Does Crux replace Unity Multiplayer Services?

No. Unity Multiplayer Services remains useful for sessions, Lobby, Relay and Matchmaker. Crux is a separate persistent backend for player data, progression, leaderboards, economy, live config and server registry. You can use the two together.

Did Unity shut down all of Unity Gaming Services multiplayer?

No. Unity ended direct support for Multiplay Game Server Hosting in 2026, while the current Multiplayer Services SDK continues to unify Lobby, Relay and Matchmaker through sessions.

Can Crux host my Unity dedicated server?

Crux does not currently offer general Unity dedicated-server hosting. Use the hosting provider or infrastructure you choose, then use the Crux Unity SDK or REST API for persistent backend services and server registry operations.

Unity · Multiplayer backend

Keep Unity for multiplayer connectivity. Put durable game state behind a clean backend boundary.

Unity's current Multiplayer Services SDK still handles sessions, Lobby, Relay and Matchmaker. Crux sits beside that stack when you need durable player state, progression, leaderboards, economy, live config, or a provider-neutral server registry.

Create a free Unity backend → Map Unity services vs Crux

No claim that UGS disappeared. No claim that Crux hosts your Unity fleet. Use only the layer you actually need.

Clean split Unity + Crux

Unity MPS / Netcode
  sessions
  Lobby / Relay
  Matchmaker
  realtime networking

Crux
  player auth + data
  stats / achievements
  leaderboards / economy
  live config
  server registry

Verify before you integrate

Inspect the backend layer before you wire it into Unity.

The Unity client SDK is MIT licensed, the hosted API contract is public OpenAPI, service health is live, and the exit commitment is written down.

Live API status

A live check of the hosted API right now. No made-up uptime percentage and no hidden demo environment.

Check current status

Public API contract

The hosted HTTP surface is documented as OpenAPI. Inspect the wire format before choosing an SDK or writing an adapter.

Open the spec

MIT client SDKs

The JavaScript, Godot, Unity, and Roblox client SDK source is public. The hosted backend itself remains a managed proprietary service.

Inspect the SDK source

Documented exit path

Read what is exportable today and the written commitment for advance notice plus an export window if the hosted service winds down.

Read the exit guarantee

Unity SDK source

Read the exact C# player and dedicated-server clients, including publishable-key and server-token trust boundaries.

Inspect the Unity SDK

What belongs where

Unity MPS is not the same job as persistent game backend.

Unity now wraps Lobby, Relay and Matchmaker behind the Multiplayer Services SDK and sessions API. That is a good fit for connecting players. Durable progression and backend-owned business rules are a separate architectural decision.

Keep in Unity

Netcode for GameObjects / Netcode for Entities
Sessions and player connection coordination
Lobby and Relay when they match your topology
Unity Matchmaker pools, queues and rules

Use Crux for durable backend jobs

Player identity and persistent documents
Stats, achievements, inventories and currencies
Leaderboards that outlive a multiplayer session
Backend-owned live config and environment separation
Dedicated-server registry and heartbeat data

First-success path

Prove one Unity request before moving architecture.

Crux deliberately starts with a standalone C# request. That tells you whether credentials, project/environment IDs and the backend contract work before you mix the result into Netcode, Sessions, Matchmaker, or a headless server process.

Player builds use a publishable key. Trusted headless server builds use a server token. Secret credentials stay out of shipped clients.

Create a free project and run the live sample.
Open the Unity SDK setup with the project and environment already selected.
Run the generated C# from your Unity project; Crux confirms the external request.
Add only the persistent primitives your game needs.
If you operate a headless Unity server, mint a server token and register/heartbeat it from that trusted process.

Run the Unity first-success path → Read the Unity SDK quickstart

Unity decision paths

Your question	Start here
What changed in Unity multiplayer services?	Current Unity MPS / UGS map
What happened to Multiplay hosting?	Multiplay migration options
How should a headless Unity server call the backend?	Dedicated-server integration
Using Photon Fusion inside Unity?	Photon + persistent backend
Need to model backend cost?	Backend cost calculator

Hosting boundary

Multiplay Hosting changed. Unity multiplayer did not disappear.

Unity concluded direct support for Multiplay Game Server Hosting at the end of March 2026 and marked the Unity service deprecated from April 1, with a migration exception for customers already moving to Multiplay by Rocket Science. Unity's current MPS SDK continues to provide sessions, Lobby, Relay and Matchmaker. Crux does not currently sell general-purpose Unity fleet hosting, so choose your hosting separately and keep the backend contract portable.

Unity MPS docs ↗ Multiplay deprecation notice ↗

Keep the architecture boring

Let Unity connect the match. Let the backend remember what happened.

Start with one C# call. If the boundary fits, add persistent services without rewriting the realtime layer.

Create the free Unity project →