Supercell Leverages AWS for Seamless and Scalable Gaming Experience

Summary

Supercell, the creator of popular games like Hay Day, Clash of Clans, and Brawl Stars, operates on a massive scale with over 200 million active users monthly. To ensure a seamless gaming experience, they rely on AWS, specifically AWS Aurora, to manage their databases. By transitioning from self-hosted MySQL to Aurora, Supercell has significantly reduced downtime and eliminated maintenance breaks, allowing players to enjoy uninterrupted gameplay. This shift also frees up resources for the development of new game features, ensuring a continuous focus on enhancing the player experience.

Takeaways

• 😀 Supercell is a game company based in Helsinki, Finland, with additional offices in Shanghai, Seoul, and San Francisco.
• 😀 The company has five globally launched games: Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale, and Brawl Stars.
• 😀 Supercell's combined monthly active users across these games total roughly 200 million.
• 😀 With such a large user base, Supercell must ensure a smooth and reliable gaming experience for millions of players every month.
• 😀 AWS was chosen by Supercell because it can scale to meet their high demands and handle the volume of users and data.
• 😀 AWS supports not only production scale but also various testing environments, including load tests, providing flexibility.
• 😀 Supercell migrated to AWS Aurora because it is MySQL-compatible, making the transition smoother than switching to a completely new system.
• 😀 One of the key benefits of AWS Aurora is reducing downtime, allowing Supercell to maintain uninterrupted game experiences for players.
• 😀 Aurora automatically handles issues like database server breakdowns, preventing the need for maintenance breaks.
• 😀 The migration to AWS Aurora has allowed Supercell to focus more on game feature development, rather than troubleshooting hardware problems.

Q & A

Where is Supercell based, and where are its additional offices located?

Supercell is based in Helsinki, Finland, with additional offices in Shanghai, Seoul, and San Francisco.

What are the five games launched globally by Supercell?

The five games launched globally by Supercell are Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale, and Brawl Stars.

What is the combined number of monthly active users across Supercell's games?

The combined number of monthly active users for Supercell's games is approximately 200 million.

What challenge does Supercell face with its large user base?

Supercell faces the challenge of providing a reliable and smooth game experience for hundreds of millions of players every month.

Why did Supercell choose AWS for its cloud infrastructure?

Supercell chose AWS because it can handle the large scale of their operations and offers flexibility for both production environments and testing.

What types of environments does Supercell use AWS for, aside from production?

Aside from production environments, Supercell uses AWS for testing environments and load tests.

What specific AWS service did Supercell choose for database management, and why?

Supercell chose AWS Aurora because it offers MySQL-compatible versions, making it easier to migrate from their previous MySQL setup.

How did AWS Aurora help Supercell with downtime management?

AWS Aurora helped reduce downtime by automatically handling database server failures, eliminating the need for maintenance breaks and ensuring uninterrupted gameplay.

How did switching to AWS Aurora impact Supercell’s development process?

Switching to AWS Aurora reduced the time spent troubleshooting hardware issues, allowing Supercell to focus more on developing new features for their games.

What is the main benefit Supercell gained from moving from self-hosted MySQL to AWS Aurora?

The main benefit of moving to AWS Aurora was the reduction in downtime, ensuring that players could enjoy a seamless gaming experience without interruptions.