[Comparative Analysis] What game chat solution should a game company adopt?

Bring a talented person who would like to go to jail~ Catch talented people

[Game Story Excerpt: World of Warcraft Chat Window]

In-game Chat is a great communication toolthat adds to the fun of the game! When forming a party to hunt, when there are curious questions. When obtaining items, receiving quest messages, receiving developer announcements, etc. Chat windows are used in various situations, providing useful features to enhance game communication. The game communication window 'in-game chat' function. How do developers implement it?

Implementing 'In-game Chat' as a messaging solution

Most game developers use a 'messaging solution'. Self-development is possible, but using a solution is generally cheaper than developing a chat server, operating tools, and integrating and operating a member DB. Even in seemingly simple chat windows, various functions such as profanity filtering, search, usage suspension, group chat, statistics, etc., are hidden, requiring more resources than one would think to develop by oneself.​

However, each messaging solution has different features and characteristics, so what is the suitable messaging solution for games? We've examined and compared in depth what chat solution game companies should adopt.

Method of selecting 'game chat solutions'Detailed comparison analysis!

The main chat solutions used by game companies are Naver Cloud's Game Chat, P company's Photon Chat, S company's Sendbird, T company's TALKPLUS, PUSHER, etc., all of which are excellent solutions for implementing game chat. Before introducing game chat, it is necessary to confirm that it meets game companies' concerns.

✔Is it not overburdening the game server, ✔Do the development costs and time align with the game development schedule, ✔Can it also be applied to real-time customer service operations, ✔Can it manage various communities with a single game ID, etc. Considering these matters, the chat solution should be introduced according to its purpose. The most important 3 factors! Cost, Customer Support, Scalability.

#1 Cost structure of game chat solutions

Game chat solutions typically have a structure where the initial cost is low, and as the CCU (concurrent users) increases, the cost also increases. For company A, the cost is 65,000 won for up to 500 CCU, but it increases by more than 10 times when it exceeds 4,000 CCU. Additional charges of 250 won are imposed for concurrent users exceeding 4,000 CCU. Therefore, when reviewing chat solutions, it is necessary to consider the initial implementation cost and the cost after launching the game.

#2 Quick customer support