Security
Anticheat and session integrity
Native C++ module under an Electron launcher. Sessions live only while the monitor holds the process; signed binaries, tamper response, hardware-gated features.
Runes of code.
Ideas in motion.
We build custom platforms, game infrastructure and security tools, and keep them running after launch. A boutique studio in Tallinn.
Tallinn, EstoniaEU company, remote-first
Small by designDirect access, no account managers
All from one live game platform we build and run
10nodes on four continents
7regional edge servers
6languages served in production
2025in production since
Work
Systems we have shipped and still run
Built for a live online game operator with thousands of daily players. Names withheld, the engineering is ours.
AI Systems
LLM sidecar for a live game world
An in-game character with memory, moderation and quest generation, run as an async service beside the game server so the simulation never waits on a model.
Operations
Fleet dashboard and alerting
Ten nodes on a private mesh across four continents, one dashboard, agents that push health and a watchdog that notices when they stop.
Client
Launcher and patch pipeline
Signed desktop launcher with hash-verified incremental updates from object storage, account linking, alerts to Discord and Telegram.
Graphics
Vulkan renderer for a 2004 engine
A Direct3D 9 to Vulkan translation layer fork: ambient occlusion, reflections, bloom, frame generation and neural rendering, with a detached UI layer so the HUD stays untouched.
Community
Discord bot with AI moderation
Tickets, account verification, event relays and a moderation layer that reads context before it acts, serving a multilingual community around the clock.
Anticheat and session integrity
The problem
Players could run the game client outside the launcher, or with the monitoring module disabled, and the server had no way to tell.
What we built
A native monitor the launcher must hold before a session can exist, a heartbeat that stops itself the moment the monitor dies, signed binaries and a tamper response that revokes the session server-side. Renderer features are unlocked per launch by a signed record, so a modified DLL runs with everything off.
One number
0unmonitored sessions possible since the gate shippedLLM sidecar for a live game world
The problem
Model calls inside the game process parked threads for seconds at a time, starved the connection pool and stalled the packet loop for everyone online.
What we built
An asyncio sidecar per game server that owns every model call: chat with tiered memory, a persistent moderation ladder, quest narrative generation, six-language translation with a two-second deadline, and a vector knowledge base for grounded answers. The game sends a snapshot and gets a callback; nothing in the simulation waits.
One number
0model calls left inside the game loopFleet dashboard and alerting
The problem
A dead or isolated node cannot report itself. Alerts that depend on the failing box arrive never.
What we built
Per-node agents that push health over an encrypted mesh, a backend watchdog that pulls when they go quiet, regional proxies that report their own path to the game server, and Discord delivery with rate limiting that carries suppressed alerts instead of dropping them.
One number
30 sfrom a node going silent to a human being toldLauncher and patch pipeline
The problem
Full client downloads on every update, no way to reach players outside the game, and a manual patch process that broke whenever the server side was not ready.
What we built
A signed Electron launcher that hashes every local file against a manifest and fetches only what changed from object storage, a separate full-install path in chunked volumes, self-update, account linking to the web platform, and notifications that reach Discord and Telegram with the player's consent.
One number
1manifest upload is the whole deploymentVulkan renderer for a 2004 engine
The problem
A twenty-year-old engine with no post-processing, no modern upscaling, and a HUD drawn into the same buffer as the world.
What we built
A fork of the D3D9-to-Vulkan layer that classifies draws into scene and UI, redirects the UI into its own layer composited last, and applies ambient occlusion, screen-space reflections, bloom, anti-aliasing, frame generation and neural rendering to the world alone. An in-game tuner exposes every knob live for calibration.
One number
65render parameters tunable in-game without a rebuildDiscord bot with AI moderation
The problem
A community across six languages, support requests arriving at all hours, and moderation that depended on whoever was awake.
What we built
A bot that handles tickets, links Discord identities to game accounts, relays in-game chat and raid events, delivers personal alerts, and runs a moderation layer that scores messages with context and escalates on a persistent ladder instead of reacting to single words.
One number
24/7first response, in the player's languageServices
What we build
Nine things we are set up to sell, from the first interface sketch to the server it runs on. One team, the whole stack.
Custom Software
Bespoke platforms, member areas, payments, internal tools. Design-led, built to be run for years.
Web Development
Websites and web apps, multilingual, fast, measured. From a marketing site to a full member platform.
Game Software
Game development, client tooling, launchers, renderer work. Engine internals are not off limits.
Game Servers & Hosting
Authoritative servers, regional edges, anti-DDoS ingress, managed infrastructure at thousands of concurrent players.
Security Software
Anticheat, integrity checks, signed binaries, rate limiting. The boring parts that stop the expensive parts.
Systems & Software Consulting
Architecture, API design, reviews, second opinions before an expensive decision.
IT Support & Administration
Linux fleets, databases, backups that restore, monitoring that wakes someone up.
IT Strategy & Modernisation
Roadmaps, legacy replacement, vendor and stack selection for teams that have outgrown what they run.
Data Protection & GDPR
Article 28 and 30 records, privacy notices, processor agreements, written by people who also build the systems.
About
Small studio. Whole stack. Long memory.
RunicByte is a boutique studio based in Tallinn. We take on the projects where design, backend and infrastructure have to agree with each other, and we stay on after launch, because the systems we build are the systems we run.
You talk to the people writing the code. No layers, no hand-offs, no ticket queue between you and an answer.
How we work
01
DiscoveryGoals, constraints, what already exists.
02
ArchitectureThe shape of the system before the first screen.
03
DesignInterfaces tested against real tasks.
04
BuildShort iterations, working software every week.
05
TestLoad, security, the unhappy paths.
06
DeployInfrastructure, monitoring, rollback ready.
07
RunUpdates, support, the long tail.
Contact
Tell us what you are building
Tell us the goal, what exists today, and your timeline. A developer replies within two working days.