Newsletter – Issue 025

📆 2025-03-04

🔥 Headlines

PlayCanvas released PlayCanvas React, a wrapper around the PlayCanvas Engine. It lets you build scenes declaratively and leverage React’s state management. It is a code-centric alternative to the PlayCanvas Editor.

WebXR PWAs are now supported on the Meta Horizon Store, with 2D and hybrid app support coming later.

The Gamedev.js Survey 2024 results are in.

Not web-related, but Electronic Arts open-sourced Command & Conquer and Red Alert!

⭐️ Sponsors

Poki serves over 90 million players each month, offering a diverse range of game genres. Poki supports game developers in reaching a wide audience with HTML5 games and is continually evolving the variety of web games available, from casual point-and-click games to multiplayer FPS shooters and everything in between. Share your game with us!

Heading to GDC this year? Stop by our booth - S0143 - and have a chat with us about how we can help you create the next hit on web! From free unlimited playtesting to full QA to taking care of user acquisition, Poki’s got you covered :)

CrazyGames is revolutionizing web gaming, connecting over 3,000 developers with 40+ million players monthly. Our platform supports both ads and in-app purchases, paying out millions in revenue share to developers each year while fostering one of the most vibrant player communities worldwide. Publish your game on CrazyGames!

Meet the CrazyGames team at GDC! We’re offering publishing deals and handing out some of the coolest swag in the industry. Whether you want to scale your game or chat about the future of web gaming, we’d love to connect. DM Everton on Discord to set up a meeting!

💼 Jobs

CreativeDevJobs is a job board dedicated to connecting talented developers with cutting-edge companies worldwide. Our platform brings profiles such as creative developers, technical artists, game developers, and front-end developers with innovative projects using Three.js, WebGL, React Three Fiber, and other emerging web technologies. We help developers find exciting opportunities at the intersection of creativity and code.

Find your next opportunity on CreativeDevJobs.

🏎 Engines

Three.js r174 (changelog, migration guide).
React Three Fiber v9.0.0 – Compatibility release for React 19.
Drei v10.0.0 – Compatibility release for React 19.
Threlte v8 – WebGPU-ready, Svelte 5 support, AsciiRenderer, CubeCamera, HUD, Detailed, and a fixed step for physics. They also introduced Threlte Studio, a browser-based editor that syncs changes to your code.
TresJS Cientos 4.1.0 – Align, Billboard, CubeCamera, SoftShadows, MeshDiscardMaterial, Outline, Mask, Image, gradientTexture, ScreenSizer, Edges.
PlayCanvas Engine v2.5.0 and 2.4.0 – Depth of Field post effect, Percentage-Closer Soft Shadows (video).
PlayCanvas Editor v2.0.0 – Adds support for Engine v2.
Babylon.js v7.51.0 – Babylon.js 8 to be released at the end of March.
A-Frame v1.7.0 – Three.js r173, import maps, experimental post-processing, initial WebGPU support.
Phaser released Phaser Editor 4.9.0, Phaser v4 Beta 6 and Beta 5, and Phaser v3.88.
PixiJS 8.7.0 – Render layers, GIFs, Three.js integration. New PixiJS Userland community GitHub organization.
Pixi React v8.0.0 – A full rewrite that adds support for PixiJS v8, React 19, and types. Check out the new docs.
Kaplay 4000.0.0-alpha.16, state of Kaplay #4, and a brand new website.
Wonderland Engine 1.3.0, 1.3.1, 1.3.2 – New and improved project templates, procedural sky shader, drop shadow text effect, and resource filters. Wonderland has merged with Robot Invader to form Create Worlds.
Wonderland React UI – Performant 3D UI. Write your UI code with JSX and render it to Wonderland Engine.
🤺 Rapier 0.23.0 – No major new features, but some fixes and performance improvements.
Defold 1.9.6, 1.9.7, and 1.9.8 Beta
Construct Beta r429 – New Monaco editor updates, dockable Remote Preview, New Bowling example file.
Cocos Creator 3.8.5 – WASM lazy loading, reduced size for 2D projects, enhanced CRP with improved post-processing, HarmonyOS Next (Huawei) and Google Play support, new Prefab & Spine preview.
Colyseus v0.16 – StateView, experimental WebTransport support, and experimental encoding/decoding APIs.

🛠 Tools

InstancedMesh2 – Now with skeletal animation support (demo) – by Andrea Gargaro.
Three.js TSL template (Three.js Shading Language) – Starter template by Bruno Simon.
TSLFX (repo) – Early-stage library of VFX for TSL by me.
TSL Textures – Drop-in textures for TSL by Pavel Boytchev.
vite-plugin-tsl-operator – Vite plugin to use regular math operators in TSL by David Ronai.
threejs-shader-materials – Collection of shader materials by Masato Makino.
@react-three/handle (video) – Library for React XR to grab objects by Bela Bohlender.
@takram/three-clouds (video) – Geospatial volumetric clouds by Shota Matsuda.
Paper Shaders – 2D shaders with React bindings. See Smoke Ring, God Rays, Neuro Noise, Warp, Voronoi.
WebGL Lightmap Baker – Standalone tool to bake shadows, ambient occlusion, and point lights by Mathew.
gltf-type-toolkit – Generates type-safe glTF file representations in TypeScript by Thorsten Seyschab.
JavaScript Game Launcher for retro handheld consoles (video) by Luis Montes.

🎬 Videos

✍️ Articles

🎮 Games

Retro Rex by Monoinyo – Control a T-Rex and destroy everything in your path.
Cat Pizza by Cosmonautic – Cute cat-themed pizza restaurant management game.
Truck Slam by Happylander – Destroy enemy trucks with your weapon in chaotic arenas.
Lucky Claw Machine by Camu – 3D arcade toy claw machine game.
Animal Obby by Kimchi Soup Studios – Obstacle course game where you switch between animals.
Cubes 2048.io by Playmost Games – Multiplayer Snake-like game with 2048 mechanics.
Tower Swap by Curtastic – Combination of match-3 and tower defense.
Escape From Prison Multiplayer by Dinobros – You are a mouse that must avoid traps to escape.
EvoWars.io by Night Steed Games – Agar.io-style top-down battle arena where you evolve your warrior.
Idle Blogger Simulator by PlayCroc – Clicker simulation game in which you are a content creator.
Eonfall by NeoRelm Game Studios – Multiplayer co-op action game with melee combat and magic.
Slow Roads 2.0 by Anslo – Procedurally-generated, scenic roads for endless driving zen.
Captain Goosebumps by Epic Agency – Ride the slope and collect orbs to make the world colorful again.
Sephora Pinball by Cosmic Shelter – Promotional pinball game for Sephora.
Magic Defense by Daniel Corner – Fight waves of enemies with your magic.
Archery Evolution by Vhite Rabbit XR – VR and desktop futuristic archery game (pick Time Trials to play solo).
Mark of the Deep – Top-down action RPG showcasing the Chaotic Engine.
Bubbits (demo) by Team Flow – Battle Royale Puzzle Bobble-like game to be released on Steam.
Stimulation Clicker by Neal Agarwal – A fun and weirdly deep clicker game.

✨ Demos

Playground by Hichem Fantar
Everpath (video) by Ademola
Morning Door by A Number From the Ghost
Sunset Race by Attila Sztankovics
Scenic backdrop, river, rings of power (TSL experiments, repo) by Frank Reitberger
Ramagotchi by Alex Buninman
Breathe of the Wild Grass (demo, repo) by James Smyth
Procedural Energy Core by Puneet/Voxelo

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💌 Newsletter Issue 024