#043 - Gaming on K8s: Stateful Servers, Low Latency, and an Incredible Infra Journey with Siddharth Dhulipalla (Hathora.dev)

High-performance game infrastructure requires managing stateful workloads that demand sub-16-millisecond synchronization for real-time physics and player inputs. Hathora addresses this by leveraging Kubernetes to provide dedicated server hosting, abstracting away the complexities of multi-cloud environments and manual infrastructure management. While Kubernetes was not originally designed for such low-latency, network-intensive applications, it serves as a robust foundation for scaling game backends. Key technical hurdles include optimizing pod startup times, managing massive container images, and navigating Kubernetes networking limitations like host port conflicts. As the industry evolves, these gaming-centric architectural patterns are increasingly adopted by other real-time, stateful applications. Siddharth Dhulipalla, CEO of Hathora, highlights the transition from custom-built infrastructure to standardized, Kubernetes-based solutions that allow studios to focus on game development rather than the underlying platform challenges.