AWS announces support for Android, iOS, and MacOS games with AWS GameKit for Unreal Engine

We’re pleased to announce that AWS GameKit now supports Android, iOS, and MacOS games developed with Unreal Engine. Launched on March 23, 2022, AWS GameKit gives game developers the ability to build AWS powered game features, directly from the Unreal Editor, with just a few clicks. With today’s update, the AWS GameKit plugin for Unreal Engine now supports game developers who are building games for Win64, MacOS, Android, and iOS.

Game developers can use the AWS GameKit plugin for Unreal Engine to integrate the following cloud-based game features into their Win64, MacOS, Android, or iOS games:

• Identity and Authentication: Create unique identities for each player and allow players to sign into your game. Verify player identities and manage player sessions.
• Achievements: Create and track game-related rewards earned by players.
• Game State Cloud Saving: Maintain a synchronized copy of player game progress in the cloud to allow players to resume gameplay across sessions.
• User Gameplay Data: Maintain game-related data for each player, such as inventory, statistics, and cross-play persistence.

AWS GameKit includes a complete solution for each game feature and an architecture design based on the AWS Well-Architected Framework. Each feature comes with an AWS CloudFormation template for the backend architecture, plugin controls to manage the backend from the Unreal Editor, and sample C++ code and Blueprint assets to help you integrate the feature into your game. AWS CloudFormation templates provision all of the AWS resources needed to power each game feature and can be set up with just a few clicks and no prior experience with AWS tools and services. After the game backend is configured, simply add cloud-based feature functionality to the game client by calling the GameKit API.

AWS GameKit is a powerful tool set for game developers who want to self-manage a game’s cloud resources. Each feature is fully customizable and runs in the developer’s AWS account. Get started fast by using the core AWS GameKit solutions, and customize and extend them to meet the needs of your game. AWS GameKit provides access to the source code to give visibility into each game feature and the ability to customize.

Game developers can find the AWS GameKit plugin in the Unreal Engine Marketplace, or download it directly from the AWS GameKit website. The download includes libraries, samples, and additional documentation. Learn more with the following resources:

• AWS re:post forum: Share tips with other AWS GameKit users and get the latest news on feature releases. Help us iterate and expand our game feature sets by sharing your feedback and feature requests.
• AWS GameKit GitHub Repo: A C++ Library for AWS GameKit
• AWS GameKit for Unreal Engine GitHub Repo: Source code for the AWS GameKit plugin.
• AWS GameKit documentation: Refer to the Developer Guide for help building cloud-based game features with AWS GameKit. New content with this release includes:
  • Package a game project with AWS GameKit: Instructions for packaging your mobile game for distribution. Topic covers packaging for Windows, Android, and iOS.
  • Production readiness guide: How to prepare your games on AWS for production-level usage and loads, including testing, setting up dashboards, and scaling capacity.

Keep an eye out for future releases and support for Unreal Engine 5 and Unity Engine. Learn more and download AWS GameKit from the AWS GameKit website or our GitHub Repository. Visit AWS re:post to reach out to us with any questions or share tips with other AWS GameKit users. Help us iterate and expand our game feature sets by sharing feedback and feature requests. If you are interested in joining the AWS GameKit interest list to receive latest news and updates, please fill out this form to stay up to date on announcements.