CDN for game downloads
Launch day should hit the edge, not the build origin.
Game downloads and patches are large, concurrent and geographically spread. A single origin becomes the launch-day incident.
Cache depot files, patches and launcher assets at Cloud CDN. Use Origin Shield and large-file optimisation. Pair with Cloud DNS for player-facing hostnames.
Why teams use Aptranet
What CDN for game downloads looks like on this network.
Cloud CDN caches and accelerates eligible content on 210+ points of presence, with Origin Shield when the origin must stay out of the way.
Patches from 210+ locations
Players pull from a nearby PoP instead of a studio origin.
200+ Tbps for launch traffic
The same network that delivers video handles large game binaries.
Prefetch before go-live
Prefetch critical depots so the first players do not all miss together.
How to set it up
A cutover you can validate before DNS moves.
Create the Cloud CDN configuration, prove it on an Aptranet hostname, then point production DNS when the path looks correct.
- 1Connect the depot origin
Pull the existing launcher or patch origin over HTTPS.
- 2Cache binaries and manifests separately
Long TTL for content hashes. Shorter TTL or purge for manifests.
- 3Prefetch before launch
Warm the edge with the new depot before the store page goes live.
- 4Route player hostnames
Use Cloud DNS alongside Cloud CDN for the public download names.
Outcomes
What changes once the hostname is on Aptranet.
- Game binaries are cached globally
- Manifests can update without waiting on a long TTL
- Launch-day misses are shielded
- Player-facing DNS sits on the same network
Keep reading
Related pages
More CDN use cases on the same Cloud CDN footprint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Both are large-file HTTPS objects as far as Cloud CDN is concerned.
No. Matchmaking and game servers stay yours. Cloud CDN delivers downloads, patches and player-facing static assets.
Purge the manifest and binary URLs, or point the manifest at a previous version.
Yes. Token authentication can gate artefacts that should not be public yet.