Case Study: FunRock achieves bulletproof scalability and rapid game updates with Microsoft Azure Service Fabric

Mobile game developer primed for the armies to arrive

FunRock, a small Swedish mobile-game startup, needed a back end that could handle thousands to tens of thousands of concurrent players and allow rapid feature updates without performance stumbles. Their initial architecture using Azure SQL, Redis Cache, and Worker Roles showed write bottlenecks under load—an unacceptable risk for an MMO-style mobile title where server performance directly affects player retention and word-of-mouth growth.

With help from Sthimtechangels and Microsoft, FunRock rebuilt on a microservices architecture using Azure Service Fabric alongside Azure Storage, Service Bus, Notification Hubs, Functions, Active Directory, Key Vault and Visual Studio Team Services. The new platform delivers automatic scale‑out/in, built‑in load management and faster DevOps; it has handled 5,000 concurrent players in tests, supports monthly releases, reduces ops overhead, and positions the team to focus on features while targeting tens of thousands of simultaneous players.

FunRock

Adam Tibbing

Chief Technology Officer