AWS Databases for Games
Whether it’s leaderboards, virtual goods, or even cheat detection, players generate a ton of data that needs to be processed, stored, and accessed in real-time.
Purpose-built and battle-tested
Choose from AWS's portfolio of 15 purpose-built databases that support diverse data models and allows you to build use case driven, highly scalable, distributed games.
Built for mission-critical game workloads, AWS Databases offer high availability, reliability, and multiple levels of security including encryption at rest and in-transit.
Start small and scale as your game grows. Purpose-built databases are optimized for the data model you need, enabling your game to scale and perform better at 1/10 the cost versus commercial databases.
Focus on building your game while AWS continuously monitors your clusters to keep workloads up and running with self-healing storage and automated scaling.
Featured use cases for AWS Databases
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Build a leaderboard
Give players a feeling of accomplishment and engage them to play for the top rank of on a leaderboard.
How to build a serverless leaderboard
Leaderboards are an essential part of development for today’s games. Leaderboards need to have the flexibility to grow with the demand of the game and allow developers to focus on what makes their game unique. Building a leaderboard with AWS is easy to setup, simple to manage, and can withstand large surges in traffic.
Services used to create a serverless leaderboard
The following AWS services are used to create a customizable leaderboard system that updates and retrieves multiple player score entries while enhancing the user experience for games.
Service Purpose
Purpose in serverless leaderboard
Learn more about this service
Amazon API Gateway
Build, deploy, and manage APIs Uses websockets for real-time updates to the leaderboard. Amazon Cognito
Identity management for your apps
Authenticates a player's identification.
AWS Lambda
Run code without thinking about servers
Updates client when there are changes in user data.
Amazon ElastiCache In-memory caching service Records and updates the changes to the leaderboard. Amazon DynamoDB Managed NoSQL database Store supporting leaderboard data and add embellishment alongside player results.
Amazon Pinpoint
Personalized user engagement across channels
Sends a push notification to a player about top rankings.
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Model player data for a multiplayer game
Update player records, like number of kills or wins, and hours spent playing, for your multiplayer game.
How to model game player data with Amazon DynamoDB
Add a database to your game to model player data using Amazon DynamoDB, a fast and flexible NoSQL service from AWS. DynamoDB is a popular database service for games because it is designed for high-scale use cases where consistent performance is critical as an application grows. Plan data models and design a DynamoDB table to handle the access patterns by using secondary indexes and transactions.
Services used to model player data for a multiplayer game
Service Purpose
Purpose in inventory system for games
Learn more about this service
Amazon DynamoDB
Managed NoSQL database Design game access patterns and store player data.
AWS Cloud9 Cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you write, run, and debug your code with just a browser Provision development environment so you don't have to install files or configure your laptop. Getting started
Step-by-step TutorialModeling Game Player Data with Amazon DynamoDB »DocumentationAmazon DynamoDB documentation »
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Create an inventory system for your game
Players can find, purchase, sell, and trade items in your game.
How to build inventory systems for games
Imagine you are building a massively multiplayer online game (MMO). In your game, thousands or more users may be playing at the same time, and your architecture must handle the load. As part of your application, you have an inventory system. Players can find, purchase, sell, and trade items, and you need to store this information in a database. Provision and configure Amazon Aurora Serverless to handle the inventory system in your game. Amazon Aurora Serverless provides top-tier performance with the ease and familiarity of a relational database.
Services used to build inventory systems
Service Purpose
Purpose in inventory system for games
Learn more about this service
Amazon Aurora Serverless
High performance managed relational database Store player, item, and inventory data
AWS Cloud9 Cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you write, run, and debug your code with just a browser Provision development environment so you don't have to install files or configure your laptop
AWS Secrets Manager
Rotate, manage, and retrieve database credentials, API keys, and other secrets through their lifecycle Save your database credentials which are required for Data API usage
Amazon Cognito Identity management for your applications Authenticate a player's identification AWS Lambda Run code without thinking about servers
Updates client when there are changes in user data Amazon API Gateway Build, deploy, and manage APIs
Uses websockets for updates to a player's inventory Getting Started
Step-by-step TutorialInventory System for Games with Amazon Aurora Serverless »DocumentationAmazon Aurora Documentation »
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Build a turn-based game
Create a two-player, turn-based game with push notifications.
How to build a turn-based game with Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon SNS
To build a turn-based game, you need to save the state of an existing game and notify players at various points in a game. You notify them when a player invites them to a new game, when it is their turn to play, and when a winner has been decided. You can use Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon SNS to handle these needs for a turn-based game. Amazon DynamoDB is used to store the state of an existing game so that it persists between turns. Amazon SNS is used to notify players at key points in the game.
Services used to build a turn-based game
Service Purpose
Purpose in inventory system for games
Learn more about this service
Amazon DynamoDB
Fully-managed, NoSQL database that provides lightning-fast performance at any scale
Store game state that persists between turns.
Amazon SNS
High-volume messaging service that allows for pub/sub functionality as well as messaging directly to SMS, email, or mobile applications
Notify players when it's their turn to play.
AWS Cloud9 Cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you write, run, and debug your code with just a browser Provision development environment so you don't have to install files or configure your laptop Amazon Cognito Identity management for your applications Authenticate a player's identification. AWS Lambda Run code without thinking about servers
Updates client when there are changes in user data. Amazon API Gateway Build, deploy, and manage APIs
Uses websockets for updates to a player's inventory. Getting started
Step-by-step TutorialBuild a turn-based game with Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon SNS »DocumentationAmazon DynamoDB documentation »
Meet studios using AWS Databases
Get started with AWS Databases
Learn how to use databases for game workloads with step-by-step tutorials, technical guides, and webinars with game tech experts.
Contact us.
Whether you’re a team of one or one thousand, we’d love to learn more about your game development needs.
