Best JavaScript Game Engines

JavaScript game engines is a hot topic today, since everyone’s building browser based games using JavaScript, WebGL and HTML5. The first reason why, is because of their platform independence, that means they can run on Android, iOS, Windows or any other. There is a wide range of resources available for building  browser based 3D games. In spite of that it is challenging to find the proper game engine. In this article we describe top best JavaScript 3D game engines that are available on the market today.

FreeCodeCamp JavaScript Game Engine

Open source community FreeCodeCamp offers help nonprofit and learning materials for coding. You begin to work with browser-based JavaScript. You have to finish making first 400 hours worth challenges (that include creating 10 single page apps), before you get a Front-End Development Certification. When you’re done with your second 400 hours (that include creating and deploying 5 full stack apps), you will get a Full Stack Development Certification.

After you accomplish your certification, we will pair you with a camper, a nimble project manager and a stakeholder. Your task will be to plan and create together an app that should fulfil its mission more effectively.
FreeCodeCamp helps its campers to build effective portfolios of actual apps that are used by real people, helping at the same nonprofits. You can join a community here.
An open source base and curriculum you can grab at GitHub repository.

Babylon.JS JavaScript Game Engine

Babylon.JS is a complete JavaScript framework for creating games with WebGL, HTML5 and Web Audio. This game engine is rated as one of the best 3D game engines for building professional level games for sale. The key features of this framework include audio engine, cameras, collisions engine, materials, meshes, scene graphs with lights, special FX, optimization engine, textures and physics engine.

The source code for free you can find at babylon.JS GitHub repository. Babylon.JS Playground is also available online.

Documentation you can find here.

Three.js JavaScript Game Engine

Three.js is another easy to use, but at the same time powerful and comprehensive JavaScript library for creating everything 3D: from simple animations to interactive 3D games. Three.js library  offers not only WebGL renderer support, but it is also packed with Canvas, CSS3D and SVG renderers. Nevertheless focusing just on WebGL renderer might be what you want, talking from the game prospective.

Three.js created by Doob & Alteredqualia is available as an open source under MIT license. Minified version is at hand for downloading or using it via cdn. Three.js source code you can get at GitHub. Here you can find the documentation.

Turbulenz JavaScript Game Engine

We would like to introduce to you one of the oldest JavaScript game engine, dated 2009 , nevertheless Turbulenz still maintains its reputation. The game engine wasn’t at hand as an open source till 2013, the year publik first got it for free use under MIT license.

With Turbulenz you can modify, monetise and self-publish games for free anywhere online. Turbulenz Engine Modules can also be mixed with other web services or external technologies. A range of support as well as tons of features like video, sound, 2D physics and 3D physics are offered by Turbulenz team. The source code is availabe at GitHub,

Famous JavaScript Game Engine

Famous is also one of the best open source JavaScript 3D frameworks, that was founded in 2011 and plays today a big role in the market. It is free to use. The 3D layout engine is one of the key features, as it is completely integrated with the 3D physics animation engine.

To get started with Famous JavaScript Game Engine is really easy, since there are free classrooms for developers on Famous University. You also have a great support and lots of resources and examples. The source code is on GitHub.

PlayCanvas JavaScript Game Engine

Meet another open source JavaScript based on WebGl game engine. PlayCanvas has plenty of tools for developers that help to build 3D games in no time. Here you can grab source code and documentation. This game engine was created by a professional team and wasn’t free to use at first, but now you can use it for no cost creating your 3D projects.

To get started with PlayCanvas is as easy as navigating the editor URL, as it comes with the cloud based editor, that runs in browser. You will also have a good support, which means that many people can work on the same projects at the same time. PlayCanvas is backed by such giants as Activision, ARM, Mozilla and Philips.

You can get the source for free at GitHub.

Goo Engine JavaScript Game Engine

Goo Engine comes from the house of Goo Technologies. Goo Engine is a very powerful collection of JavaScript API’s built for creating any 3Ds in WebGL and HTML5.

There is also an online easy-to-use Editor GooCreate that is in your browser and on the cloud. It is packed with a lot of features like material editor, 3D editor, scripting. You can also add lights, create primitives, import assets, manipulate hierarchies and a lot more. It is not free of cost. There are associated license fees to pay. However JavaScript based on Goo Engine is totally free to use and can be downloaded. Here is a source code for you on GitHub. The documentation can be found here.

CooperLicht JavaScript Game Engine

CooperLicht was produced by the Ambiera company and used for years for inhouse production, and now it became finally an open source. CooperLicht is rated as one of the finest 3D game engines for building browser based games. It is also a backend engine for CooperCube, an editor that has all features that are necessary to create 3D animations and games. This editor is not available as a free source and has some associated fees.

Here you can find more information and downloads.

KIWI.JS JavaScript Game Engine

Kiwi.JS is an extensible, open source 2D framework for HTML5. Game engine supports WebGL and Canvas rendering and deploys to mobile app or web platforms.

With PluginEcosystem you can experience real-world game development and Kiwi.Js tutorials will help you to get started. You can download the library here. Here you can also check out real-time examples and read domumentation. A source code is available at GitHub.

Blend4Web JavaScript Game Engine

Blend4Web is created by a russian company called Triumph in 2014. Blend4Web supports Blender’s materials (it is a 3D content authoring tool, integrated with the game engine), bullet physics and particle system.

This game engine is still being active developed with lots of enhancements in a short term. It looks promising to achieve the heights of such giants as Babylon.JS and Three.Js in the nearest future.

The source code is available here.

Closing Thoughts

The market for JavaScript game engines is massively growing. Since you’re constantly offered more different tools and features for building 3D, it is crucial to select right 3D engine and evaluation certainly pays off in a long run. In this article we came up with top JavaScript engines that are available as open source solutions to make your selection process easier.