Browser game engines

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.

Two lines: stable v3001 vs v4000 still alpha. Official host is kaplayjs.com, not kaboomjs.com. Named homepage titles are testimonials, not a studio showcase.

Do not conflate the MIT engine with the hosted Editor. Private cloud projects are the paid line (Personal 15 USD/month; Organization 50 USD per seat/month). Cancel and private projects lock until you resubscribe or make them public.

Heavier than a 2D starter. docs.babylonjs.com (with an s) has returned 500; working docs host is doc.babylonjs.com. Editor pricing was not verified here, so it is omitted.

A renderer, not a game engine. Bring physics, audio, scenes, netcode. If you wanted Phaser, this is the wrong layer.

Svelte-bound - not React Three Fiber. Still Three.js under the hood. Distinct from Theatre.js motion editor and Babylon engines.

Browser RPG/MMORPG TypeScript framework (same code solo + networked) — not Phaser scenes, not Colyseus rooms alone, not GDevelop no-code, not Godot/Heaps. Studio is not the free path.

Rust ECS + first-party Web — not Phaser/Pixi/Babylon/PlayCanvas JS engines. Steeper Rust learning curve. Distinct from Phaser, Pixi, Babylon, and PlayCanvas.

A server framework, not a renderer. Colyseus Cloud has no free tier — it starts at 15 USD/mo. Capacity depends on your code, not a marketed CCU cap.

C/C++ native-first + Emscripten — not Phaser/KAPLAY JS engines. Full framework — not Pixi/Babylon/PlayCanvas renderer-or-editor slots alone. Distinct from Phaser, KAPLAY, Pixi, Babylon, and PlayCanvas.

Source-available NOT OSI Open Source — §4a may not commercialize as a Game Engine Product. Forever free for making games; license is not MIT/Apache. Vs Phaser/melonJS/KAPLAY JS engines. Distinct from Phaser, melonJS, and KAPLAY.

Still pre-1.0 API caution. Vs Phaser/melonJS/KAPLAY: smaller plugin marketplace than Phaser; not a 3D/WebGPU-first engine. You bring art pipeline and multiplayer.

Vs Babylon/PlayCanvas: Ant Group TS WebGL + browser Editor + WeChat minigame lane — not Microsoft Babylon docs gravity, not PlayCanvas hosted-Editor freemium. Editor cloud pricing isn’t covered here.

companies >$50k revenue must use Pro if using a GDevelop account. Event/no-code+HTML5 — not Phaser code-first or Godot editor. Distinct from Phaser and Godot.

Compatibility/WebGL2 only for web; threaded export needs COOP/COEP — single-thread default since 4.3 for embeds. Not Phaser JS canvas. Distinct from Phaser.

Haxe+HashLink HTML5/WebGL — not Phaser/Godot/Defold/Cute Framework/melonJS/Bevy. Different language/runtime bet. Distinct from Phaser, Godot, Defold, Cute Framework, melonJS, and Bevy.

Phaser already ships Matter physics. If you are on Phaser, you already have this. This gem is for Pixi/KAPLAY/canvas, not a second physics stack inside Phaser. Distinct from Phaser (full engine).

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.

Vs Colyseus, Gatho, and PartyKit: full social/game server, not a rooms-only kit, not process-per-room WebSockets, not CF Durable Objects. Multi-node HA / cluster management is Nakama Enterprise proprietary — the free path is OSS single-node (or single-process) self-host; clustering is the commercial side. You still run Postgres/Cockroach and own ops.

Rust/WASM 2D+3D with joints/SIMD/optional determinism — Matter.js is MIT 2D only. Planck covers the same 2D JS slot as Matter. Distinct from Matter.js.

C+Emscripten web — not Phaser/Pixi/KAPLAY/melonJS JS engines. Lower-level than Godot/Defold/Bevy full engines. Distinct from JS canvas engines.

Authoring lives in Rive editor freemium seats. Not After Effects Lottie. Distinct from lottie-web and Theatre.js timeline studio.

Real WebGPU, and the README does not describe a WebGL fallback — check your browser support targets before using it on critical UI. The design editor, CLI sync, and MCP need a shaders.com account, and the editor, presets, and sections are under separate platform terms, not MIT. The 1,000+ presets, ready-made sections, watermark-free renders, and the Framer plugin are paid Pro. Vs pixijs or babylonjs (full renderers you program): Shaders is drop-in effect components, not a scene graph or game engine.

Core repo quiet since mid-2024 - still used, watch maintenance. Distinct from Threlte and Rive/Lottie authored runtimes.