Build and run your own multiplayer game backend with matchmaking, leaderboards, and LiveOps tools right out of the box.
Namazu Elements is a server-authoritative, open source game backend and multiplayer server platform built for online and connected games.
- Designed to be self-hosted, so you keep full ownership of your game backend and player data.
- Structured for real-time multiplayer and LiveOps from day one.
- Built for maximum performance and extensibility.
- Easy-to-use plug-in system for custom server logic.
Ship matchmaking, leaderboards, inventory, authentication, and progression systems without building a game server backend from scratch.
Run a self-hosted, server-authoritative multiplayer architecture you control. Extend it with custom server-side logic using our robust plug-in system.
Use a structured, modular game server platform instead of maintaining a pile of microservices.
Namazu Elements includes everything you need to run a modern multiplayer game backend:
- Player Authentication and Registration
- OAuth2 and OIDC Support
- Player Profiles
- Matchmaking Service
- Leaderboards and Leaderboard APIs
- Inventory and Digital Economy Tools
- Quests and Missions
- Fully Documented REST APIs
- WebSocket Support for High-Performance Matchmaking
- WebRTC-Based Matchmaking and Peer-to-Peer Realtime Multiplayer
- Fully Authoritative Multiplayer Game Server
- Robust CMS for Configuration and Deployment
- Shard-Ready MongoDB Database
All designed around a server-authoritative multiplayer model.
We offer several ways to get started self-hosting your game backend right away — locally, in your own cloud, or through a professionally managed service.
Great for spinning up a local game server for new projects.
git clone https://github.com/NamazuStudios/docker-compose
cd docker-compose
docker compose up➡ Start here:
https://github.com/NamazuStudios/docker-compose
Provision infrastructure and deploy your self-hosted game backend automatically with Terraform.
➡ Community Edition for AWS: https://github.com/NamazuStudios/community-edition-aws
Two ready-to-deploy configurations for your game server backend: Single Instance for development and smaller titles, and High Availability for production multiplayer workloads that need to scale. Both include private helpdesk support from the team at Namazu Studios.
Both run inside your own AWS account, so your player data never leaves your infrastructure. You get a tuned, production-ready backend deployment without standing up the VPC, database, TLS, and scaling policies yourself. Billing runs through your existing AWS account, with no separate vendor agreement.
➡ Single Instance - https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-wek3bq36blu7k
➡ High Availability - https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-ybfuglnocelki
Namazu Cloud is fully managed Elements — a hosted game backend as a service, run by the team that builds it. Now in closed beta, with a one-month free trial for accepted teams. Supports automatic scaling, backups, a fully managed database, custom subdomains, and help desk support from the Namazu Studios team.
➡ Request beta access: https://cloud.namazustudios.com/?signup
Add multiplayer to your Unity game with a generated C# API client, Crossfire multiplayer signaling, and WebRTC transport over Unity Netcode.
- Generate a C# API client
- Use Crossfire for multiplayer signaling
- Run WebRTC transport with Unity Netcode
- Unity Asset Store Coming Soon
- https://github.com/NamazuStudios/crossfire
- Coming Soon to the Unity Asset Store
Deploy dedicated game servers across multiple container engines with a single, unified API.
- Officially Supported by GameMaker
- Use our RESTful game backend APIs directly in GML code
- Use Crossfire's WebSocket messaging to implement real-time multiplayer
➡ Getting Started with GameMaker
Most backend services for games are:
- Closed source
- Expensive at scale
- Difficult to extend
- Lacking in data sovereignty
Elements is different.
You host it. You extend it. You own it.
It's an open source game backend designed to be truly extensible at the server layer.
Elements supports modular server extensions called Elements.
Build your own game server features in Java, Kotlin, Scala, or any other JVM-compatible language. Package and deploy them into your multiplayer backend.
https://github.com/NamazuStudios/element-example
- Server-authoritative multiplayer core
- MongoDB-backed game database
- Modular Java architecture
- REST and WebSocket APIs
- Unity integration layer
- Optional WebRTC P2P transport via Crossfire
Designed for multiplayer and LiveOps from day one.
Full docs: https://namazustudios.com/docs/
Quick start guide: https://namazustudios.com/docs/getting-started/
Need help with your game backend? Want to contribute?
Elements is open source under MPL 2.0, with specific allowances for SDK and plugin usage. See the license in the Elements repository for full details.
We believe multiplayer game infrastructure should be:
- Open
- Extensible
- Community-Owned
- Free as in Speech and Beer
Namazu Elements is our answer.
If you're building a connected, multiplayer game, start here.
We support Namazu Elements and all our open source products through our support policy. If you find a security issue, please read the security guide before reporting. We take security bugs seriously and will respond as fast as possible.