{"data":{"slug":"melonjs","name":"melonJS","tagline":"MIT 2D engine: WebGPU to WebGL2 to Canvas AUTO, zero deps","category":"libraries","categoryName":"Libraries","url":"https://melonjs.org","github":"https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS","pricing":"open-source","hook":"melonJS is the Canvas2D-shaped 2D engine when Phaser plugin zoo is too much.","whatsGood":"MIT forever $0. Renderer cascade WebGPU then WebGL2 then Canvas AUTO. Canvas2D-shaped API. Zero dependencies.","theCatch":"WebGPU to WebGL2 to Canvas AUTO and Canvas2D-shaped API — not Phaser scene/plugin ecosystem. W4 cut re-opened. Distinct from Phaser, KAPLAY, and PixiJS.","verdict":"MIT zero-dep 2D engine. Not Phaser.","addedAt":"2026-09-04","featured":false,"domain":"Graphics & 3D","subSpecialty":"Game Engines","capabilities":["canvas","webgl","webgpu"],"surfaces":["Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Browser"],"licenseModel":"OSS/MIT","githubStars":6383},"related":[{"slug":"hono","name":"Hono","tagline":"Tiny TypeScript web framework that runs on every runtime"},{"slug":"phaser","name":"Phaser","tagline":"MIT HTML5 2D game framework with scenes, physics, and tilemaps"},{"slug":"pixijs","name":"PixiJS","tagline":"MIT 2D WebGPU/WebGL renderer, not a game engine"},{"slug":"babylonjs","name":"Babylon.js","tagline":"Apache-2.0 3D engine for the web, now on v9"},{"slug":"playcanvas","name":"PlayCanvas","tagline":"MIT WebGL2/WebGPU engine plus an optional hosted Editor"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/melonjs","html":"/gems/melonjs","markdown":"/gems/melonjs.md","category":"/api/gems?category=libraries","categoryPage":"/stacks/libraries"}}