WHY YOUR GAME DESERVES A PARTNER WHO CARES
Matt Simpkin talks to Tom Penrose, Chief Online Services Officer at Multiplayer Wizards, about why more studios are looking beyond a list of services and seeking something more
T
he development of any multiplayer game is no small feat. From the initial concept to the moment it hits players’ screens, it takes a dedicated team to ensure everything runs smoothly, including
the often-complex backend infrastructures. And while there are plenty of outsourced options to support the unseen, unsung, technical nightmare of live service games, the silver bullet is a team that feels like an extension of your studio. This is exactly the mindset that Multiplayer Wizards brings to their
clients. During their recent migration of Apex Legends to Amazon GameLift, EA and Respawn were pleasantly surprised that the team entrusted to this critical transition was just as enthusiastic about keeping Apex’s community happy as they were about reducing latency, building observability infrastructure, and spinning up new game servers. Tom Penrose, whose team of amazing Wizards migrated Apex,
spearheaded the effort with a passion for detail and commitment to making sure everything was as seamless as possible. By seamless, he’s talking zero-downtime, global performance improvements, and a significant reduction in latency. This is the true value of working with a team that’s as invested in your game as much as you are. Studios can focus on content, balance changes, and new features, while Multiplayer Wizards handles the complex task of managing backend migrations – a burden that’s off your plate and in expert hands.
16 | MCV/DEVELOP August/September 2025 From left: Matt Simpkin and Tom Penrose We spoke with Tom to learn how this philosophy drove the Apex
Legends migration (and others like it) and how it can transform the way game studios approach their own backend needs.
Tom, Multiplayer Wizards is known for its ongoing support beyond migrations. How do you act as an extension of a studio’s team, allowing them to stay focused on creating games? I think part of supporting a game studio is caring about the game as much as they do. We spend a lot of time getting to know the team we are working with, the game, and ultimately, how the studio likes to work. This drives a lot of our day-to-day decisions on aspects such as tooling, communications, and delivery. When we first start working with a studio we like to deep dive into their current process of changing / shipping the game and we fit around that with the least friction possible so that working with us is never a chore. Once that initial trust is there, we’ll often proactively identify additional projects or tasks that we can run with independently to make sure the studio can continue to focus on making a great game.
Presumably, cost savings and scalability are key benefits of working with Multiplayer Wizards. Can you share with us how you’ve helped studios reduce costs while improving performance? I’m not going to lie, its rough out there in the games industry right now.
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