GameSpot

Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin has spoken about the long-running process behind bringing dedicated servers to the Call of Duty franchise.

Speaking to GameSpot at Gamescom 2013, Rubin confirmed that dedicated servers would be coming to Xbox One and PC for Call of Duty: Ghosts, though Infinity Ward is still finalising the details for dedicated servers on PC. He also explained that the sheer volume of server space required to host dedicated servers for something the size of Call of Duty was one of the main challenges in incorporating the frequently requested feature into the shooter.

"One of the problems with our game, in a sense, is that we have so many players," said Rubin. "I remember that we looked into dedicated servers on console when we were developing Call of Duty 4, and the problem was that we could only fit four [multiplayer] games onto each server. So, you times that by how many games were being played, and it was going to come out to be more servers than every data center in the United States. It would have been impossible to do."

Server technology has improved greatly since Call of Duty 4 was released in 2007, explains Rubin, and the dedicated servers on Call of Duty: Ghosts will be powered by Microsoft's Xbox cloud. "Obviously the power of the servers grew, and we can fit more and more instances per server, which has helped a bit, and the fact now that Microsoft is supporting this huge cloud initiative, dedicated servers make a ton more sense. We'll have scalability, and we're not having to run data centers which we're not necessarily equipped to do. Having Microsoft do that is fantastic."

Rubin says that it is "fantastic" that Microsoft is investing in the Xbox Cloud, and adds that he believes the service will develop dramatically over time. "I think they're figuring [the cloud] out too," he said.

"[Microsoft] has phenomenally good intentions with what they want to do with it. If you look at Call of Duty 2 when we first launched on Xbox 360, or Call of Duty 4 which was a massive leap forward compared to CoD 2, there's a learning curve for all of us as developers, and for Xbox themselves. There's going to be a learning curve as the console comes out. It's totally expected, and something we're excited about. Knowing that they're just going to get better--for me, that's a great thing to look forward to."

Rubin also spoke about the rise in reliable Internet connections and the effect it's had on creating "a massive shift towards multiplayer gaming."

"When people didn't have Internet on a regular basis, or when it was 28k baud modems, or even worse like 24 and 300, you couldn't really do a lot multiplayer wise. So everybody was focusing on single-player game experiences. Multiplayer, especially for stuff like Call of Duty, has taken off so much that we've become a major user of Internet traffic and space."

"So the infrastructure, the internet service producers, have all realised that and are starting to formulate their strategies for how they run their business around multiplayer social gaming. I remember on Call of Duty 4 we have problems in Europe because some of the ISPs here were bandwidth limiting video game traffic. We fought and fought with those guys, and literally sent people to those companies trying to explain what's going on, and fortunately today I think it's a significantly improved environment."

http://uk.gamespot.com/gamescom/infinity-ward-discusses-call-of-duty-dedicated-servers-on-xbox-and-pc-6413427/

Not sounding like PS4 will have dedicated servers unless Sony pays for them.

Correct. And since Sony has not mentioned anything yet about it at all, I'm guessing they won't be having dedicated servers for multi-plat games any time soon. Exclusives like Killzone, though, I could see.

Really makes you wonder what Sony is going to do about dedicated servers / "The Cloud" (btw, I would bet a ton of money some PR guy walked into a Cisco Networking class and saw the Internet depicted by a "Cloud" and came up with that name for internet resources)

They are either working on some solution that we have not heard about yet (highly unlikely) or they will end up signing a deal with Google or Amazon, and basically rent out resources (more likely).

Ether way, dedicated resources for projects like this will make a huge difference.

This is just one example of why I am getting an Xbox One first and will be playing all my multiplayer games on Xbox One (and Xbox One exclusives of course). I will pick up a PS4 a few years down the road for single player exclusives just like I did last gen with the 360 and PS3. It's hard to beat XBL.

I guess the real question is exactly how cheap MS is making dedicated servers for 3rd party developers. I am pretty sure its dirt cheap and probably at cost or even lower. MS is really looking to add this as an advantage and the fact that COD and I believe BF4 will also be using MS servers on their end could make the X1 the MP box for FPS games.

Quick question. How dedicated are these dedicated servers Sargent? Are there any variables regarding the performance of these servers we don't know yet, when compared to the power of cloud?

I mean it certainly is a predicament for our COD gamers who made fun of pc players who bragged about their dedication servers but now will have to do a 180 on that. I don't like the sound of that. *pours some scotch to ponder over this*

Isn't mark rubin the guy who said gamers dont like/want dedicated servers a while back?

BF4 has dedicated servers on all consoles, not just Xbox.

In fact I'm pretty sure even Bad Company 2 and BF3 already have dedicated servers.

Hmm was going to get the Wii U version actually, but now I might go for PC.