Three common ways to host a match
Every online match needs somewhere to run. The choice of where changes how stable the game feels, how much it costs to operate, and how easy it is to cheat. There are three arrangements you will hear about most.
- Dedicated server. A machine that exists only to run matches, usually operated by the game’s publisher or a hosting provider. Players are all clients connecting to it.
- Listen server, or player-hosted. One player’s own console or PC runs the match and also plays in it. Everyone else connects to that player.
- Peer to peer. There is no single central machine. Players’ devices exchange data directly with each other, and the game logic is shared out among them.
The terms are used loosely. Some games blend them, for example by using a company’s service to introduce players to each other and then letting one player’s device act as host.
Dedicated servers
A dedicated server is usually located in a data center with a stable, well-provisioned connection. Because it is not also drawing graphics for a player, it can concentrate on running the match.
Typical advantages include:
- Consistency. Nobody’s home internet connection is the weak link, so one player’s poor connection is less likely to disturb everyone else.
- No host advantage. Every player connects the same way, so nobody is playing against themselves at zero delay.
- Control over cheating. Since the server holds the official state of the match, it can reject impossible actions. This does not remove cheating, but it gives the developer a firm place to check things.
- Matches survive a player leaving. If one person quits, the match generally continues.
The main drawback is cost and effort. Someone has to pay for servers, place them in different regions, and keep them running. Popular games can need many machines at peak times and fewer at quiet times, which makes planning difficult. If the operator stops paying for them, the game can lose its online features, a situation covered in the piece on server shutdowns.
Player-hosted matches
In a player-hosted game, the host’s machine is the server. This is cheap for the developer and has long been common, from small private matches to many console games. It is also how community-run servers on PC work, though those are usually dedicated programs run by volunteers rather than a player who is also in the match.
The trade-offs are the reverse of the list above.
- Host advantage. The host sees their own actions with no network delay, while everyone else waits for messages to travel. This can make the match feel more favorable to the host, depending on how the game handles it.
- Dependence on one connection. If the host has slow or unreliable internet, everyone suffers. Some games can pick a new host if the original leaves, which is often called host migration, but the switch can interrupt play.
- More cheating risk. A host with modified software may be able to affect the match, because the host’s machine is trusted to run the rules.
For a casual or private game among friends these downsides may be unimportant, and the lack of server cost can be what makes the game possible at all.
Peer-to-peer connections
In a true peer-to-peer design, each player’s device talks to the others directly. Two-player games are the simplest case, because there are only two machines. As the number of players grows, the number of links between them grows quickly, since every device may have to talk to all of the others. This is one reason pure peer designs are more common in smaller matches.
Direct connections also run into the way home routers work. A router usually blocks unsolicited incoming traffic, so two players behind different routers may need special techniques to reach each other. When those fail, connection problems appear, as explained under NAT types. Dedicated servers avoid much of this because the server accepts connections from clients rather than the other way around.
Peer-to-peer designs have a place in some genres, such as fighting games, where two players exchange only their inputs and each machine runs the match in step. Handling delay in that setting uses a different set of techniques from server-based shooters, and the details vary between games.
Cost, fairness and trust
Choosing between these models is rarely about one factor.
- Cost favors player hosting and peer designs.
- Fairness and stability usually favor dedicated servers.
- Security favors servers that the developer controls.
- Longevity can go either way. Dedicated servers depend on the company, while some peer or community-run options can keep working after official support ends.
Competitive modes often lean toward dedicated servers because fairness matters more there. Casual and party modes more often accept the compromises of a player host. Many games use both, depending on the mode.
How to tell what a game is using
Games do not always say. Signs of a dedicated server include a server region selector, matches that continue after players leave, and an official server browser. Signs of player hosting include a lobby leader who can end the session, or a “host” label in the menu. Some players check their connection details in-game, but those readings are usually only approximate guides.
Whichever model is used, the final feel of the match still depends on the quality of each player’s connection, including measures such as ping time. Hosting is one important piece, not the whole picture.