Should I Build It Should I Build It
20 Apr 2025
Games

create a game-game related hosting service with pay as you go billing

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a 'Swamp' category with your game hosting service idea, which is characterized by numerous mediocre solutions that haven't really captured the market. The existence of six similar products suggests that there's some validation for the need, but also signifies substantial competition. Engagement appears low, as similar products only received an average of two comments, which means it will be hard to get traction. The main positive of your idea based on these similar product launches is that there's a positive signal for people being willing to pay for this type of service. This suggests there's a market if you can differentiate and provide genuine value. However, with the overall 'Swamp' category classification, building this without a radical and innovative approach is highly risky.

Recommendations

  1. First, deeply investigate why existing game hosting services haven't fully satisfied users. Look beyond the surface-level features and try to identify the core pain points and unmet needs. For example, analyze the AxentHost launch comments; what did users specifically praise about their Minecraft server performance and hourly credit system? Can you build on these elements?
  2. If you decide to move forward, focus on a very specific niche within the gaming community. Don't try to be everything to everyone. For example, you could specialize in hosting servers for a particular game genre (e.g., survival games, indie titles) or a specific type of community (e.g., modding communities, competitive clans).
  3. Instead of directly competing with established hosting providers, explore the possibility of creating tools or plugins that enhance their services. Consider developing a management dashboard, a performance monitoring tool, or a system for automatically optimizing server configurations. This could be a quicker route to market and provide a revenue stream while you assess the broader market.
  4. Given the saturated nature of the game hosting market, brainstorm alternative problems that you could solve for gamers or game developers. Perhaps there's a need for better team communication tools, easier ways to manage game assets, or more effective platforms for finding playtesters.
  5. Based on criticisms of similar products (e.g., high costs, unclear pricing), prioritize transparent and competitive pricing. Offer a clear breakdown of costs and avoid hidden fees. Implement a system that allows users to easily scale their resources up or down as needed, preventing overspending and optimizing resource utilization.
  6. Consider offering free trials or a generous free tier to allow potential customers to experience the value of your service firsthand. This can help overcome the initial hesitation and build trust, particularly in a competitive market. Make sure the free tier is compelling enough to attract users but still encourages upgrades to paid plans.
  7. Actively engage with the gaming community on platforms like Reddit, Discord, and Twitch. Participate in relevant discussions, provide helpful advice, and solicit feedback on your ideas. Building a strong community will be crucial for generating buzz and attracting early adopters. Based on the AxentHost example, make sure to actually provide the promised free vouchers to build trust.

Questions

  1. What are the three biggest complaints you hear from gamers about their current game hosting solutions, and how can your service address these issues in a way that competitors haven't?
  2. Given the positive buy signal for game hosting services, what innovative pricing models (beyond pay-as-you-go) could you explore to maximize revenue while remaining competitive and attracting budget-conscious gamers?
  3. How can you leverage community feedback and active engagement to continuously improve your service and differentiate it from competitors, creating a loyal customer base that advocates for your product?

Your are here

You're entering a 'Swamp' category with your game hosting service idea, which is characterized by numerous mediocre solutions that haven't really captured the market. The existence of six similar products suggests that there's some validation for the need, but also signifies substantial competition. Engagement appears low, as similar products only received an average of two comments, which means it will be hard to get traction. The main positive of your idea based on these similar product launches is that there's a positive signal for people being willing to pay for this type of service. This suggests there's a market if you can differentiate and provide genuine value. However, with the overall 'Swamp' category classification, building this without a radical and innovative approach is highly risky.

Recommendations

  1. First, deeply investigate why existing game hosting services haven't fully satisfied users. Look beyond the surface-level features and try to identify the core pain points and unmet needs. For example, analyze the AxentHost launch comments; what did users specifically praise about their Minecraft server performance and hourly credit system? Can you build on these elements?
  2. If you decide to move forward, focus on a very specific niche within the gaming community. Don't try to be everything to everyone. For example, you could specialize in hosting servers for a particular game genre (e.g., survival games, indie titles) or a specific type of community (e.g., modding communities, competitive clans).
  3. Instead of directly competing with established hosting providers, explore the possibility of creating tools or plugins that enhance their services. Consider developing a management dashboard, a performance monitoring tool, or a system for automatically optimizing server configurations. This could be a quicker route to market and provide a revenue stream while you assess the broader market.
  4. Given the saturated nature of the game hosting market, brainstorm alternative problems that you could solve for gamers or game developers. Perhaps there's a need for better team communication tools, easier ways to manage game assets, or more effective platforms for finding playtesters.
  5. Based on criticisms of similar products (e.g., high costs, unclear pricing), prioritize transparent and competitive pricing. Offer a clear breakdown of costs and avoid hidden fees. Implement a system that allows users to easily scale their resources up or down as needed, preventing overspending and optimizing resource utilization.
  6. Consider offering free trials or a generous free tier to allow potential customers to experience the value of your service firsthand. This can help overcome the initial hesitation and build trust, particularly in a competitive market. Make sure the free tier is compelling enough to attract users but still encourages upgrades to paid plans.
  7. Actively engage with the gaming community on platforms like Reddit, Discord, and Twitch. Participate in relevant discussions, provide helpful advice, and solicit feedback on your ideas. Building a strong community will be crucial for generating buzz and attracting early adopters. Based on the AxentHost example, make sure to actually provide the promised free vouchers to build trust.

Questions

  1. What are the three biggest complaints you hear from gamers about their current game hosting solutions, and how can your service address these issues in a way that competitors haven't?
  2. Given the positive buy signal for game hosting services, what innovative pricing models (beyond pay-as-you-go) could you explore to maximize revenue while remaining competitive and attracting budget-conscious gamers?
  3. How can you leverage community feedback and active engagement to continuously improve your service and differentiate it from competitors, creating a loyal customer base that advocates for your product?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 6
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 2
  • Net use signal: 27.7%
    • Positive use signal: 27.7%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 6.9%
    • Positive buy signal: 6.9%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

Relevance

AxentHost - Free game server hosting

16 Mar 2024 SaaS Android Games

Stop wasting your time with outdated hosting platforms. Most of the players waste 80% of their server rent time instead of using AxentHost, the new generation of hosting platform with an hourly credit system allowing players to host games servers for free.

AxentHost's Product Hunt launch received positive feedback, particularly regarding its Minecraft server performance, ping, and hourly credit system. Users appreciate its value, with some highlighting its good RAM and disk. Several comments congratulated the team on the launch and wished them luck. One user requested a promised free voucher, while others expressed satisfaction with their experiences, including one after three months of use. Older users mentioned how useful AxentHost would have been in their younger years during LAN gaming.

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136
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10
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Relevance

I made a premium and cheap server hosting service

09 May 2024 Developer Tools

Recently I've started to notice how expensive it is to host things like game servers and applications due to big tech companies charging outrageous costs.Due to this, I decided to create Pandios, a cheap but powerful hosting service that lets you host your product whether it be a Minecraft, Palworld or Rust server, or it being a NodeJS/Python applicationIt uses Pterodactyl & Paymenter to handle the orders and I'm working on a custom solution to replace Pterodactyl + Paymenter

Users appreciate the new hosting service for its affordability and powerful products. They also suggest adding a pricing page for better clarity.

Users have criticized the product for its high hosting costs and the lack of clear pricing information.

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2
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