Frequently Asked Questions
We keep getting asked a lot of similar questions so we put together this FAQ to help. Over time we will add to it. If you've a question not answered here then email support@phaser.io or grab us on the Slack channel.
1. When will Phaser 3 be out?
If I had $1 for every time I've been asked this 😄 We have a comprehensive technical schedule which we're sticking to as closely as we can. You can view a Gantt chart export of it.
Please understand that the above schedule is based on continued funding from the community.
2. How different is the API?
It depends a lot on which part of Phaser 3 you're using. Fundamentally v3 is completely different internally. There's almost no code left over from v2 being used. However, we were very careful to keep the API as clean and friendly as possible.
One big change is that we now allow you to use configuration objects in far more areas than v2 ever allowed. For example in creating Sprites or Tweens. Phaser 2 rarely used such objects, instead relying on you remembering often very long method signatures (or keeping the API docs open!). This is something we were keen to change and you can see it reflected across the API.
We don't believe anything is more 'complex' than before, if anything it's now a lot more flexible. We appreciate that changes take time to re-learn, but we hope you'll prefer the direction we've taken.
3. Will my Phaser 2 games work in V3?
No. Everything about v3 is different. While the API is kept as similar as possible, there is no way you'll be able to take v2 code and just run it right away in v3. We also wouldn't recommend you do this anyway, as v3 presents lots of new ways to achieve common tasks. Ways that will allow you to make your code cleaner and more structured. So take advantage of it.
3. Will Phaser 2 Plugins and Books be updated for v3?
Probably not. Due to the internal changes in v3 some of the plugins simply won't work any more (Box2D for example), or aren't required due to features that will be part of Phaser 3 by default. In cases where we do decide to upgrade them we will take it on a case-by-case basis if the upgrade should be free or charged for.
Books won't be updated either, however we will absolutely be releasing brand new books and learning materials dedicated to Phaser 3.
4. Should I use Phaser 2 or wait for v3?
That depends a lot on the project and your own circumstances. I would not generally advocate waiting for Phaser 3. We're still some way off from a full release and it will take several versions after that before it has settled down. Phaser 2 is being constantly updated by way of Phaser CE and the team there are doing a stunning job. So honestly I'd recommend using that for now and wait for v3 to be officially released.
5. Does Phaser 3 use ES6?
No. It uses ES5 internally. When we worked on Lazer that was all written in ES6. However, the decision was made after surveying the community that there was no immediate benefit to using ES6, so we kept with ES5 for v3. We were careful to make sure that v3 is as modular and function driven as possible, making a future upgrade to ES6/7 a significantly easier task, but it isn't one we will approach until v3 is out and has been updated several times. As with Phaser 2 you are of course free to use ES6 for your own game code though and no doubt over time devs will release ES6 templates as they did with v2.
6. Does Phaser 3 support 3D?
Not yet, although it's on our project roadmap and has been discussed internally at length. We know how we want 3D to be handled and think we can offer a nice solution but it isn't something we are likely to start until 2018.
7. Does Phaser 3 use Pixi?
No. It uses its own custom Canvas and WebGL Renderer which we built from scratch specifically to fit our own architecture.
8. Is Phaser 3 Lazer?
Lazer is an abandoned project and all of the code we created for it has been merged into Phaser 3. You can read the full gory details on the History page.
9. Can I help support Phaser 3?
Heck, yes. If you'd like to help with hacking on the core API then see our Contributors Guide. If you're able to help financially then please consider backing us on Patreon or making a one-off donation.
10. Where can I get Development Updates?
We publish our Development Logs every week in the Phaser World newsletter. Subscribe to get it sent to your inbox each Friday. We then archive the Dev Logs here the following week.