Core Game Tech: Why We Recommend the Heroic Labs Game Stack
At Code Wizards, we’ve been through every stage of the game development lifecycle – design, development, scaling, live operations, you name it. We’ve worked with a whole bunch of studios, all using different tech stacks, launching on different platforms, and facing all kinds of technical nightmares. Have we seen it all?
When you’re deciding on the foundation for your next game (or the next ten), the first question is usually ‘build vs. buy’. While we love rolling up our sleeves and helping studios with both, the reality is that the state of available game tech and cloud game development has come a long way. It is increasingly difficult to justify the time, expense, and inevitable tech debt that results from building your game tech stack internally.
One of the best solutions we’ve come across is the Heroic Game Stack by Heroic Labs. We partner with Heroic Labs to help many of our clients migrate away from unreliable or overly expensive backend solutions, build rich social and competitive experiences into their games, and implement live operations strategies to grow their games into something truly special.
Why Use the Heroic Labs Game Stack?
Heroic Labs has built a solid suite of tools that covers every stage of game development and live operations.Best of all, the Heroic Game Stack is composable, meaning it’s modular – just use what makes sense for your game right now, and bring in more pieces if and when you need them.
The Heroic Game Stack works as a full standalone suite, but it also works seamlessly alongside your existing tech. No matter if you’re looking for a powerful game server, better LiveOps tools, or a fully scalable backend for cloud game development, this stack has something for you.
There are four core pieces of game tech offered by Heroic Labs, each tried and tested by us as part of our own research into market solutions as well as during customer engagements. These are:
Nakama
An open-source game server packed with social and competitive features – leaderboards, matchmaking, chat, and more. Great for a game that needs a solid multiplayer backbone.
Hiro
A game dev kit built for Nakama that makes adding social, economy, and LiveOps features ridiculously fast. A strong choice for those looking for a smoother, quicker dev cycle.
Satori
A fully hosted solution that scales effortlessly. No surprise pricing, no-nonsense. Ideal for games that need backend power without backend headaches.
Heroic Cloud
A LiveOps platform specifically designed for game studios. Heroic Cloud takes all the guesswork out of managing live events, A/B testing, audience segmentation, and game balancing.
How We Can Help
So you’re sold on the Heroic game tech stack. Good choice. But making the switch isn’t always plug-and-play, especially if you’re migrating from another platform. That’s where we come in.
Migrating Without the Mess
If you’re looking to move from a legacy backend (something like a third-party solution or homegrown system that’s held together with duct tape), we can help get you onto Nakama with minimal downtime. Our team will:
- Audit your existing setup – figuring out what needs to be moved, rebuilt, or optimised
- Handle the migration process – so you don’t end up with broken features or angry players
- Optimise your new backend – to make sure you’re getting the most out of Nakama’s performance and scalability
We’ve done this for plenty of studios, and we know the common pitfalls. Let us handle the messy bits so you can focus on building great games.
Setting Up for Success from Day One
Integrating Hiro and Nakama early makes life way easier in the long run. We can:
- Help set up multiplayer, social, and economy features right from the start
- Make sure your backend is built to scale, so you don’t hit a wall when player numbers spike
- Work alongside your team to train devs on best practices for working with Nakama and Hiro
Maxing Out Your LiveOps Game
Already launched? It’s not too late to level up your LiveOps. Whether you’re working with Satori or Heroic Cloud (or you intend to), we can help:
- Integrate Satori into your game client code so you can take full advantage of its scalable backend
- Set up audience segmentation (because not all players are the same, and your monetisation strategy shouldn’t be either)
- Run smarter A/B tests to tweak game balance, pricing models, and engagement strategies based on real data
LiveOps can be the difference between a game that fizzles out and a game that thrives for years. If you want to make sure your game is in the second category, we’re here to help.
Let’s Make It Happen
If you’re looking to migrate, integrate, or just make sure you’re getting the most out of the Heroic Labs Game Stack, talk to the Wizards today.