Profile
IO Interactive is an independent video game developer based in Copenhagen, Denmark and the creative force behind some of the most talked-about multi-platform video games to emerge in the last decade. Starting with the groundbreaking and award-winning Hitman series, IO Interactive has since developed the cult classic “Freedom Fighters”, the controversial “Kane & Lynch” series and the adorable “Mini Ninjas”. Dedication to creating original IP and unforgettable characters and experiences are the hallmarks of IO Interactive.
Challenges
While developing their games, IO Interactive was constantly challenged with managing large data transfers across multiple outsourced studios, located in located in Europe. Many of their daily transfers exceed 1TB, and they have to maintain rigid schedules to stay on track. When using traditional FTP/TCP-based solutions, latency, packet loss, and other forms of network degradation had detrimental effects on the efficiency of their development.
Solutions
In order to overcome these challenges, IO Interactive has deployed FileCatalyst Direct and the FileCatalyst HotFolder client application.
FileCatalyst Direct is a suite of server and client applications that enables point-to-point fast file transfers which are capable of reaching speeds of up to 10 Gbps. HotFolder is a FileCatalyst Direct client application that provides automated download and uploads folders that can be set to user-defined intervals, ensuring that every endpoint has the most current version of every file.
Results
Since deploying FileCatalyst Direct, IO Interactive has maximized their bandwidth and substantially boosted productivity by allowing them to send large files in a fraction of the time it takes when using FTP/TCP. By setting up overnight upload and download tasks at each endpoint via FileCatalyst HotFolder, IO Interactive has removed the need for human interaction during transfer tasks, allowing development to continue immediately.
“As we strive to create larger worlds and more immersive experiences for our players, the size of our games continually grow with each major release,” said Mads Laksø, IT Architect & Team Lead for IO Interactive. “FTP-based solutions no longer meet our needs, so we had been looking for a solution that can send large files quickly and reliably. We are excited to say that FileCatalyst has filled this need by allowing us to send critical files exponentially faster than FTP/TCP.”