Introducing the Talo Presence API: real-time player tracking made easy

TL;DR

• Track player online status and custom states in real-time
• Easy integration for Unity and Godot games
• Monitor online players through the Talo dashboard
• Perfect foundation for building social features in indie games
• REST API available for custom integrations

Tracking player online status

Building engaging multiplayer and social features is a significant challenge for indie developers without proper tools. Real-time presence tracking solves this by enhancing player interactions and enabling smooth matchmaking, friends lists and co-op gameplay features.

With Talo's new Presence API, indie developers can easily add real-time player tracking to their games without managing complex backend infrastructure, allowing them to focus on creating unique experiences in their games.

Introducing the Talo Presence API

We're excited to announce the release of our Presence API - a powerful addition to Talo's player management features that makes it incredibly simple for game developers to track player availability and status in real-time.

Talo's player presence API's key features include:

• Automatic online/offline tracking – Presence updates happen seamlessly in the background.
• Custom status messages – Let players set rich status updates like "In Match", "Exploring", or "Idle".
• Scalability – Designed to support games of all sizes, from solo projects to indie studios with growing player bases.
• Talo Dashboard Integration – View real-time player activity and engagement metrics in one place.

Monitor player engagement in real-time

The Talo dashboard provides instant insights into your game's active player base. See how many players are online at any given moment, filter by game session, and check individual player statuses. This data helps indie developers:

• Know how many players are online at any given moment
• Identify peak activity times to schedule updates or events
• Debug issues with player presence and statuses

Seamless integration for Unity and Godot

Adding player presence tracking to your game is quick and straightforward. Talo presence tracking works out of the box with our Unity package and Godot plugin. Here's how it works:

Unity integration example

// Subscribe to presence changes
Talo.PlayerPresence.OnPresenceChanged += (presence, onlineChanged, customStatusChanged) => {
    if (onlineChanged) {
        Debug.Log($"{presence.playerAlias.identifier} is now {(presence.online ? "online" : "offline")}");
    }
};

// Update your player's status
await Talo.PlayerPresence.UpdatePresence(true, "In match");

// Check another player's status
var friendPresence = await Talo.PlayerPresence.GetPresence(friendId);

The Unity package is available via our GitHub repository. We've updated the chat demo to also include presence tracking.

Godot integration example

# Subscribe to presence changes
Talo.player_presence.presence_changed.connect(_on_presence_changed)

func _on_presence_changed(presence: TaloPlayerPresence, online_changed: bool, custom_status_changed: bool) -> void:
	if online_changed:
		print("[SYSTEM] %s is now %s" % [presence.player_alias.identifier, "online" if presence.online else "offline"])

# Update your player's status
await Talo.player_presence.update_presence(true, "In match")

# Check another player's status
var friend_presence = await Talo.player_presence.get_presence(friend_id)

The Godot plugin is available on GitHub or the Godot Asset Library. We've updated the chat demo to show presence tracking in action.

REST API for custom integrations

For indie developers using other engines or platforms, Talo provides a simple yet powerful REST API:

[GET] /v1/players/{playerId}/presence
[PUT] /v1/players/presence

The API is designed to be lightweight and efficient, making it perfect for small to mid-sized indie projects that need real-time player tracking without complex backend systems. Check out the player presence API docs for more details.

Building social features with presence

The Presence API is a foundation for creating immersive and socially connected indie games. Here are some ways you can use it:

• Friends lists & online status – Show real-time availability of players.
• Party & lobby systems – Let players invite others to matches when they’re online.
• Activity feeds – Display recent activities like "Player X started a match".
• Matchmaking enhancements – Prioritize matchmaking based on online status.
• Custom player statuses – Give players more ways to express themselves in-game.

Get started today

The Presence API is available now in the latest versions of our Unity package and Godot plugin. To start integrating:

1. Update to the latest version of the Unity package (0.34.0) or Godot plugin (0.21.0)
2. Read the documentation at docs.trytalo.com
3. Join our Discord community for support and discussions: trytalo.com/discord

We designed the Presence API to be easy to use for indie developers of all skill levels. Whether you're working on your first multiplayer game or scaling an established title, Talo provides the tools to keep players engaged.

Join our Discord community to share what you're working on and get help with integrating Talo into your game.