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Phaser vs PixiJS
Same catalog, two overlapping tools. Catch and verdict side by side. No winner score.
Phaser
MIT HTML5 2D game framework with scenes, physics, and tilemaps
OSS/MIT · open-source
The Catch
Phaser 4 replaced the v3 renderer/FX/mask stack — v3 games need the migration guide. Phaser Editor is a separate commercial desktop product, not the OSS engine. The homepage can Cloudflare-gate a raw fetch; docs and GitHub are the source of truth.
Verdict
Default 2D HTML5 game framework. MIT engine; Editor is paid and optional.
PixiJS
MIT 2D WebGPU/WebGL renderer, not a game engine
OSS/MIT · open-source
The Catch
A renderer, not a game engine. Bring physics, audio, scenes, netcode. If you wanted Phaser, this is the wrong layer.
Verdict
The 2D WebGPU/WebGL renderer. Not Phaser. Not a product.