Snapser

Snapser provides a customizable backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platform designed for game studios and application developers. The company was founded in 2022 by CEO Ajinkya 'AJ' Apte, CTO Jason Davidson, and founding engineer Vineet Pandit. The founding team possesses extensive experience in backend infrastructure, having spent a combined 26 years at Zynga, where they were instrumental in architecting the platform for titles like FarmVille, Zynga Poker, and Words with Friends.

The platform addresses the complexity and cost associated with building and maintaining custom backend systems for multiplayer and live-service games. It offers a modular architecture using components called “Snaps,” which are plug-and-play microservices for functionalities like authentication, leaderboards, analytics, cloud storage, and multiplayer matchmaking. This allows developers to select only the services they need or integrate their own code, data, and servers, providing flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in while retaining code and data ownership. Snapser's infrastructure is built on Kubernetes, abstracting away the complexities of orchestration and scaling for the developer.

The company targets game developers of all sizes, from indie to larger studios, aiming to streamline the development process so teams can focus on creating gameplay experiences. The business model operates as a fully managed solution, handling the DevOps and backend management for a platform fee, with enterprise plans available that offer dedicated deployments on a studio's own cloud infrastructure. In February 2023, Snapser announced a $2.6 million seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) to expand development and its team.

Keywords: backend-as-a-service, game development, modular backend, microservices, live operations, game infrastructure, multiplayer services, Kubernetes, data ownership, customizable platform