Advise about starting and evaluating server

Michal Zak 20 Reputation points
2026-10-07T12:05:44.5633333+00:00

I would like to test the game I'm creating on your servers. Is it possible to start with the weakest server then upgrading it to check how many players would play at once on your servers/machines? How it looks with the costs if for ex. I would like to push your machines to the limit and see how the game works? Do you have any tips how to start with?

Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Virtual Machines

An Azure service that is used to provision Windows and Linux virtual machines.

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Andreas Baumgarten 133.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2026-10-07T12:17:11.8+00:00

Hi @Michal Zak ,

first I would recommend to take a look here: Sizes for virtual machines in Azure

There you can find the details of different Virtual Machine Series and SKUs.

You can switch between sizes in the same VM series very easy. Switch different between VM series might be a little challenging because of different disk controller (SCSI and NVME controllers) and local storage (temp drive yes/no).

Regarding the pricing your best option might be to check the Azure Price Calculator: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/

Here you can verify the prices different VM SKUs/series and sizes. Same with the pricing for different managed disk options (Standard SSDs or Premium SSDs).

Be aware the costs of an Azure VM (Compute) are for running machines only. If you the VM is "stopped (deallocated)" you won't be charged for the compute part.

For managed disks you will be charged all the time, no matter if the VM is running or is stopped/deallocated. This is because the disks are consuming störage space in the Azure data center no matter if the VM is running or stopped.

To reduce the costs it might be helpful to stop (deallocate) the VM after the tests are done (for instance "done for the day").

(If the reply was helpful please don't forget to upvote and/or accept as answer, thank you)

Regards

Andreas Baumgarten

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  1. Rukshan edirisinghe 1,320 Reputation points
    2026-10-07T12:10:50.5766667+00:00

    Hi @Michal Zak

    Yes, that works well on Azure. You can start on a small VM and move it to bigger sizes as you test, without rebuilding anything. You only pay for compute while the VM is running, so short test sessions stay cheap.

    A simple way to start:

    1. Before creating anything, set a budget with an email alert in Cost Management + Billing, so a long test can't surprise you.
    2. Create a small VM in the region closest to your players, install your game server, and run your first player test.
    3. When you hit the limit, open the VM in the portal, go to Availability + scale > Size, pick a bigger size and select Resize. The VM restarts, so do it between tests.
    4. When you're done for the day, select Stop in the portal so it shows "Stopped (deallocated)". Compute billing stops, but the disk is still charged a small amount.

    You can also use the Azure pricing calculator to compare hourly prices of sizes before you resize.

    Which OS will your game server run on, Windows or Linux?

    If this resolved your question, please consider accepting it as the answer. If you get stuck along the way, let me know and I'll be happy to keep helping.

    Reference:

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