How do game servers communicate with master server

Question

I have multiple game servers that run separate instances of game which can accommodate 20 players each. I want to know how game servers send information like player count, server state etc to main server (which send all game server info like ip, player count to clients).

Answer 1

That really depends on the game. There is no universal standard how to do that.

That being said, usually you'll see some form of hearbeat being sent. Often as basic http requests. Some games may just report that they exist, others may send all relevant status data such as player count, map, ...

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Take as example the game "Mount & Blade: Warband", if I remember correctly, the server will periodically report basic information to the master server via http.

Additionally, the game server also includes an http server. When players refresh the server list, the master server will tell the client what servers exist, and then the client sends a http request to each game server. That http server on the game server will return information about it (name, map, player count, ...)