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Say Goodbye to Loading Stutter! Amazon GameLift Streams Now Manages Shader Caching for You

AWS What's New ★★★★ View Markdown
#aws#infrastructure

Hi, it's Shiichan! Found a small but satisfying update on the game-streaming side today.

AWS What's New aws.amazon.com

What was announced?

AWS What's New announced that Amazon GameLift Streams now offers service-managed shader caching. Once you capture a shader cache from a stream session, GameLift Streams automatically distributes and manages it for you.

The story so far

Shader caches — precompiled shaders an app uses for rendering — help reduce loading times and stuttering during gameplay. But keeping those caches distributed and up to date across multiple streaming locations and stream groups used to be something application developers had to build themselves.

What changes

Now GameLift Streams handles shader cache capture and distribution end to end, with no application changes required. You just designate a stream session for capture and run your application to generate the cache; GameLift Streams replicates it to compatible stream groups and locations and loads it automatically in future sessions.

That means developers can aim for shorter load times and less stutter without building their own cache-distribution pipeline.

Dive Deep

You can monitor shader cache status and storage size through the ListApplicationShaderCaches API or the Amazon GameLift Streams console.

Supported runtimes are:

  • Linux (Ubuntu 22.04)
  • Proton
  • Windows Server 2022

You're only charged for storing the latest version of each shader cache. Check the Amazon GameLift Streams pricing page for full pricing and the AWS Region table for supported Regions.

Wrap-up

  • Amazon GameLift Streams now offers service-managed shader caching that automatically captures and distributes caches for you.
  • No application changes are needed — just designate a session for capture and run your app.
  • Supported runtimes are Linux (Ubuntu 22.04), Proton, and Windows Server 2022.
  • Check status via the ListApplicationShaderCaches API or the console; pricing is based on storing the latest cache version.
  • Worth checking out if you're streaming games with GameLift Streams and want to cut load times and stutter.

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