The Technical Anatomy of a Top-Grossing Game
Emil Rosendahl •
In this episode of Tech Talks, we’re unpacking what it really takes to scale a game from a promising prototype into a top-grossing title. In a conversation with Metaplay CPO Teemu Haila, we explored the core challenges studios face as their games grow, the technical foundations needed to support that growth, and why the right infrastructure decisions can make or break a game’s long-term success.
This is a recap of a longer email Teemu sent out directly to Metaplay Tech Talks subscribers. To get the full version direct to your inbox, with new insights every month, sign up to the Metaplay Tech Talks newsletter here.
If there’s one truth Teemu has come to appreciate in his years of game development, it is this: creating a game is challenging, but scaling one into a top-grossing success is on another level.
What It Really Takes to Go from Prototype to Top-Grossing Game
Turning a promising prototype into a global hit demands more than just feature sets or spinning up servers. It means managing growing complexity across your tech stack, team, and operations, often all at once. “It’s not a single problem that we can focus on. It’s a couple of problems we have to deal with at the same time,” Teemu explains.
He breaks down the challenge of scaling into four interconnected pillars:
01 Player Volume
As your audience grows, so does the likelihood of uncovering every hidden bug, edge case, and backend limitation.
02 Game Complexity
Monetization systems, segmentation, and LiveOps introduce architectural and operational strain.
03 Team Growth
Larger teams require new roles, management layers, and communication frameworks that can slow decision-making if left unchecked.
04 Business Maturity
Scaling revenue brings new responsibilities, including legal compliance, vendor relationships, and global customer support operations.
Each of these pillars introduces risk. Together, they create a fast-moving environment that demands clear priorities, thoughtful leadership, and strong technical foundations.
Build vs Buy: How Smart Game Studios Save Time and Ship Faster
One of the most common mistakes Teemu sees is studios overcommitting to in-house tech development. “We don’t do things because they’re easy. We do them because we think they are easy,” he says.
Many teams start building backend tools or internal systems to gain flexibility or control. But in reality, these projects nearly always take longer and cost more than expected. And while those systems are being built, teams lose momentum on what matters most: making a great game.
Teemu’s advice is simple. Focus your energy on the unique features that define your game, and lean on proven infrastructure for everything else. “Buy what you can and build only what sets your game apart.”
In today’s market, speed is a competitive edge. The faster you can test, learn, and iterate, the more likely you are to find product-market fit - and scale it.
LiveOps and Multiplatform: Powering Scalable Game Experiences
As games grow, so do expectations. Players want more than content drops. They want consistency, flexibility, and the ability to engage across multiple platforms.
In 2025, the most successful studios treat LiveOps and multiplatform development as tightly connected. Both are about delivering a unified, scalable experience that keeps players engaged over time. “Think of your game like a set of TV channels,” says Teemu. “You decide what shows are running, when they appear, and who gets to see them.”
LiveOps has evolved from just launching events into real-time content programming. Today's successful studios curate relevant, personalized gameplay for different audiences, often across mobile, PC, console, or browser-based versions of the same game. This requires tools that support segmentation, scheduling, and overlapping content streams.
Multiplatform adds a layer of complexity. To do it well, teams need a unified backend that handles identity, gameplay logic, and content updates consistently. This means running server-side game logic, syncing progress reliably, and decoupling content updates from platform approval timelines.
When executed well, this strategy results in an engaging and flexible experience. Players can access the game from anywhere, and studios can run LiveOps with the speed and control needed to scale.
Why Scalable Architecture Is the Foundation of Every Top-Grossing Game
From the outside, top-grossing games can appear to be overnight successes. But behind the scenes, they are built on years of careful planning, technical discipline, and hard-earned experience.
“You need scalable architecture, cheat-proof systems, resilient databases, and operational foresight,” says Teemu. “Customer support, localization, audit trails. These things become critical at scale.”
The most successful studios make smart foundational choices early. They use programming models that support scale, systems that protect performance under load, and plan for operational complexity long before it becomes a bottleneck. There are no shortcuts. Only clear priorities, strong tools, and a relentless focus on building what matters most.
At Metaplay, this mindset is central to how our platform is built. The goal is to give studios the infrastructure they need so they can spend more time doing what they do best: creating games that players love.
Got thoughts or questions? The Metaplay team would love to hear from you. Reach out with your feedback or suggest a topic for a future Tech Talk.
