact.
• Stability under resource-intensive conditions — throughout all of our events, we have never had any availability issues!
• Optimal server allocation, which is an essential factor for us as we work to very short deadlines for e-sports events.
• The geographical position in France, close to our LAN event, with ample bandwidth that does not incur additional costs. This is exactly what we were looking for.
• Last but not least, all of our criteria were met at a reasonable price.

Going further in the world of gaming and e-sports

In recent years, repeated DDoS attacks have ramped up on e-sports events, which means that an in-depth understanding of subtleties and requirements linked to online gaming is vital. DDoS attacks in the gaming world are very different from DDoS attacks that target a standard website.

Since we use remote servers, they must be just as protected as the LAN. However, the OVHcloud anti-DDoS Game protection is now one of the only anti-DDoS solutions to offer a seamless gaming experience. It has been tested during several Trackmania Cup competitions, with over 6,000 players playing simultaneously.

Anti-DDoS Game is also included by default on all Game dedicated servers. It has been developed entirely for and by OVHcloud teams, and has a wide community of users.

The OVHcloud teams have been honoured to support this e-sports season once again, with the events organised by ZQSD Productions.

On our website, you will find the range of Game dedicated servers based on AMD Ryzen Zen 3 architecture processors.