gonet
A scalable game server skeleton implemented in Go with hub-based architecture for multiplayer games.
What is gonet?
gonet is a game server skeleton implemented in Go that provides a distributed architecture for building multiplayer game backends. It separates concerns into Game Servers (handling player logic), a Hub Server (managing global state and message forwarding), and a Stats Server (collecting analytics data). The framework solves the problem of creating scalable, maintainable game servers with built-in persistence and communication patterns.
Game developers and backend engineers building multiplayer online games who need a production-ready server framework with Go's performance and concurrency features.
Developers choose gonet for its clean separation of server roles, built-in message persistence, and scalable architecture that allows independent restarting of game servers while maintaining system consistency.
Overview
A Game Server Skeleton in golang.
Use Cases
Best For
- Building scalable multiplayer game backends in Go
- Implementing hub-and-spoke server architectures for games
- Developing games requiring persistent messaging when players are offline
- Creating game servers with separate analytics collection
- Projects needing independent restart capability for game server nodes
- Teams wanting a production-tested game server skeleton to build upon
Not Ideal For
- Real-time games requiring low-latency, fully asynchronous communication to avoid ACK delays
- Teams seeking a turnkey solution with built-in matchmaking, lobbies, or social features
- Developers needing serverless or cloud-native architectures with automatic scaling and no single points of failure
- Projects where MongoDB is not preferred or where database flexibility is critical
Pros & Cons
Pros
Clearly separates Game Servers, Hub, and Stats Server roles, allowing independent scaling and restart of GS instances as stated in the deployment section.
Unicast messages are stored in MongoDB when players are offline and delivered on login, ensuring reliable communication without message loss, as per the communication principles.
Includes a dedicated Stats Server for collecting player behavior data without impacting game performance, enabling easy integration of analytics for post-analysis.
GS to HUB/SS calls are synchronous with ACK confirmation, providing consistent and reliable communication for critical operations, as emphasized in the communication principles.
Cons
HUB restart requires all Game Servers to restart, causing potential downtime and complicating high-availability deployments, as noted in the server state consistency section.
Installation prerequisites include specific tools like graphviz and gawk, plus MongoDB dependency, adding overhead for teams not already using these technologies.
The README indicates this version (gonet1) is no longer maintained, with a recommendation to move to gonet2, risking lack of updates, security patches, and community support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
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G3NGo 3D Game Engine (http://g3n.rocks)
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