Cannot Send HTTP Requests from GameLift Managed EC2 Fleet (SDK 5)

Question

Hello AWS Support,

I am currently using GameLift Managed EC2 with Server SDK 5.2.0 to host a multiplayer Unreal Engine 5.4 (Lyra-based) dedicated server. The fleet was successfully created, and instances are running as expected.

My server attempts to send HTTP POST requests (e.g. to https://webhook.site) from C++ during OnExperienceLoaded() in LyraGameMode.cpp — for example, to report match results or game session start.

However, while this logic works perfectly on local builds, on Managed EC2 fleets, the following issues occur:
1. POST requests do not reach the endpoint (confirmed via Webhook.site).
2. It appears that the server instance has no outbound internet access, and I cannot configure routing manually — because:
- There are no visible EC2 instances.
- There are no network interfaces or VPCs I can manage.
- I cannot assign or route through a NAT Gateway.

I need to be able to:
- Send simple outbound HTTP POST requests from the server process to an external HTTPS endpoint (e.g., Webhook.site or my backend).
- Do this from inside a GameLift Managed EC2 fleet using SDK 5.

Is outbound internet access supported at all for GameLift Managed EC2 (SDK 5)?
If yes — how can we enable it? Are there specific IAM roles, VPC endpoints, or settings to configure outbound access?
If no — is switching to GameLift Anywhere the only viable solution for enabling outbound HTTP communication?

I appreciate any official clarification or guidance.
Thank you in advance!

Best regards,
Mike.

Shubham Gupta · Answer

Hello,

Have you tried executing a command like `curl -s https://example.com` after getting SSH remote access to your instance of the fleet? This document can help you get SSH access of your instance of the fleet. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/gamelift/latest/developerguide/fleets-remote-access.html. The outbound traffic from the instances is not restricted, I was able to send a `curl` request from the instance of the fleet without any policies attached.

I recommend getting SSH access to the instance and double check the outbound internet access.

> Is outbound internet access supported at all for GameLift Managed EC2 (SDK 5)?

Yes.

>Are there specific IAM roles, VPC endpoints, or settings to configure outbound access?

There is no specific IAM roles to enable outbound access.

>Is switching to GameLift Anywhere the only viable solution for enabling outbound HTTP communication?

No, outbound access to internet traffic is available on Amazon GameLift Servers EC2 on-demand fleets as well.

Cannot Send HTTP Requests from GameLift Managed EC2 Fleet (SDK 5)

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