Shockbyte Expands Global Game Server Infrastructure with AMD EPYC CPUs

Shockbyte adopts AMD EPYC Server CPUs to improve game server performance, boost efficiency, and support expansion into the U.S. market.

Game server hosting provider Shockbyte has expanded its infrastructure with AMD EPYC Server CPUs, citing significant gains in performance, power efficiency, and scalability as it continues to grow its global cloud gaming platform.

Originally founded in 2013 to meet demand for Minecraft server hosting, Shockbyte has since evolved into a broader game hosting provider supporting more than 65 titles. The company also operates a business-to-business platform that provides cloud infrastructure services for game studios, including partnerships with Facepunch Studios for Rust dedicated servers and Discord.

Scaling Beyond Minecraft

As player numbers fluctuate dramatically around game launches, Shockbyte needed an infrastructure capable of scaling quickly without disrupting active players. The company began transitioning from leased bare-metal servers to operating its own infrastructure, leading to its adoption of AMD processors.

"The performance of AMD CPUs has been fantastic," said Liam Charles, Director of IT at Shockbyte.

The company initially deployed AMD Ryzen-based systems before expanding to AMD EPYC platforms as its infrastructure requirements grew.

Performance Improvements with AMD EPYC

Shockbyte evaluated processors based heavily on single-threaded performance, an important factor for game server responsiveness—particularly for titles such as Minecraft.

According to the company, its legacy systems averaged approximately 2,750 points in PassMark single-thread benchmarks. New AMD-based deployments average around 4,200 points, representing roughly a 53% improvement. The company also reported at least a 40% increase in real-world single-threaded gaming performance compared to previous Intel Xeon-based systems.

The infrastructure rollout progressed from AMD Ryzen 7700 processors to AMD EPYC 4464P and EPYC 4545P processors before eventually deploying AMD EPYC 9555P CPUs for larger-scale environments.

Higher Density and Better Efficiency

One of the major advantages cited by Shockbyte is increased server density. Earlier systems were limited to 128GB of memory, while newer AMD EPYC platforms support significantly larger capacities, reaching over 1TB of RAM on the latest deployments.

The increased memory capacity and higher core counts have allowed the company to consolidate its infrastructure considerably. Shockbyte reports reducing its server fleet from more than 2,000 machines to fewer than 1,000 while continuing to expand its hosting capacity.

Power efficiency also improved throughout the transition. According to the company, its previous infrastructure averaged approximately 0.93 watts per gigabyte of memory, while current AMD deployments average around 0.65 watts per gigabyte—reducing power consumption by roughly 30% for equivalent capacity.

Supporting Expansion into the United States

Shockbyte says its newest deployments, powered by AMD EPYC 9555P processors, are supporting expansion into the U.S. market, including new infrastructure in Dallas, Texas.

Higher-density servers have enabled the company to maximize available data center space while reducing rack requirements and overall power usage, helping support continued growth in regions where capacity is increasingly limited.

"AMD will continue being our go-to for the foreseeable future," Charles said, noting that the company's latest deployments are centered around EPYC processors for their balance of single-threaded performance, high core counts, memory capacity, and efficiency.

Building for the Next Generation of Game Hosting

As online multiplayer gaming continues to grow, infrastructure providers face increasing pressure to deliver consistent performance while improving operational efficiency. For Shockbyte, AMD EPYC processors have become a key part of that strategy, enabling the company to scale its hosting platform while maintaining the low-latency experience expected by modern gamers.