Unity’s Dominance Challenged in Web Gaming. Playgama.com Maps Top Engines Across Web-Game Categories

Our previous research, where we explored global engine trends in web gaming, showed that Unity powered more than half of all new releases in H1 2025, followed by Construct (16.4%), Cocos (8.1%) and Phaser (7.1%). Revealed data sparked a lot of interest and a discussion among the developers — as the aftermath we got a few requests to break it down even further to see how technology choices align with genre dynamics.

So this time we went deeper and analyzed how engines distribute across different game categories. The results show a nuanced picture: Unity remains the market leader, however its share is under 50% in 9 out of 17 categories. It still rules Idle, Race and Action with its 3D powers and preserves its dominance in Casual, yet in most 2D-driven categories others take the lead. There’s a rise of Construct and Phaser in genres such as Arcade, Strategy and Match-3, while Cocos steadily climbs in Puzzle, Simulation and Adventure.

While the infographic highlights the engines with the largest footprint — Unity, Construct, Phaser and Cocos — we also examined a broader set of technologies including Defold, GameMaker, PlayCanvas. For now these engines represent a smaller slice of the market but form part of the wider competitive landscape. For instance, Playcanvas represents 12.4% in IO, 11.3% in Simulators and 10.5% in the Animal category. Defold and GameMaker hold 14,9% and 7.5% in the Merch games respectively.

Casual continues to be the single largest category at around 20% of all new releases, with Unity firmly in the lead — a critical signal given that Casual is also the most monetized segment of the web-gaming economy. Idle follows a similar pattern, underscoring Unity’s reach into categories where revenue potential is highest. At the same time, Unity’s strength is most visible in Action, Shooter, Race and iO, where its 3D rendering power gives it a clear edge, while in 2D-driven genres lighter engines increasingly take the lead.

Dmitry Kachmar, founder of Playgama:

“Engine choice is not random — it maps directly to genre. For now Unity remains unrivaled for 3D and complex projects, but in classic and casual genres developers increasingly choose lighter, faster stacks. The ecosystem is diversifying, and that’s a sign of maturity for web gaming.”

Beyond pure shares, the research also points to the changing economics of the browser market. As the hybrid web/mobile casual space matures, developers are adding more sophisticated in-app and advertising monetization. Puzzle and Casual titles are attractive because they maximize ad inventory and upsell opportunities, and this in turn drives a steady flow of new releases.

At the same time, the growing presence of Construct, Phaser, and other lightweight engines shows that development is becoming faster and cheaper, opening the field to indies and new entrants. The web is establishing itself as a first-class launch platform, and the diversity of engines points to a more resilient ecosystem ahead.

We expect these shifts to accelerate as new technologies like WebGPU and AI-driven tooling lower technical barriers even further. What was once a niche for simple browser titles is now evolving into a competitive arena where every screen can become a gaming device.

The study is based on multiple new releases across leading HTML5 game distribution platforms in 2024 and 2025 year-to-date, with categories reflecting the labeling systems most commonly used by the sites. When games carried multiple tags, their shares were apportioned evenly, while the “Other” category aggregates minor or weakly classifiable titles.

Our findings are based entirely on publicly available data and don’t include private catalogs or proprietary databases. We’re sharing this as a resource for the industry and are fully open to partnerships and suggestions on how to improve it. If you’re working in this space and want to collaborate, we’d love to hear from you.