Next Games meets demands for high performance and scalability with Azure

Games developer Next Games develops free-to-play mobile games including Compass Point: West and official games for popular entertainment franchises like The Walking Dead and Stranger Things. As gamers’ demands have increased over recent years, Next Games has had to supply a reliable, scalable and highly secure platform that meets these expectations for higher performance and accurate player data.

The Next Games team chose Microsoft Azure to host its entire environment because of its app lifecycle, management resources Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Service Fabric and powerful databases. Next Games is now able to build, release and maintain multiple titles at once on a single custom platform.

“We couldn’t scale our team fast enough, so we needed a managed service cloud provider,” said Kalle Hiitola, Chief Technology Officer at Next Games. “Azure offered cost-effective managed services and supported our game engine’s code. Microsoft was well ahead of the game. With Azure, we no longer have to start new games completely from scratch. Our developers don’t have to worry about the technology, so they’re free to focus on creating more engaging gameplay."

Next Games worked closely with Microsoft technical specialists to help set up each Azure resource correctly. “The support from Microsoft has been astounding,” said Hiitola. “We’re a relatively lean team, so having that expertise on hand—especially when we adopt a new Azure resource—has been indispensable.”

Since running everything from development to real-time gameplay on Azure, Next Games has been able to streamline game creation and create more memorable and fair gaming experiences for players, which helps foster loyalty. It has also become more agile than ever and can release updates to its games immediately after an episode has aired.

Next Games now has its sights set on global expansion. “Our games are currently available in the United States and Europe,” added Hiitola. “But Azure’s global coverage means that if, for example, a future title gains popularity in Asia, we’re confident we can meet demand without breaking a sweat.”