Native Game Development vs Web Game Development

Developers should learn native game development when building performance-critical games, such as AAA titles, VR/AR experiences, or mobile games requiring low-level hardware access for graphics or physics meets developers should learn web game development to build games with broad accessibility, as they run on any device with a modern browser, reducing distribution barriers. Here's our take.

Native Game Development

Nice Pick

Developers should learn native game development when building performance-critical games, such as AAA titles, VR/AR experiences, or mobile games requiring low-level hardware access for graphics or physics

Pros

• It's essential for maximizing platform-specific features, like Metal on macOS/iOS or DirectX on Windows, and for projects where fine-tuned optimization is a priority over rapid cross-platform deployment
• Related to: c-plus-plus, opengl

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Web Game Development

Developers should learn Web Game Development to build games with broad accessibility, as they run on any device with a modern browser, reducing distribution barriers

Pros

• It's ideal for casual games, educational tools, marketing campaigns, and prototypes, offering rapid deployment and easy updates
• Related to: javascript, html5-canvas

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Native Game Development is a methodology while Web Game Development is a concept. We picked Native Game Development based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Native Game Development wins

Based on overall popularity. Native Game Development is more widely used, but Web Game Development excels in its own space.