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{{Short description|Video game played in a web browser}}
] is an HTML5 browser game]]
]]]


A '''browser game''' is a ] that is played over the Internet using a ].<ref>D Schultheiss: ''Long-term motivations to play MMOGs: A longitudinal study on motivations, experience and behavior'', page 344. DiGRA, 2007.</ref> Browser games can be run using ]<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/graphics#uses |title=Graphics - W3C |publisher=W3.org |date=2010-02-18 |accessdate=2010-05-20}}</ref> or browser ]. The Creation of such games usually involves use of ] as a ] and other technologies to provide a ]. Browser games include all ] and can be ] or ]. Browser games are also ] and can be played on multiple different devices, web browsers and operating systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbbg.org/default.asp |title=The PBBG Project |publisher=Pbbg.org |date= |accessdate=2010-05-20}}</ref> A '''browser game''' is a ] that is played via the ] using a ].<ref>D Schultheiss: ''Long-term motivations to play MMOGs: A longitudinal study on motivations, experience and behavior'', page 344. DiGRA, 2007.</ref> They are mostly ] and can be ] or ]. Alternative names for the browser game genre reference their software platform used, with common examples being ''']'''<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-play-old-flash-games-ruffle/ | title=How to Play All of Those Old Flash Games You Remember | magazine=Wired | last1=Pot | first1=Justin }}</ref> and '''] games'''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21137737/gamesnacks-google-html5-games-area-120-bad-internet-connection-budget-phones | title=GameSnacks are Google's new HTML5 games designed for bad internet connections | date=14 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://venturebeat.com/games/korean-game-startup-pangalore-targets-html5-games/ | title=Korean game startup Pangalore targets HTML5 games | date=15 November 2011 }}</ref>


Some browser games are also available as ] or ]s, or on ]. For ], the advantage of the browser version is not having to install the game; the browser automatically ]s the necessary content from the game's ]. However, the browser version may have fewer features or inferior ] compared to the others, which are usually ] apps. Browser games also had a huge influence on ].
Browser games come in many genres and themes that appeal to both regular and casual players.


The ] of a browser game is what runs in the user's browser. It is implemented with the standard web technologies of ], ], ], and ]. In addition, ] and ] enable more sophisticated graphics. On the back end, numerous ] technologies can be used.
== Characteristics ==
Browser games are often ] and do not require any client software to be installed apart from a web browser or browser ]. In some cases a game may be free, but charge for extra in-game features{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}}. Multiplayer browser games have an additional focus on social interaction, either between several players or on a ]. Due to the accessibility of browser games, they are often played in more frequent, shorter sessions compared to traditional computer games.<ref>C Klimmt: ''Exploring the Enjoyment of Playing Browser Games'', page 231. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 2009.</ref>


Most browser games were originally created with ], but as Adobe Flash was shut down on December 31, 2020, special ] are now required.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Chrome 88 released: RIP Flash Player |url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-chrome-88-released-rip-flash-player-and-ftp-support/ |access-date=29 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=End of support for Adobe Flash |url=https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/end-support-adobe-flash |publisher=Mozilla |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyagi |first=Anubhav |date=2021-11-11 |title=15 Best Adobe Flash Player Alternatives/Replacement In 2024 |url=https://www.techworm.net/2021/11/best-adobe-flash-player-alternatives.html |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=TechWorm |language=en-US}}</ref> Thousands of these games have been ] by the ] project.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.pcgamesn.com/flash-games-2020-flashpoint | title = Every Flash game disappears forever in 2020 – but this project has preserved 38,000 of them | first = Dustin | last = Bailey | date = February 1, 2020 | access-date = February 1, 2020 | work = ] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/01/31/flashpoint-launcher-is-saving-flash-games-from-impending-extinction/ | title = Flashpoint launcher is saving Flash games from impending extinction | first = Lauren | last = Morton | date = January 31, 2020 | access-date = February 1, 2020 | work = ] }}</ref> The emulation plug-in ] aims to continue browser accessibility of Flash games.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruffle - Flash Emulator |url=https://ruffle.rs/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=ruffle.rs}}</ref>
Since browser games run isolated from hardware in a web browser, they can run on many different operating systems without having to be ] to each platform.<ref>E Adams: ''Fundamentals of Game Design'', page 80. New Riders, 2009.</ref>


== Technologies == == Early browser games ==
When the Internet first became widely available and initial web browsers with basic ] support were released, the earliest browser games were similar to text-based ], minimizing interactions to what implemented through simple browser controls but supporting online interactions with other players through a basic ].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Vanhatupa | first = Juha-Matti | title = Browser games for online communities | journal = International Journal of Wireless & Mobile Networks | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | year = 2010 |pages = 39–47 | doi = 10.5121/ijwmn.2010.2303 | doi-access = free }}</ref> One of the first known examples of a browser game was ''Earth 2025'', first released in 1995. It featured only text but allowed players to interact and form alliances with other players of the game.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-59439 | title = Jared Lee Loughner's Secret Online Life on Earth Empires | first= Alexandra | last = Berzon | date = January 13, 2011 | access-date = March 30, 2021 | work = ] }}</ref>
Browser games can take advantage of different technologies in order to function.


=== Web standards === == The Flash era ==
Browser technology quickly began to mature in the mid-1990s with support for browser plug-ins and the introduction of ]. More advanced browser interactions, unbounded by the restrictions of HTML and that used client-side processing were possible. Among other browser extensions, these new plug-ins allowed uses to run ]s made in the ] and interactive animations created in ]. These technologies were initially intended to provide web page developers tools to create fully immersive, interactive websites, though this use fell out of favor as it was considered elitism and broke expected browsing behavior. Instead, these technologies found use by programmers to create small browser games among other unexpected uses such as general animation tools.<ref name="bbc eol">{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55497353 | title = Adobe Flash Player is finally laid to rest | first= Chris | last = Fox | date = December 31, 2020| access-date = December 31, 2020 | work = ] }}</ref><ref name="gamasutra death">{{cite web | url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/374253/The_forgotten_Flash_Website_movement_when_websites_were_the_new_emerging_artform.php | title = The forgotten Flash Website movement (when websites were 'the new emerging artform') | first= Nathalie | last = Lawhead | date = November 24, 2020 | access-date = November 24, 2020 | work = ] }}</ref>


Sites began to emerge in the late 1990s to collect these browser games and other works, such as ]' ].<ref name="vice yahoo games">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a33z78/yahoo-games-demise-shows-what-the-death-of-flash-could-feel-like|title=Yahoo! Games' Demise Shows What the Death of Flash Could Feel Like|last1=Maiberg|first1=Emanuel|last2=Smith|first2=Ernie|date=2017-08-10|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> These sites started to become a popular commodity as they drew web visitors. ] acquired one such site, The Village, in 1996, and rebranded it as the ], offering various card and board browser games.<ref name="latimes classicgames"/> ] was created in 1997 to host a selection of classic, Java-based online ] such as chess and checkers; its popularity led ] to purchase the site in 1998 and rebranding it as Yahoo! Games.<ref name="latimes classicgames">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-09-ca-40708-story.html|title=Come Into the Online Parlor, Relax With Board Games Like Checkers, Chess|date=1997-10-09|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-07-10|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>
] such as ], ], ], and ] can be used to make browser games, but these have had limited success because of issues with browser compatibility and quality. These technologies, collectively termed ], allow for games that can be run in all standards-compliant browsers.<ref>{{cite web|author=By Stephen DownesAugust 17, 1999 11:01 p.m. |url=http://www.downes.ca/post/276 |title=Fun and Games With DHTML ~ Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes |publisher=Downes.ca |date= |accessdate=2010-05-20}}</ref> In addition, dedicated graphics technologies such as ] and ] allow for the fast rendering of ] and ] respectively.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> In addition, ] allows for hardware-accelerated 3D support in the browser.<ref>{{cite web|last=Anthony |first=Sebastian |url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12/11/3d-browser-apps-and-games-creep-ever-closer-with-the-webgl-draft/ |title=3D browser apps and games creep ever closer with the WebGL draft standard |publisher=Downloadsquad.com |date=2009-12-11 |accessdate=2010-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://googlewebtoolkit.blogspot.com/2010/04/look-ma-no-plugin.html |title=Google Web Toolkit Blog: Look ma, no plugin! |publisher=Googlewebtoolkit.blogspot.com |date=2010-04-01 |accessdate=2010-05-20}}</ref>


In 1999, ] kickstarted the Flash games scene with the release of the game '']'' on his site ] that featured a "complexity of design and polish in presentation that was virtually unseen in amateur Flash game development" of the time.<ref name="ars">{{cite news |last1=Moss |first1=Richard C. |title=The rise and fall of Adobe Flash |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/07/the-rise-and-fall-of-adobe-flash/ |access-date=7 August 2021 |work=Ars Technica |date=7 July 2020 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="interactiveweb">{{cite book |last1=Salter |first1=Anastasia |title=Flash : building the interactive web |date=2014 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=9780262028028 |pages=74–75}}</ref><ref name=history>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Andrew |title=History of digital games : developments in art, design and interaction |date=2017 |location=Boca Raton, FL |isbn=9781138885530}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Comparison of web technologies{{#tag:ref| Availability refers to the latest stable version only.|group=notes}}
|-
!
! ]
! ]
! ]
! ]
! ]
|-
! {{rh}} | ]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
! {{rh}} | ]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
! {{rh}} | ]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}<ref>http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/4.0/releasenotes/</ref>
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|}


Many Flash games in the late 1990s and early 2000s received attention through the use of shock comedy or ], like '']'', a satire of ]{{`}} business practices, or '']'', about the ], ]. In 2017, Julie Muncy writing for '']'' said, "Flash games lent themselves to the exaggerated and cartoonish, a style that eventually evolved into an affection-at least amongst its best creators-for beautiful grotesquerie. Like much of the younger gaming internet, Flash games defined boundaries simply to cross them; the best titles straddled a weird line between innocence and cruelty, full of gorgeous gore and enthralling body horror".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Muncy |first=Julie |date=2017-07-29 |title=You Might Not Miss Flash, But Videogames Will |url=https://www.wired.com/story/rip-flash-games/ |access-date=2019-07-11 |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> In ''Pico's School'', based on the ], the player must take down a ] school shooter.<ref name=":7">{{cite web |last=Murray |first=Anastasia Salter, John |date=2014-11-29 |title=How Flash Games Shaped the Internet |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/11/how-flash-games-shaped-the-internet/383136/ |access-date=2019-07-11 |website=The Atlantic |language=en-US}}</ref> There are a few other controversies involving browser games and real-world events, such as the 2007 ] reenactment '']'',<ref>{{Cite news |title=Virtual school shootings: interviewing two of the most hated game creators alive |url=https://www.destructoid.com/virtual-school-shootings-interviewing-two-of-the-most-hated-game-creators-alive-31610.phtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418153333/http://www.destructoid.com/virtual-school-shootings-interviewing-two-of-the-most-hated-game-creators-alive-31610.phtml |archive-date=2016-04-18 |access-date=2017-10-01 |work=destructoid}}</ref> and ] CEO ] targeting the game ''Kindergarten Killers'' after the ].<ref>{{Cite news |title=NRA blames video games like 'Kindergarten Killer' for Sandy Hook |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/nra-blames-video-games-kindergarten-killer-sandy-hook-article-1.1225212 |access-date=2017-10-01 |work=NY Daily News |language=en}}</ref>
=== Plug-in ===
Browser ] can be used to provide game technologies after being installed by the user.


Expansion of broadband connectivity in the early 2000s drew more people to play browser games through these sites, as well as added attention as ].<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7301374.stm|title=Casual games make a serious impact|date=2008-03-18|access-date=2019-07-10|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ypwk9w/gone-in-a-flash-the-race-to-save-the-internets-least-favorite-tool|title=Gone in a Flash: The Race to Save the Internet's Least Favorite Tool|last=Koebler|first=Jason|date=2015-04-10|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> New sites like ] and ] arose for hosting Flash-based games while also offering their own titles,<ref name="gameinformer flash death">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/12/22/how-flash-games-changed-video-game-history | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181226024524/https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/12/22/how-flash-games-changed-video-game-history | url-status = dead | archive-date = December 26, 2018 | title = How Flash Games Changed Video Game History | first = Ben | last =Reeves |date = December 22, 2018 |access-date = March 31, 2021 | magazine = ] }}</ref> while companies like ] and ] launched their own portals featuring titles they had developed. ] sites also drove more players to browser games. ], after launching in 2004, added support for browser game functionality that integrated with its ] features, creating ]s, notably with ]'s '']''.<ref name="polygon1">{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/8/15942194/flash-video-games-where-are-they-now|title=The rise and fall of Flash gaming, explained|last=Good|first=Owen S.|date=2017-07-08|website=Polygon|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> The success of browser games did hurt some developers. ] reported that they lost players to Flash games in the early 2000s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xwnwya/from-putt-putt-to-freddi-fishhow-humongous-entertainment-made-edutainment-fun|title=From 'Putt Putt' to 'Freddi Fish'—How Humongous Entertainment Made Edutainment Fun|last1=Clark|first1=Nicole|last2=Walker|first2=Austin|date=2019-05-09|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-11|last3=Zacny|first3=Rob}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Comparison of browser plug-ins
|-
!
! ]
! ]
! ]
! ]{{#tag:ref|Refers to the reference implementation. There may be alternative implementations under different licenses.|group=notes}}
! ]{{#tag:ref|Stated as a percentage of web browsers.|group=notes}}
|-
! {{rh}} | ]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{Proprietary}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/pdfs/PlatformClients_PC_WWEULA_Combined_20100108_1657.pdf |title=Flash EULA |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref>
| 96%<ref name="StatOwl.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.statowl.com/plugin_overview.php |title=Web Browser Plugin Market Share / Global Usage |publisher=Statowl.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-08}}</ref>
|-
! {{rh}} | ]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{Free|] (])}}<ref></ref><ref></ref><!-- Is this still applicable to anything?
{{Proprietary}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.java.com/en/download/license.jsp |title=Oracle Corporation Binary Code License Agreement |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref>{{Dubious|Java license|reason=What about OpenJDK?|date=January 2013}}
-->
| 78%<ref name="StatOwl.com"/>
|-
! {{rh}} | ]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{Proprietary}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/pdfs/Player_WW_EULA-en_US-20060724_1430.pdf |title=Shockwave EULA |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref>
| 52%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/shockwaveplayer/ |title=Shockwave Player Adoption Statistics |publisher=Adobe |date= |accessdate=2010-04-08}}</ref>
|-
! {{rh}} |]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{partial}} (] - ])
| {{Proprietary}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.silverlight.net/termsofuse.aspx#D |title=Terms Of Use |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref>
| 62%<ref name="StatOwl.com"/>
|-
! {{rh}} |]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{Proprietary}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://unity3d.com/unity/unity-end-user-license-3.x |title=END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref>
| 1%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.unity3d.com/2008/03/31/thoughts-on-browser-plugin-penetration/ |title=Thoughts On Browser Plugin Penetration |publisher=Unity Technologies |date= |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref>
|}


Flash games were considered to have hit their peak in the mid-2000s but waned by the early 2010s.<ref name="gameinformer flash death"/> Their popularity had fallen due to two primary causes. First was the introduction of ], primarily with Apple's ] release in 2007 and the availability of the ]. Through the App Store, anyone could release apps for the iPhone, and with the addition of ]s, new revenue models such as ] quickly emerged for mobile games, well surpassing the current ad-driven revenue model of browser games. ] used the same concepts for developing the ] storefront ]. Developers either augmented browser games or shifted to the mobile platform to take advantage of the new revenue opportunities; notably, King transitioned one of its browser games into one of the most successful mobile games, '']''.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2014/08/18/lessons-from-a-game-guru-candy-crush-saga-creator-once-survived-six-months-without-pay/view-all/ | title = Lessons from a game guru: Candy Crush Saga creator once survived six months without pay | first = Dean | last = Takihashi | date = August 18, 2014 | access-date = October 20, 2016 | work = ] }}</ref> The second factor came from the claimed "death knell" for Adobe Flash by way of ]' ] in 2010, stating that Apple would not support Flash on the iPhone platform due to security concerns and other factors. About a year after Jobs' letter, Adobe announced it would start deprecating Flash and transition users to ] and other open standards in its other products.<ref name="cnn jobs death blow">{{cite web | url = https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/tech/mobile/flash-steve-jobs/index.html | title = Did Steve Jobs kill Adobe Flash? | first = Doug | last = Gross | date = November 9, 2011 | access-date = February 4, 2021 | work = ] }}</ref> Adobe completely shut down Flash by January 12, 2021 after giving web developers a few years to prepare for this event.<ref name="Adobe Flash EOL">{{cite web|title=Flash & The Future of Interactive Content|publisher=]|date=July 25, 2017|url=https://theblog.adobe.com/adobe-flash-update/|access-date=July 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202123704/https://theblog.adobe.com/adobe-flash-update/|archive-date=December 2, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> With little future in Flash, developers moved away from the browser platform in the mid-2010s.
== Criticisms ==

Browser games can be a distraction in work environments, causing lost productivity. Critics cite examples such as the occurrence of May 2010, when ] replaced their normal logo with a playable rendition of ]. A small scale study of 11,000 users concluded that Google's playable logo caused users to spend an extra 36 seconds on Google's homepage, which could be extrapolated to 4.82 million hours over Google's 504 million unique users. Assuming all of this time was lost during time that would have otherwise been spent productively, the game could be considered to have incurred a time cost of $120 million ] in man-hours.<ref>{{cite news | title = Google Pac-Man eats up work time | date = 2010-05.25 | publisher = BBC News | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10153286 | work = BBC News | accessdate = 2011-06-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Larry | last = Frum | title = Google Pac-Man eats 4.8 million hours | date = 2010-05.25 | publisher = CNN | url = http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/25/google-pac-man-eats-4-8-million-hours/ | work = SciTechBlog | accessdate = 2011-06-27}}</ref>
As for ] games, various collections of such games can be found. Even though Adobe Flash is "broken" and hard to launch after 2021, one can use alternatives, such as ].

=== Indie games ===
Browser games were an important platform for the emergence of ]s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the video game industry had started to coalesce around ] development, games made by large studios with multi-million dollar budgets. Because of the money involved, the industry took few risks in these major titles, and experimental games were generally overlooked.<ref>{{cite magazine | url =http://www.pcgamer.com/from-shareware-superstars-to-the-steam-gold-rush-how-indie-conquered-the-pc/ | title = From shareware superstars to the Steam gold rush: How indie conquered the PC | first = Richard | last = Cobbett | date = September 22, 2017 | access-date = September 25, 2017 | magazine = ] }}</ref> Browser games gave a venue for such titles during the early 2000s, and the broader interest in-browser games by the mid-2000s highlighted several of these titles. Subsequently, a number of early indie games are those based on browser games, such as ]'s '']'', inspired by Newgrounds' '']'' and ]'s '']'' based on his ''Meat Boy'' browser game.<ref name="gameinformer flash death" /> Other indie developers got their start in browser and Flash games, including ], ], and ].<ref name="gameinformer flash death" />

== Post-Flash browser games ==
Post-2010, browser games written in other formats besides Flash remain popular, such as HTML5, ], and ].<ref name=":9">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5qzz3/flash-will-never-die|title=Flash Will Never Die|last=Koebler|first=Jason|date=2017-07-26|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> The ], which was first used in 2015 by '']'', has become a popular domain attached to browser games, because of its short length, the ease of acquiring the domain, and the association with programming because "io" can also stand for ].<ref name="rps iogames">{{cite web | url = https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-io-games | title = The rise and rise of .io games | first = Jay | last = Castello | date = February 22, 2018 | access-date = March 30, 2021 | work = ] }}</ref> Subsequently, these game developers have found ways to monetize their work by creating versions for mobile devices or other platforms which they can sell.<ref name="rps iogames"/>

=== .io games ===
{{redirect|Io game|the 2006 visual novel|I/O (video game)}}
'''.io games''' or '''IO games''' are a genre of free, ] that gained popularity with the success of '']'' in 2015.<ref name="PCGamesN-IO">{{cite web |last1=Vaz |first1=Christian |title=The best io games 2024 |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/best-io-games |website=] |publisher=Network N |access-date=28 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020192215/https://www.pcgamesn.com/best-io-games |archive-date=20 October 2023 |date=21 June 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2018-11-14 |title=A brief history of "IO" games {{!}} PacoGames.com |url=https://www.pacogames.com/blog/brief-history-of-io-games |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=PacoGames |language=en}}</ref> The games are usually characterized by simple graphics and gameplay in a free for all multiplayer arena. The term ".io" comes from the .], which was originally assigned to the ]<ref>{{Citation |title=IDN Code Points Policy for the .IO Top Level Domain |url=http://www.nic.io/IO-IDN-Policy.pdf |access-date=2005-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218074147/http://www.nic.io/IO-IDN-Policy.pdf |archive-date=2005-12-18 |url-status=dead |publisher=NIC.IO}}</ref> but became popular for game developers due to its short and memorable nature.

Thousands of .io games exist, and many of them have been subject to controversy for both political use and lack of moderation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Castello |first=Jay |last2= |first2= |date=2018-02-22 |title=The rise and rise of .io games |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-io-games |access-date=2024-07-29 |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |language=en}}</ref>{{undue inline|date=October 2024|reason="many" seems overstated}}

]

==== ''Agar.io'' ====
'']'' is considered the first ever .io game. The game was announced on ] on 27 April, 2015 by Matheus Valadares,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The story of Agar.io {{!}} Gamehag |url=https://gamehag.com/news/the-story-of-agario |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=gamehag.com |language=en}}</ref> a then 19-year-old Brazilian developer. In the game, players control one or more circular cells in a map representing a ]. The goal is to gain as much mass as possible by eating cells and player cells smaller than the player's cell while avoiding larger ones which can eat the player's cells.

''Agar.io'' went viral, and was featured on the free online games site ].<ref name=":0" /> The mobile version of ''Agar.io'' for ] was released on 8 July 2015 and ] on 7 July 2015 by Miniclip. The browser version was released in June 2015 by ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agar.io 🕹️ Play on CrazyGames |url=https://www.crazygames.com/game/agario |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=www.crazygames.com |language=en}}</ref> The ] ] created a video titled "REDDIT WANTS TO EAT ME! (Agario Part 1) | PewDiePie," which has over 8.5 million views as of July 2024.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wrfguOKlac |title=REDDIT WANTS TO EAT ME! (Agario Part 1) {{!}} PewDiePie |date=2015-05-30 |last=PewDiePie |access-date=2024-07-29 |via=YouTube}}</ref> The creation and quickly-growing popularity of ''Agar.io''<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Lindsey |first=Cameron |date=March 2019 |title=Agar.io: The Game's in the Name |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1555412018821483?journalCode=gaca |url-status=live |journal=] |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=154–169 |doi=10.1177/1555412018821483 |s2cid=150281404 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505130241/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1555412018821483?journalCode=gaca |archive-date=5 May 2023 |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Burgess |first=Matt |date=April 12, 2016 |title=How addictive simplicity made Agar.io a global hit |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/agario-miniclip-game-viral-success-pewdiepie-youtube |url-access=limited |access-date=May 5, 2023 |magazine=]}}</ref> led to the creation of similar games using the .io domain, and eventually the .io game genre.<ref name=":3" />

==== ''Slither.io'' ====
'']'' was the second .io game to be released, which is a free for all multiplayer game that is in the ] genre. The basic premise of the game has 50 players compete to eat colored orbs and grow as large as possible, while destroying other player's snakes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Switzer |first=Eric |date=2019-07-09 |title=Where Slither.io Came From And Why It's So Popular |url=https://www.thegamer.com/slitherio-history-success-guide-strategy/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=TheGamer |language=en}}</ref> The game was created in 2016 by Steven Howse, a self-taught independent developer who was inspired to make it after playing ''Agar.io.'' The game quickly rose to be the top game on many platforms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slither.io Traffic, Demographics and Competitors |url=http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/slither.io |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521135224/http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/slither.io |archive-date=May 21, 2017 |access-date=March 14, 2017 |website=]}}</ref>

==== .io games as a genre ====
Starting in around 2016, soon after the popularity spikes of ''Agar.io'' and ''Slither.io'', more games in the .io games genre began to be released.<ref name="RPS">{{cite web |last1=Castello |first1=Jay |title=The rise and rise of .io games |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-io-games |website=] |publisher=] |access-date=28 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417213816/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-io-games |archive-date=17 April 2021 |date=22 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="PocketGamer">{{cite web |last1=Hadley |first1=Jupiter |title=Top 23 best .io games for iPhone and iPad (iOS) |url=https://www.pocketgamer.com/ios/best-io-games-iphone/ |website=] |publisher=Steel Media |access-date=28 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226044834/https://www.pocketgamer.com/ios/best-io-games-iphone/ |archive-date=26 February 2024 |date=17 September 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many of these games were simple ] of popular games, usually released in a top down-format.<ref name=":3" /> Some notable games released in this period include '']'' (another game by Matheus Valadares),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hodapp |first=Eli |date=21 July 2016 |title='Diep.io' Hits the App Store From the Creator of 'Agar.io' |url=https://toucharcade.com/2016/07/21/diep-io-hits-the-app-store-by-the-creator-of-agar-io/ |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> ''],<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Madnani |first=Mikhail |date=May 11, 2018 |title='ZombsRoyale.io' Is a 2D Top Down Battle Royale That Blends 'PUBG' and 'Fortnite, Available Now on iOS |url=https://toucharcade.com/2018/05/11/zombsroyaleio-fortnite-pubg-free-iphone-battle-royale/ |access-date=April 23, 2019 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> Krunker.io, Wings.io, ],'' ''], and ]''. These games all remain popular and are some of the most played games in the .io games genre.

==== COVID-19 ====
During COVID-19, .io games became very popular because of their accessibility on the web. Most games, not just .io games, however, also experienced growth during this time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Gang {{!}} The Gaming Industry After Covid-19 |url=https://www.thegang.io/news/the-gaming-industry-after-covid-19 |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=www.thegang.io}}</ref>


== See also == == See also ==
{{portal|Video games}} {{Portal|Video games}}
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=notes}}


== References == == References ==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
* {{dmoz|Games/Video_Games/Browser_Based|Browser Based Games}}
<!-- Don't add anymore links here, unless you've got a good reason too. See ]. -->


{{multiplayer online games}} {{Multiplayer online games}}
{{VideoGameGenre}}
{{Video game platforms}}


] ]
]
] ]

Latest revision as of 17:46, 9 January 2025

Video game played in a web browser
Play.Freeciv.org screenshot
The browser version of Freeciv

A browser game is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Alternative names for the browser game genre reference their software platform used, with common examples being Flash games and HTML5 games.

Some browser games are also available as mobile apps or PC games, or on consoles. For users, the advantage of the browser version is not having to install the game; the browser automatically downloads the necessary content from the game's website. However, the browser version may have fewer features or inferior graphics compared to the others, which are usually native apps. Browser games also had a huge influence on independent video games.

The front end of a browser game is what runs in the user's browser. It is implemented with the standard web technologies of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. In addition, WebGL and WebGPU enable more sophisticated graphics. On the back end, numerous server technologies can be used.

Most browser games were originally created with Adobe Flash, but as Adobe Flash was shut down on December 31, 2020, special browser plug-ins are now required. Thousands of these games have been preserved by the Flashpoint project. The emulation plug-in Ruffle aims to continue browser accessibility of Flash games.

Early browser games

When the Internet first became widely available and initial web browsers with basic HTML support were released, the earliest browser games were similar to text-based Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs), minimizing interactions to what implemented through simple browser controls but supporting online interactions with other players through a basic client–server model. One of the first known examples of a browser game was Earth 2025, first released in 1995. It featured only text but allowed players to interact and form alliances with other players of the game.

The Flash era

Browser technology quickly began to mature in the mid-1990s with support for browser plug-ins and the introduction of JavaScript. More advanced browser interactions, unbounded by the restrictions of HTML and that used client-side processing were possible. Among other browser extensions, these new plug-ins allowed uses to run applets made in the Java language and interactive animations created in Macromedia Flash. These technologies were initially intended to provide web page developers tools to create fully immersive, interactive websites, though this use fell out of favor as it was considered elitism and broke expected browsing behavior. Instead, these technologies found use by programmers to create small browser games among other unexpected uses such as general animation tools.

Sites began to emerge in the late 1990s to collect these browser games and other works, such as Sun Microsystems' HotJava. These sites started to become a popular commodity as they drew web visitors. Microsoft acquired one such site, The Village, in 1996, and rebranded it as the Internet Gaming Zone, offering various card and board browser games. ClassicGames.com was created in 1997 to host a selection of classic, Java-based online multiplayer games such as chess and checkers; its popularity led Yahoo! to purchase the site in 1998 and rebranding it as Yahoo! Games.

In 1999, Tom Fulp kickstarted the Flash games scene with the release of the game Pico's School on his site Newgrounds that featured a "complexity of design and polish in presentation that was virtually unseen in amateur Flash game development" of the time.

Many Flash games in the late 1990s and early 2000s received attention through the use of shock comedy or real-world events, like McDonald's Videogame, a satire of McDonald's' business practices, or Darfur is Dying, about the War in Darfur, Sudan. In 2017, Julie Muncy writing for Wired said, "Flash games lent themselves to the exaggerated and cartoonish, a style that eventually evolved into an affection-at least amongst its best creators-for beautiful grotesquerie. Like much of the younger gaming internet, Flash games defined boundaries simply to cross them; the best titles straddled a weird line between innocence and cruelty, full of gorgeous gore and enthralling body horror". In Pico's School, based on the Columbine shootings, the player must take down a goth school shooter. There are a few other controversies involving browser games and real-world events, such as the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting reenactment V-Tech Rampage, and NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre targeting the game Kindergarten Killers after the 2012 Sandy Hook shootings.

Expansion of broadband connectivity in the early 2000s drew more people to play browser games through these sites, as well as added attention as viral phenomenon. New sites like Kongregate and Armor Games arose for hosting Flash-based games while also offering their own titles, while companies like PopCap Games and King launched their own portals featuring titles they had developed. Social media sites also drove more players to browser games. Facebook, after launching in 2004, added support for browser game functionality that integrated with its social network features, creating social network games, notably with Zynga's Farmville. The success of browser games did hurt some developers. Humongous Entertainment reported that they lost players to Flash games in the early 2000s.

Flash games were considered to have hit their peak in the mid-2000s but waned by the early 2010s. Their popularity had fallen due to two primary causes. First was the introduction of mobile gaming, primarily with Apple's iPhone release in 2007 and the availability of the App Store. Through the App Store, anyone could release apps for the iPhone, and with the addition of in-app purchases, new revenue models such as free-to-play quickly emerged for mobile games, well surpassing the current ad-driven revenue model of browser games. Google used the same concepts for developing the Android storefront Play Store. Developers either augmented browser games or shifted to the mobile platform to take advantage of the new revenue opportunities; notably, King transitioned one of its browser games into one of the most successful mobile games, Candy Crush Saga. The second factor came from the claimed "death knell" for Adobe Flash by way of Steve Jobs' open letter to Adobe in 2010, stating that Apple would not support Flash on the iPhone platform due to security concerns and other factors. About a year after Jobs' letter, Adobe announced it would start deprecating Flash and transition users to HTML5 and other open standards in its other products. Adobe completely shut down Flash by January 12, 2021 after giving web developers a few years to prepare for this event. With little future in Flash, developers moved away from the browser platform in the mid-2010s.

As for Adobe Flash games, various collections of such games can be found. Even though Adobe Flash is "broken" and hard to launch after 2021, one can use alternatives, such as the Flashpoint Archive.

Indie games

Browser games were an important platform for the emergence of indie games. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the video game industry had started to coalesce around triple-A development, games made by large studios with multi-million dollar budgets. Because of the money involved, the industry took few risks in these major titles, and experimental games were generally overlooked. Browser games gave a venue for such titles during the early 2000s, and the broader interest in-browser games by the mid-2000s highlighted several of these titles. Subsequently, a number of early indie games are those based on browser games, such as The Behemoth's Castle Crashers, inspired by Newgrounds' Alien Hominid and Edmund McMillen's Super Meat Boy based on his Meat Boy browser game. Other indie developers got their start in browser and Flash games, including Vlambeer, Bennett Foddy, and Maddy Thorson.

Post-Flash browser games

Post-2010, browser games written in other formats besides Flash remain popular, such as HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly. The .io domain, which was first used in 2015 by Agar.io, has become a popular domain attached to browser games, because of its short length, the ease of acquiring the domain, and the association with programming because "io" can also stand for input/output. Subsequently, these game developers have found ways to monetize their work by creating versions for mobile devices or other platforms which they can sell.

.io games

"Io game" redirects here. For the 2006 visual novel, see I/O (video game).

.io games or IO games are a genre of free, online multiplayer that gained popularity with the success of Agar.io in 2015. The games are usually characterized by simple graphics and gameplay in a free for all multiplayer arena. The term ".io" comes from the .io domain, which was originally assigned to the British Indian Ocean Territory but became popular for game developers due to its short and memorable nature.

Thousands of .io games exist, and many of them have been subject to controversy for both political use and lack of moderation.

.io domain logo

Agar.io

Agar.io is considered the first ever .io game. The game was announced on 4chan on 27 April, 2015 by Matheus Valadares, a then 19-year-old Brazilian developer. In the game, players control one or more circular cells in a map representing a Petri dish. The goal is to gain as much mass as possible by eating cells and player cells smaller than the player's cell while avoiding larger ones which can eat the player's cells.

Agar.io went viral, and was featured on the free online games site Miniclip. The mobile version of Agar.io for iOS was released on 8 July 2015 and Android on 7 July 2015 by Miniclip. The browser version was released in June 2015 by CrazyGames. The YouTuber PewDiePie created a video titled "REDDIT WANTS TO EAT ME! (Agario Part 1) | PewDiePie," which has over 8.5 million views as of July 2024. The creation and quickly-growing popularity of Agar.io led to the creation of similar games using the .io domain, and eventually the .io game genre.

Slither.io

Slither.io was the second .io game to be released, which is a free for all multiplayer game that is in the Snake genre. The basic premise of the game has 50 players compete to eat colored orbs and grow as large as possible, while destroying other player's snakes. The game was created in 2016 by Steven Howse, a self-taught independent developer who was inspired to make it after playing Agar.io. The game quickly rose to be the top game on many platforms.

.io games as a genre

Starting in around 2016, soon after the popularity spikes of Agar.io and Slither.io, more games in the .io games genre began to be released. Many of these games were simple clones of popular games, usually released in a top down-format. Some notable games released in this period include Diep.io (another game by Matheus Valadares), ZombsRoyale.io, Krunker.io, Wings.io, Surviv.io, Hole.io, and Snake.io. These games all remain popular and are some of the most played games in the .io games genre.

COVID-19

During COVID-19, .io games became very popular because of their accessibility on the web. Most games, not just .io games, however, also experienced growth during this time.

See also

References

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  50. "The Gang | The Gaming Industry After Covid-19". www.thegang.io. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
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