Spectator system in online games

1 . A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive, at a spectator server, game state data from a game simulation server hosting an online game for one or more players;

generate, by the spectator server, one or more spectator game state data corresponding to one or more spectator devices;

output, by the spectator server and based at least in part on a type of spectator associated with the one or more spectator devices, the one or more spectator game state data to the one or more spectator devices; and

output, by the spectator server, the game state data to another spectator server, wherein the other spectator server is configured to output one or more second spectator game state data based on the game state data and based at least in part on the type of spectator associated with one or more second spectator devices to the one or more second spectator devices;

wherein the type of spectator comprises at least:

a first spectator type associated with a spectator client capable of rendering views on the spectator device; and

a second spectator type associated with a spectator media player for which the spectator server or the other spectator server renders views for spectating.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the game state data includes a full game state of the online game hosted by the game simulation server for the one or more players.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive, by the spectator server, a request to spectate the online game from an additional spectator device, the request requesting to spectate via a media stream;

instantiate a new spectator server configured to render a media stream including a spectator view for the additional spectator device;

establish a rebroadcasting of the game state data from an existing spectator server of one or more existing spectator servers to the new spectator server; and

transfer the additional spectator device to the new spectator server.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more players are hosted separately from the one or more spectator devices.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the spectator view is further based on input received at the particular spectator device from a respective spectator.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine a capacity of the spectator server; and

rebroadcast the game state data from the spectator server to the other spectator server based at least in part on the capacity of the spectator server.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive a request from an additional spectator device to spectate the online game;

determine whether the additional spectator device is associated with the first spectator type or the second spectator type; and

send the additional spectator device to a particular spectator server configured to handle the first spectator type or the second spectator type.

8 . A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a spectator server, game state data from a game simulation server hosting an online game for one or more players;

generating, by the spectator server, one or more spectator game state data corresponding to one or more spectator devices;

outputting, by the spectator server and based at least in part on a type of spectator associated with the one or more spectator devices, the one or more spectator game state data to the one or more spectator devices; and

outputting, by the spectator server, the game state data to another spectator server, wherein the other spectator server is configured to output one or more second spectator game state data based on the game state data and based at least in part on the type of spectator associated with one or more second spectator devices to the one or more second spectator devices;

wherein the type of spectator comprises at least:

a first spectator type associated with a spectator client capable of rendering views on the spectator device; and

a second spectator type associated with a spectator media player for which the spectator server or the other spectator server renders views for spectating.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the game state data includes a full game state of the online game hosted by the game simulation server for the one or more players.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving, by the spectator server, a request to spectate the online game from an additional spectator device, the request requesting to spectate via a media stream;

instantiating a new spectator server configured to render a media stream including a spectator view for the additional spectator device;

establishing a rebroadcasting of the game state data from an existing spectator server of one or more existing spectator servers to the new spectator server; and

transferring the additional spectator device to the new spectator server.

11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more players are hosted separately from the one or more spectator devices.

12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein a spectator game state data of the one or more spectator game state data is a subset or derived from the game state data received from the game simulation server.

13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein a particular spectator device of the one or more spectator devices includes the spectator client that renders a spectator view from spectator game state data.

14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the spectator view is further based on input received at the particular spectator device from a respective spectator.

15 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving, at a spectator server, game state data from a game simulation server hosting an online game for one or more players;

generating, by the spectator server, one or more spectator game state data corresponding to one or more spectator devices;

outputting, by the spectator server and based at least in part on a type of spectator associated with the one or more spectator devices, the one or more spectator game state data to the one or more spectator devices; and

outputting, by the spectator server, the game state data to another spectator server, wherein the other spectator server is configured to output one or more second spectator game state data based on the game state data and based at least in part on the type of spectator associated with one or more second spectator devices to the one or more second spectator devices;

wherein the type of spectator comprises at least:

a first spectator type associated with a spectator client capable of rendering views on the spectator device; and

a second spectator type associated with a spectator media player for which the spectator server or the other spectator server renders views for spectating.

16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the game state data includes a full game state of the online game hosted by the game simulation server for the one or more players.

17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein a spectator game state data of the one or more spectator game state data is a subset or derived from the game state data received from the game simulation server.

18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein a particular spectator device of the one or more spectator devices includes the spectator client that renders a spectator view from spectator game state data.

19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18 , wherein the spectator view is further based on input received at the particular spectator device from a respective spectator.

20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the one or more players are hosted separately from the one or more spectator devices.