PlayFab Digest: June Feature Updates
Take a closer look at the enhancements to PlayFab Lobby and SDK Support for the month of June.
Welcome to the PlayFab Digest! We’re excited to share the latest PlayFab updates, including expanded Lobby capabilities, new PlayStation SDK support, and our initial SDK release for Nintendo Switch 2. Let’s look at what’s new for the month of June!
Lobby Adds Increased Access Control
What’s New:
Managing lobby access and invite permissions is essential for modern multiplayer game experiences. In response to your feedback, we’ve introduced new options to give you greater control over who gets in and who can invite.
Now, your backend services (using the title entity) can create and join players to client-owned lobbies. This enables more sophisticated service workflows, like vetting players before granting lobby access, or executing actions on a player’s behalf.
When connecting to a lobby from the player’s client in this new scenario, you have a new flow in the SDK using PFMultiplayerConnectToLobby.
With the brand new RestrictInvitesToLobbyOwner property, you can lock down invites so only lobby owners can bring in new members, perfect for private sessions or bespoke social experiences.
How to Get Started:
- Grab the latest SDK: Azure PlayFab Lobby and Matchmaking SDKs - PlayFab | Microsoft Learn
- If instead you need direct REST access: PlayFab Lobby REST APIs
- For more information on Lobby: Azure PlayFab Lobby overview
PlayFab Party and MLP SDK Updates for PlayStation 4 & 5
What’s New:
PlayFab Party and Multiplayer SDKs now fully support PlayStation 4 SDK 12.50 and PlayStation 5 SDK 11.00. This release includes updated Party and Multiplayer libraries built to meet Sony’s latest certification requirements.
The update fixes build issues, rare runtime crashes, and SDK incompatibilities. Voice chat, matchmaking, and lobby features work out-of-the-box.
To stay compliant ahead of the retirement of older SDKs, this update is essential for ongoing PS4 and PS5 development.
How to Get Started:
- Download PlayFab’s PlayStation SDKs for PS4/PS5
- Follow the Party and Multiplayer QuickStart guides:
Party QuickStart - PlayFab | Microsoft Learn
Matchmaking SDK QuickStart - PlayFab | Microsoft Learn
Lobby SDK QuickStart - PlayFab | Microsoft Learn
PlayFab SDK Switch 2 Support
What’s New:
With this release, you can seamlessly integrate PlayFab’s full suite of online services including multiplayer, leaderboards, player data, and more into Nintendo Switch 2 titles. This update ensures Switch 2 is part of our growing family of supported platforms, so you can build once and deploy everywhere your players want to be.
By extending PlayFab support to Switch 2, we’re making it easier and faster to bring cross-platform, connected gameplay to a brand-new audience. You’ll have the tools you need to deliver modern social and multiplayer features that today’s players expect, while future-proofing your codebase for the next wave of Nintendo games.
Previously, integrating robust online features for Switch 2 required extra effort or custom solutions. With official PlayFab SDK support, you can now leverage a consistent set of services—with the same reliability and tooling you count on for other platforms. This not only speeds up development but also helps ensure a smooth and polished launch experience for your players.
How to Get Started:
- To get started now, please contact your Nintendo representative and let them know you’d like to work with PlayFab for your Switch 2 title.
- Your Nintendo contact will facilitate an introduction with our team, so we can provide you with the necessary resources and support.
- Nintendo will be rolling out a more formal process for SDK access soon, similar to the Switch 1.
- Request access for secured SDKs and samples - PlayFab | Microsoft Learn
Thanks for checking out the great features that we’ve delivered in June! We’ll see you next month for more exciting updates in our upcoming PlayFab Digest. Happy Developing!
Ready to dive deeper? Explore PlayFab and discover how it can level up your game development journey.
Please visit the official PlayFab getting started guide to learn more!