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Inside Track - Why Zeuz thinks it can make multiplayer games development easier

Inside Track - Why Zeuz thinks it can make multiplayer games development easier

Set up by game server rental company GPortal in 2018, Zeuz is a brand new engine firm that's looking to make multiplayer development easier. The venture is already off to a strong start, attracting €3m ($3.3m) in funding at the end of 2018 from VC firms Vito and Holtzbrinck, as well as working with developers including Funcom, Snail Games and The Farm 51. CEO and co-founder Markus Schneider tells us more 

Tell us about your company.

At Zeuz we’re working on creating a multiplayer engine that caters to all outlets and platforms. Our goal is to take away the pain of multiplayer game development and help the developers out there to focus on what truly matters, namely creating great content for their games. Only awesome content can make sure that players are happy and keep coming back, making a game a long-lasting success.

Our business rests on three pillars which are online services, orchestration and servers. But what does this actually mean? Online services include the whole range of matchmaking, server browser, user profile, authentication, inventory systems, a key-value store as well as cross-platform services. Of course, we keep expanding these further. The next important pillar is orchestration and our super cloud which offers a container-based hyper scaler combining bare metal with cloud services. This enables developers to be super flexible and adapt to any situation. This is rounded off by a highly transparent pricing system, making our tools and services affordable for any size studio.

How has the last year been for you?

The last year has been amazing. We’ve seen our company grow from a small team of only a handful of people to almost 30. These last 12 months were filled with great opportunities and we had the chance to work with so many talented people out there, which really makes us proud. We are thankful that our products and services seem to hit the spot and are very well accepted in the industry. It’s truly a privilege to be part of this industry.

What recent successes have you had?

There are a lot of stories to tell here - starting with the ongoing expansion of our team, which is an immense success in itself. Seeing so many inspired people joining us to improve the way multiplayer experiences are created is a humbling experience. Working with all of our partners & customers is equally satisfying, facing problems together head-on and coming out strong at the other end. If I need to name a specific example, the Mordhau launch comes to mind. [Developer] Triternion created such an amazing game that attracted many more players than anybody could ever have anticipated. Through close collaboration, we were able to handle every last player.

What challenges are facing your sector in the market?

The immense pace at which the whole market moves is probably the biggest challenge not only to us but the whole industry. Gamers are highly demanding and expect only the best - delivering peak performance every day is tough and likely the biggest test on our abilities.

What do you think are the most exciting trends in games right now?

There are so many - to us it’s really exciting to see how multiplayer games are transforming the industry as a whole. New technologies allow for game modes that have been thought impossible until just a few years ago. We strive to be a leader in this change process that fuels the creation of never-seen-before multiplayer experiences that will transform the way we play together.

What are your aims for the coming year?

Of course, we want to keep growing our business. How? By keeping in touch with developers, customers and gamers alike and listening to their needs. We want to be a reliable partner that offers modern solutions to today's multiplayer development problems. As mentioned before, we already offer servers, specifically our relay server which facilitates the connection of peer-based multiplayer games. It’s in this field where we see our future and we are developing new server solutions which are highly sophisticated and hopefully transform the way multiplayer experiences can be designed. At this point, we can’t go into details, but we will keep you posted on this.

How did you come up with your companies name?

Pretty simple actually: Zeus is The Godfather and the great enabler and ruler of Olympus. Without Zeus, nothing works. In order to combat SEO issues - and because the domain was already taken - we went with Zeuz. We want to be the ones to power gaming. An ambitious goal, yes, but as the old Air Force slogan goes: "Aim high.“

Contact:

[email protected]


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.