Issue #666 - October 9th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
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Articles:

Introducing Playground: create and play custom games
Google introduces Playground, an experimental platform for creating, playing, and sharing custom games directly in the browser using text prompts, with no coding experience required.
Maryam Karimzadehgan at Google

A wild shift is happening in how games are being made and distributed
Anul Agarwal looks at how new AI models are enabling non-developers to build increasingly polished browser games with technologies like Three.js, while changing both development and distribution workflows.
Anul Agarwal at X

Valve will make $20 billion this year via Steam, and it owes developers big-time
With Steam reportedly on track for $20 billion in game sales this year, John Walker argues Valve could do far more for developers, from reducing its revenue cut to improving discovery and reviews.
John Walker at Kotaku
 

Tutorials:

Integrating ECS into existing mass-market games: a practical engineering guide
A practical guide to introducing Entity Component System architecture into established live games without rewriting the engine, covering legacy interoperability, scripting, migration, and engineering trade-offs.
Aliaksandr Zhorau at MCV/DEVELOP

Interlude: a starter for custom page transitions in Astro
A starter for custom GSAP-powered transitions using Astro's own client router, with 21 examples ranging from simple covers to WebGL effects built with Three.js and TSL.
Manoela Ilic at Codrops
 

Events:

Inside the first Three.js Conference in Paris

GDEX 2026

Roguelike Celebration 2026
 

Competitions:

js13kGames 2026 winners announced

Patch Notes v2.0

Trijam #393: the 3 hour game jam

Spooky 2D Jam '26
 

Tools:

PixiJS skills - official AI skills for PixiJS

PlayCanvas Engine v2.23.0 released

ForgeSprite sprite sheet cutter

Riggy Spine JSON validator

Data-driven games: Easel October 2026 update
 

Resources:

What 45K+ browser games reveal about the market

Awesome AI-built games - a curated list of vibe-coded games
 

Demos:

The core

Sliced gooey text

Dweet of the week: reversiology
 

Videos:

Jupi Plays Indie Games: all the games from js13kGames 2026, part 2 (also part 3 and part 4)

Zanzlanz: how I released a game that has no assets
 

Games:

The Old Coin

Star Hop

Master Blaster
 

Issue #665 - October 2nd 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
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Articles:

You can now play Halo CE in your web browser
An unofficial port of the original Halo: Combat Evolved now runs directly in the browser, including the campaign and multiplayer support.
Sam Woods at TheGamer

42% of the games from last year's Vibe Jam are already offline
A look at more than 2,000 Vibe Jam entries shows how quickly experimental web games disappear, and why static hosting tends to survive much better than custom domains and server-dependent projects.
Michael Scheiwiller's blog

Launching mobile FPS on HTML5 platforms and a standalone website: Hazmob FPS and Playgama deep dive
The team behind HTML5 FPS Hazmob shares its journey from reaching 1.2 million monthly play sessions on MSN to running its own standalone website, which now draws about 120,000 visits a month.
Mobidictum
 

Tutorials:

WebXR tutorial: getting started with Three.js and no game engine
Learn how to turn a Three.js scene into a browser-based VR experience, add controller and hand input, and get started with WebXR without Unity, an app store, or a native build pipeline.
NewsNix

The file is in your ZIP, why does itch still return 403?
A practical look at why HTML5 games can request a different path from the one actually stored in their ZIP, and how Asset Match can uncover capitalization, path, and missing-file problems.
Pebblefold at itch.io
 

Competitions:

LittleJS Jam 3

GameDev.tv Halloween Jam 2026

Wholesome Games Game Jam 2026
 

Tools:

SliceForge - game UI you can actually ship

Voxella Lite - voxel editing for Blender

Defold 1.13.2 released
 

Demos:

Realistic interactive pool water

Line 2 node material

Dweet of the week: symbiotic spirals
 

Videos:

Jupi Plays Indie Games: all the games from js13kGames 2026, part 1

Frank Force at Game Dev Advice: stop waiting for perfect, start shipping games
 

Games:

Smush Fighter

Dolly Parton Clicker
 

Issue #664 - September 25th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
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Articles:

A browser arcade in plain TypeScript: 8 classic games, 35 kB, no framework
A retro browser arcade featuring eight classic games built with plain TypeScript and Canvas 2D, with zero runtime dependencies and a complete build weighing about 35 kB gzipped.
Minjia Hu at DevTo

10M gameplays in two months: how BMG: Ragdoll Car Race scaled on YouTube Playables with Playgama
The HTML5 game BMG: Ragdoll Car Race reached 10 million play sessions in two months on YouTube Playables. The story breaks down exactly how it got there and follows the journey of its solo developer at Crimson Games.
Kate Ilicheva at Playgama

How we took a PixiJS map from 33.9 s to 3.0 s on a slow phone
A detailed performance postmortem explaining how a PixiJS city map cut its mobile loading screen from almost 34 seconds to 3 seconds through asset optimization, deferred loading, streaming, and careful GPU memory management.
Denshin Team's blog

Dueling industry surveys show Japanese game devs are embracing AI, while North American ones are still skeptical
New surveys show a sharp contrast in generative AI adoption, with 85.8% of surveyed Japanese developers reporting AI use compared with 36% of respondents to the 2026 GDC survey.
Ted Litchfield at PC Gamer
 

Tutorials:

Introduction to 3D Gaussian Splatting with Three.js
Learn how to capture a real-world object with a smartphone, export it as Gaussian Splatting data, clean it up, and display it directly in Three.js using its new WebGPU-powered 3DGS support.
Norihiro Narayama at ICS MEDIA
 

Events:

This Monday: JetBrains GameDev Day 2026 with Meta, AWS, Hytale, and more
Dive into game production workflows, from ECS migrations and Unreal profiling to AI, CI, version control, and debugging. Free to watch online.

JSNation US 2026 - November 16 in New York and online
 

Competitions:

Quantum Game Jam 2026 starts today
 

Tools:

Brainloot - project management for game teams

AnimGen - AI animation generator for game sprites

Spritesheets.ai - AI sprite sheet generator
 

Demos:

Hopf fibration

Puppet on strings

Dweet of the week: drawing a beating heart
 

Games:

Robot Rivals

ZigZag

EKO: Chapter 1
 

Issue #663 - September 18th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
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Articles:

Roblox expands tools to help creators build, distribute games
Roblox plans to let creators distribute games as standalone apps across mobile, PC and consoles, while also bringing browser-based play and expanding its AI-powered creation tools.
Anzar Mehraj at Reuters

Draft of new EU law proposes sweeping restrictions on online games
The proposed EU KIDS Act could extend new child-safety rules to online games, potentially affecting retention mechanics, communication between minors and other users, age assurance, and monetization systems.
Andreas Lober at GamesIndustryBiz

The White House made a "Tetris" clone, the Tetris Company was not amused
The White House removed its Tetris-like "Build the Wall" browser game after The Tetris Company said it had not authorized or licensed the Tetris brand or intellectual property for the project.
Kyle Orland at Ars Technica
 

Tutorials:

Introducing MTLX - MaterialX tools for the web
A look at MTLX, a pure TypeScript and JavaScript toolkit for parsing, validating, packaging, transforming, and previewing MaterialX files directly on the web and in Node.js.
Ben Houston's blog

Understanding raycasting in 2D games, and using it with a free commented open source JavaScript library
Learn how raycasting can handle vision cones, fog of war, bullets, collisions and more in 2D games, accompanied by a lightweight open source JavaScript library and ten interactive examples.
Emanuele Feronato's blog
 

Events:

Game production, unpacked: JetBrains GameDev Day 2026
Join developers from AWS, Meta, Hytale, and more for practical talks on game engines, AI, debugging, performance, tooling, and CI. Free online on September 28.

React Summit US 2026 - November 17-20 in New York and online
 

Competitions:

Defold Game Jam 2026
 

Tools:

ArmorPaint 1.0 is out after eight years in early access

PlayCanvas' SuperSplat Editor 3.0 rebuilt on WebGPU
 

Resources:

Built a game with AI? Get your first players and ad revenue with Playgama MCP

Best web game platforms for indie developers: where Bounty Board Arcade fits
 

Demos:

Fractal tunnel

Tides - a cinematic canvas ocean

Dweet of the week: ripple remix hi-res
 

Games:

Rectweave
 

Issue #662 - September 11th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
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Articles:

This official IKEA mod for Skyrim adds its famous Kallax shelf to hold your inventory
IKEA has released KALLAX STORAGEBORN, a free official Skyrim mod that turns its iconic shelving unit into a fully voiced companion capable of carrying your loot, complete with new quests, dungeons, items, and a shout.
Simon Batt at XDA

Seven terabytes of terrain that never exists
How browser-based space MMO Zero-G generates detailed planetary terrain client-side only where the player is looking, turning what could require terabytes of data into just a few megabytes in memory.
Zero-G

After years of company stalling, Blizzard workers win mega-contract that applies to all unionized teams
Blizzard workers have secured a contract covering 1,900 unionized employees across teams including Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Hearthstone, with protections covering layoffs, remote work, wages, and AI.
Nathan Grayson at Aftermath
 

Tutorials:

Breaking the frame: building a real-time datamosh effect with Three.js
A hands-on exploration of how Three.js, shaders, motion vectors, feedback buffers, and codec-inspired techniques can turn a scene transition into a convincing real-time datamosh effect.
Niccolò Fanton at Codrops
 

Competitions:

More than 300 entries submitted to js13kGames 2026
 

Tools:

Knit of Shadows - free game-dev tools for fantasy environment art

GLB handoff samples

FrameSprite's free online sprite sheet generator
 

Demos:

Follow me sphere

Magnetic attraction

Dweet of the week: untitled
 

Games:

Opusfived

Lab Rats
 

Issue #661 - September 4th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
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Articles:

Irish browser games start-up Entity raises $5M in funding for 'console-quality games for the new web era'
Dublin-based Entity has raised $5 million to build a browser gaming platform powered by WebGPU and WebAssembly, aiming to deliver console-quality games without downloads or installs.
Nicole Carpenter at Game Developer

How HeartBeast shipped a game in 4 months
Matt Hackett looks at HeartBeast's rapid development process and the lessons learned from prototyping, keeping scope small, using existing assets, and shipping fast.
Matt Hackett at Valadria

The games industry is stifled by a culture of fear
A workgroup hosted by Rami Ismail argues that risk-averse decision-making, trend chasing, and excessive reliance on market research are stifling creativity across the games industry.
Lewis Packwood at GamesIndustryBiz
 

Tutorials:

The depths of JavaScript: Minesweeper in 247 bytes
A deep dive into code golfing a functional browser version of Minesweeper down to just 247 characters of JavaScript.
Yui's blog

HTML5 game performance: holding 60 FPS on mobile
A practical guide to keeping HTML5 games running smoothly on mobile by avoiding hot-path allocations, reducing garbage collection, pooling objects, and keeping rendering costs under control.
NixieFX team
 

Competitions:

Less than 9 days to submit your entry into js13kGames 2026

Uplifting Game Jam 9
 

Tools:

Rapid.js - a lightweight WebGL 2D renderer

1BITDRAGON 5 released

Photon Fusion Multiplayer for Defold + sample 3D platformer
 

Demos:

Little creature

Low-poly neon village

Dweet of the week: uptown
 

Games:

Plant Shop

Clear Sequence
 

Issue #660 - August 28th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
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Articles:

W4 Games raises $18M to expand its international team
W4 Games has also signed a multi-year strategic partnership with Tencent to scale its business and the Godot ecosystem in Asia.
Diego Argüello at Game Developer

Roblox officially cracks down on doomscrolling-reward games after controversy
Roblox has taken a stance against "doomscrolling" by restricting games that reward ongoing media feed consumption.
Elijah Gonzalez at Polygon

Playgama launches Wrap to help developers run games outside app stores
Wrap turns HTML5 games into standalone websites with their own domains, monetization, purchases, SEO, and player analytics.
Jolie Feld at GamesBeat
 

Tutorials:

Exploring procedural geometry with Three.js and WebGPU
A deep dive into building a flexible Three.js Geometry Painter with WebGPU and TSL, from surface picking and procedural geometry to custom shaders, lighting, and post-processing.
Chiro Visuals at Codrops

How to build immersive 3D web experiences in 2026
WebGL development can make the web feel alive or tank your load times. Learn how to build immersive, high-performance 3D web experiences in 2026.
MDX
 

Competitions:

js13kGames 2026 is halfway through
 

Tools:

ZzFX Studio - algorithmic chiptune tracker

W-XR - lightweight WebXR scene with W renderer

NixieFX - full-featured Three.js particle editor
 

Demos:

Air hockey

Voxel city generator

Dweet of the week: looking up
 

Games:

Gold City

Movie Cast

Now THAT'S a Big Dragon! released
 

Issue #659 - August 21st 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
If you have anything you want to share with our community please let me know by replying to this email, thank you!
 

Articles:

Godot adoption is rising: what are devs getting out of the engine?
Godot's 'lightweight' features are a major reason why devs are sticking with the open source engine.
Bryant Francis at Game Developer

The opportunity cost of Sony's live service pivot is enormous
The cost can't be measured only in money; what's the price tag for some of Sony's biggest studios being missing in action for much of the PS5 era?
Rob Fahey at GamesIndustryBiz

Developer Cold Iron Studios shuts down cloud version of $60 game with no refunds
A reminder of the perils of digital ownership.
Scharon Harding at Ars Technica

Still more GTA 6 details from the latest leaked video: traffic cameras, car trackers, and drivers that put up a fight
With each leaked video we learn a bit more about the game.
Christopher Livingston at PC Gamer
 

Tutorials:

Relighting images with depth maps and Three.js
Explore how depth maps, TSL, and WebGPU can be combined to turn flat 2D images into dynamic surfaces with realistic lighting, surface detail, and self-shadowing.
Dominik Fojcik at Codrops
 

Tools:

Open SA - a from-scratch, high-performance WebGPU engine compatible with RenderWare (GTA San Andreas)

Defold 1.13.1 released
 

Resources:

Gamedev.js Survey 2026 is open - you can fill the form directly here
 

Demos:

Verity engine

Circle pattern animation lighten

Dweet of the week: plastic
 

Games:

LittleJS Arcade
 

Issue #658 - August 14th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
If you have anything you want to share with our community please let me know by replying to this email, thank you!
 

Articles:

Unity records "best quarter in history" following continued success of Vector AI
AI-driven advertising and user acquisition platform boosted Grow Solutions revenue by 35% to $389 million during Q2.
Sophie McEvoy at GamesIndustryBiz

Fallout 3 dev excited for the remaster because the original game’s visuals were ‘100 percent not what we intended’
According to longtime game developer Nathan Purkeypile, Bethesda's open-world RPG was 'super tech constrained'.
Zack Zwiezen at Kotaku

Coffee Stain bullish despite underperformance of Deep Rock Galactic spinoff
Meanwhile, the company's popular Roblox title, Welcome to Bloxburg, generated $2.1 million during Q1.
Chris Kerr at Game Developer

If you're not paying attention to retro game recompilations, you're missing the most exciting thing in gaming right now
Forget all the new games coming out in 2026. Newly shiny old games are where it's at.
Wes Fenlon at PC Gamer
 

Tutorials:

No build step, no bundler: 11 things that broke shipping Three.js into an iframe
Two 3D games, real ones with physics and shadows and a mascot, that have to load inside an iframe on somebody else's page, on whatever laptop a school district bought in 2019, with no build step, no bundler, and no framework.
Kentog751 at DevTo
 

Events:

The Poki Party at Gamescom 2026 on August 26th
 

Competitions:

js13kGames 2026 has started!

Craftpix Indie Jam #1-2026 starts September 2nd
 

Tools:

BroMetal for js13k

Sprite Fusion's pixel art generator
 

Demos:

Strings

Celestial transmutation

Dweet of the week: abstract forest
 

Games:

The Sole Surviving Sanitation Specialist of the Blue Giant

Snail Walk: Step Tracking Survival Fitness Game
 

Issue #658 - August 14th 2026

Weekly newsletter about Web Game Development.
If you have anything you want to share with our community please let me know by replying to this email, thank you!
 

Articles:

Unity records "best quarter in history" following continued success of Vector AI
AI-driven advertising and user acquisition platform boosted Grow Solutions revenue by 35% to $389 million during Q2.
Sophie McEvoy at GamesIndustryBiz

Fallout 3 dev excited for the remaster because the original game’s visuals were ‘100 percent not what we intended’
According to longtime game developer Nathan Purkeypile, Bethesda's open-world RPG was 'super tech constrained'.
Zack Zwiezen at Kotaku

Coffee Stain bullish despite underperformance of Deep Rock Galactic spinoff
Meanwhile, the company's popular Roblox title, Welcome to Bloxburg, generated $2.1 million during Q1.
Chris Kerr at Game Developer

If you're not paying attention to retro game recompilations, you're missing the most exciting thing in gaming right now
Forget all the new games coming out in 2026. Newly shiny old games are where it's at.
Wes Fenlon at PC Gamer
 

Tutorials:

No build step, no bundler: 11 things that broke shipping Three.js into an iframe
Two 3D games, real ones with physics and shadows and a mascot, that have to load inside an iframe on somebody else's page, on whatever laptop a school district bought in 2019, with no build step, no bundler, and no framework.
Kentog751 at DevTo
 

Events:

The Poki Party at Gamescom 2026 on August 26th
 

Competitions:

js13kGames 2026 has started!

Craftpix Indie Jam #1-2026 starts September 2nd
 

Tools:

BroMetal for js13k

Sprite Fusion's pixel art generator
 

Demos:

Strings

Celestial transmutation

Dweet of the week: abstract forest
 

Games:

The Sole Surviving Sanitation Specialist of the Blue Giant

Snail Walk: Step Tracking Survival Fitness Game