Unreal Engine vs Phaser

Agent access

1. ai-native userPoint an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docs

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   A direct probe found no llms.txt on Epic's domains, and appending .md to docs URLs returns the HTML SPA shell rather than agent-readable markdown, meaning there is no mechanism to point an agent at machine-readable docs.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialprobed6/10

   A live llms.txt was found at phaser.io/llms.txt (an examples-API index) and Phaser Studio publishes agent-oriented docs/MCP server pages (phaser.io/agent/mcp) explicitly for connecting coding agents, but the more commonly probed docs.phaser.io/llms.txt returns 404 and the site root 403s non-browser clients, requiring a browser UA and precise deep links to succeed. Missing for 10: a consistently discoverable llms.txt across the main docs domain, no 403/404 friction for automated agent fetches, and independent confirmation that agents can reliably ingest these docs.

   • [probe] “PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://docs.phaser.io/llms.txt”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”
   • [probe] “official MCP server documented at https://phaser.io/agent/mcp”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

2. ai-native userRun the product headlessly / in CI for automation

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed6/10

   Docs show real automation building blocks: command-line launch arguments (unreal-docs-7, unreal-docs-14), UAT commands for cooking/packaging/deploying (unreal-docs-16, unreal-docs-17), and Python editor scripting for automating asset tasks (unreal-docs-4), all of which are commonly used to run Unreal headlessly in CI pipelines. However, there is no explicit first-party 'headless mode' or CI-integration guide, and the probe notes Unreal's docs/repos are largely non-machine-readable (403s, no llms.txt, no official MCP), suggesting automation setup requires manual/expert configuration rather than a turnkey CI story. Missing for 10: dedicated headless-mode documentation, official CI/CD templates (e.g., GitHub Actions), and independent hands-on confirmation of CI pipelines running Unreal successfully.

   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “Command-line Arguments, also called Additional Launch Parameters, customize how the engine runs on startup.”
   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The evidence pack covers installation, scenes, physics, animations, editor and MCP agent features, but nothing addresses headless execution or CI-based automation for Phaser games/tests. Since browser-based game engines can in principle support headless rendering or CI test harnesses, this is a fair but unaddressed axis rather than a category error.

   ⚑ flag

3. ai-native userConnect an agent via an official MCP server

   weight 3 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   Unreal Engine is a platform/tool (not itself an agent), so an official MCP server axis applies, but evidence shows no official Epic MCP server exists — a GitHub org search returns 0 results, and the most popular community MCP integration is unmaintained since 2025.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed7/10

   Phaser Studio ships an official 'Phaser Game Agent' MCP server (phaser.io/agent/mcp) documented with 40+ specialized tools and explicit integration with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot, letting external agents connect and build games via plain-language commands. Missing for 10: independent/hands-on community validation that the MCP server works as advertised, and clarity on self-hosted/npm distribution (probe found no @phaserjs MCP package on npm, only a hosted endpoint).

   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”
   • [claimed-docs] “You describe what you want in plain language and your agent calls the tools for you.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Give the player a double-jump and a coin counter.The jump feels floaty, make gravity stronger.”
   • [probe] “official MCP server documented at https://phaser.io/agent/mcp”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

4. ai-native userUse an official CLI

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine✓fullprobed7/10

   Unreal ships an official CLI surface: UnrealEditor.exe/UAT commands for cooking, packaging, deploying and running projects, plus documented command-line arguments for automation and testing, and Python editor scripting for scriptable workflows — all first-party and independently confirmed as keylessly fetchable per the probe. missing for 10: explicit AI-native framing or agent-oriented tooling around the CLI, and independent hands-on validation of using it in agentic workflows.

   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “Command-line Arguments, also called Additional Launch Parameters, customize how the engine runs on startup.”
   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialclaimed5/10

   Phaser docs confirm an official CLI tool for scaffolding projects (interactive selection of templates/demo games), which counts as an official CLI, but it is described as interactive Q&A rather than a scriptable/agent-friendly interface, and there's no documentation of flags or non-interactive mode suited for AI-native automated use. missing for 10: evidence of non-interactive/programmatic CLI flags, AI-agent-oriented CLI documentation, and independent confirmation of CLI usability by agents.

   • [claimed-docs] “This CLI tool presents an interactive selection of official project templates and demo games.”
   • [claimed-docs] “This CLI tool presents an interactive selection of official project templates and demo games. Issue the command, answer some questions and t…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

5. ai-native userDrive the product through a documented public API

   weight 3 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed6/10

   Unreal ships genuinely documented public APIs — a Python editor-scripting API for automating asset/editor tasks, a C++ gameplay API, and command-line/UAT automation flags — which a user or script can drive programmatically. However, the probe evidence shows these are not AI-native accessible: no official Epic MCP server, no llms.txt, docs served only as an HTML SPA (no .md fetch), and the GitHub source repo is EULA/account-gated returning 404 to unauthenticated API calls, with the leading community MCP abandoned since April 2025. Missing for 10: AI-agent-discoverable/machine-readable API docs, an official MCP or agent-facing interface, and keyless programmatic access to source/API metadata.

   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “there may be cases where you want precise control over when and how Assets are discovered, loaded, and audited. For these cases, the Asset M…”
   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “Command-line Arguments, also called Additional Launch Parameters, customize how the engine runs on startup.”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed8/10

   Phaser ships an extensive, versioned public JS/TS API (Scenes, physics, input, loader, animations) documented at docs.phaser.io with full TypeScript definitions, which is exactly the kind of documented public API an AI agent needs to generate/drive game code programmatically; the runtime probe also shows phaser.io/llms.txt now serving a live, programmatic examples-API index tailored for AI consumption. Missing for 10: a formal machine-readable spec (OpenAPI) for the core API surface — probes show OpenAPI/swagger endpoints all 404 — so discovery still relies on human-oriented docs rather than a fully machine-consumable contract.

   • [claimed-docs] “Full TypeScript definitions can be found inside the types folder”
   • [claimed-docs] “This will allow you to control the Sprite using the built-in physics functions, such as velocity, acceleration, gravity, etc.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Phaser maintains a unified input system that works across all browsers and devices.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Common asset types include images, texture atlases, sprite sheets, fonts, audio files and JSON data, but there are many more that Phaser can…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Animations are created via the Animation Manager.”
   • [probe] “PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://docs.phaser.io/llms.txt”
   • [probe] “PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://docs.phaser.io/openapi.json, https://docs.phaser.io/swagger.json, https://docs.phaser.io/api…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

6. ai-native userBuild against official SDKs

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed5/10

   Unreal ships extensive official build surfaces — C++ APIs, Python editor-scripting API, Blueprint visual scripting, plugin SDK, and CLI/automation tooling — all documented on dev.epicgames.com, which functions as an official SDK for building games/tools. However, the probe evidence shows these are poorly suited for AI-native/agentic consumption: no official MCP server exists, GitHub source access is gated (404 without auth), main sites 403 non-browser clients, no llms.txt, and docs aren't served as fetchable markdown, undercutting AI-native usability of the SDK. Missing for 10: official MCP server or agent-friendly API, machine-readable/llms.txt documentation, keyless programmatic access to source and APIs.

   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins are collections of code and data that developers can easily enable or disable within the Editor on a per-project basis.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code All platforms & features Forums and documentation on the Epic Developer Community”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullcommunity8/10

   Phaser itself is the official SDK: it's distributed via npm, an official CLI, a CDN, and ships full TypeScript definitions, all documented in first-party docs and corroborated by community usage (games built in JS/TS, TypeScript experience feedback). Missing for 10: independent/third-party audit of the SDK's completeness and explicit multi-platform SDK packaging (e.g., official native wrappers) beyond docs claims.

   • [claimed-docs] “npm install phaser”
   • [claimed-docs] “Full TypeScript definitions can be found inside the types folder”
   • [claimed-docs] “Install via [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/phaser): npm install phaser”
   • [claimed-docs] “This CLI tool presents an interactive selection of official project templates and demo games. Issue the command, answer some questions and t…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Phaser is on jsDelivr which is a "super-fast CDN for developers". Include _either_ of the following in your html”
   • [github] “You can use JavaScript or TypeScript for development.”
   • [community] “I've spent the past 6 months building a game using Phaser and TypeScript. On the whole, it's been a great experience... one of the worst par…”
   • [community] “Phaser 4 was announced ~four years ago and was an attempt to get the project written natively in TypeScript. It looks pretty dead in the wat…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Agentic features

1. ai-native userGet AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the product

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   No evidence in the pack of Unreal Engine surfacing AI-generated insights or suggestions from project data; docs cover Blueprints, C++, Python scripting, plugins, and networking but nothing about analytics/AI-driven suggestions, and the probe notes the engine has no official MCP or AI-native tooling exposure.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

2. ai-native userSet up automations that run autonomously in the background

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed5/10

   Unreal exposes Python editor scripting, commandlets, and UAT/command-line automation that can be scripted to run unattended (e.g., asset processing, cooking, packaging) which supports background automation, but nothing in the evidence describes an AI-native agent framework, scheduler, or official API/MCP for autonomous orchestration — and the probe explicitly notes no official Epic MCP and no machine-readable API, undermining AI-native automation setup. missing for 10: official AI-agent/automation orchestration layer, documented scheduling/trigger system for unattended runs, first-party API or MCP for AI agents to invoke automations.

   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “Command-line Arguments, also called Additional Launch Parameters, customize how the engine runs on startup.”
   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

3. ai-native userDelegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the product

   weight 3 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   No evidence in the pack of any built-in AI assistant inside Unreal Editor that users can delegate tasks to; all documentation covers Blueprints, C++, Python scripting, plugins, and CLI tools, not an AI agent. The probe evidence even notes the lack of any official Epic AI/MCP integration.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins can add runtime gameplay functionality, modify built-in Engine features (or add new ones), create new file types, and extend the cap…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   Phaser's AI-related evidence (phaser-docs-13/14/15) describes an MCP server that lets *external* coding agents (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Copilot) call Phaser Editor tools — the opposite relationship of a built-in assistant living inside the product that a user delegates tasks to. No evidence shows a native, in-product chat/assistant feature.

   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”
   • [claimed-docs] “You describe what you want in plain language and your agent calls the tools for you.”
   • [probe] “official MCP server documented at https://phaser.io/agent/mcp”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

4. ai-native userOperate the product with natural-language commands

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   Evidence shows only traditional scripting/programming interfaces (Blueprints, C++, Python, CLI args) with no natural-language command layer; the probe explicitly notes no official Epic MCP server, no llms.txt, and only an unmaintained community MCP project, meaning there's no documented way to operate Unreal via natural-language commands.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed7/10

   Phaser ships an official hosted 'Game Agent' MCP server that lets users describe changes in plain language (e.g., 'Give the player a double-jump...') and have the agent call over 40 specialised tools inside the Scene Editor, integrating with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Copilot — directly matching natural-language operation. This is corroborated by a runtime probe confirming the live MCP endpoint at phaser.io/agent/mcp. Missing for 10: independent/community hands-on validation of the MCP agent's reliability and no npm-distributed MCP package (only hosted), so evidence is vendor-only.

   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”
   • [claimed-docs] “You describe what you want in plain language and your agent calls the tools for you.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Give the player a double-jump and a coin counter.The jump feels floaty, make gravity stronger.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”
   • [probe] “official MCP server documented at https://phaser.io/agent/mcp”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Api quality

1. ai-native userExplore an interactive API reference with runnable examples

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence shows only standard static documentation pages (C++, Blueprints, Python scripting, plugins) with no interactive API reference or runnable/executable code examples; the probe evidence explicitly notes Unreal's docs are not even machine-readable (no llms.txt, .md URLs return HTML shell) and there's no official API sandbox or live-code explorer mentioned anywhere.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialprobed5/10

   Community evidence confirms Phaser has an extensive examples library ('many examples and docs to work from' — phaser-comm-7), and a runtime probe shows docs.phaser.io/llms.txt now serves as a programmatic examples-API index with endpoints to fetch full source code per example (phaser-probe-rt-1), which is useful for AI-native exploration. However, there is no first-party evidence of an interactive, runnable-in-browser API reference (no OpenAPI/API-reference page found, docs-md and llms.txt initially 404'd per probes), so the story is only partially substantiated. Missing for 10: dedicated interactive API reference UI with live code execution, confirmation the examples API is documented/stable, independent hands-on account of using it.

   • [community] “I've made a couple toy projects with Phaser, after comparing other Javascript based 2d engines. Phaser is the most fully featured amongst th…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”
   • [probe] “PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://docs.phaser.io/llms.txt”
   • [probe] “PROBE docs-md: HTTP 404 at https://docs.phaser.io/phaser/getting-started/what-is-phaser.md”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

2. ai-native userDownload a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent)

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   No evidence of an OpenAPI or similar machine-readable API spec; the probe evidence explicitly finds Unreal's docs and APIs are not machine-readable (no llms.txt, .md docs serve HTML shells, no official MCP/API spec), confirming absence rather than just lack of mention.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialprobed4/10

   Phaser ships full TypeScript type definitions (phaser-docs-4) which function as a machine-readable description of its API surface and can be consumed by tooling/agents, but there is no formal OpenAPI/Swagger spec or comprehensive llms.txt for the full API — probes confirm openapi.json/swagger.json 404 and the only live llms.txt is a narrow examples-index API, not a full API spec (phaser-probe-1, phaser-probe-3, phaser-probe-rt-1). missing for 10: a dedicated OpenAPI/JSON-schema style spec covering the full public API, and an official downloadable machine-readable spec beyond TS typings/examples index.

   • [claimed-docs] “Full TypeScript definitions can be found inside the types folder”
   • [probe] “PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://docs.phaser.io/llms.txt”
   • [probe] “PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://docs.phaser.io/openapi.json, https://docs.phaser.io/swagger.json, https://docs.phaser.io/api…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

3. ai-native userTest against a sandbox environment without touching production data

   weight 1 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

4. ai-native userRely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policy

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   No evidence pack item documents API versioning conventions or a deprecation policy for Unreal's C++/Blueprint/Python APIs; the docs cover feature usage (Blueprints, C++, plugins, replication) but never mention deprecation macros, version compatibility guarantees, or a documented sunset policy. The probe evidence further shows Unreal's docs/API surface is poorly machine-readable, with no llms.txt or markdown API references that would expose such a policy.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   No evidence of a documented deprecation policy, semver commitments, or API-stability guarantees; the only version-related evidence notes Phaser 2→3 broke compatibility ("States"... won't work in Phaser 3) with no stated migration/deprecation process, and probes found no OpenAPI/versioned docs artifacts.

   • [claimed-docs] “If you find any reference to States in code or a tutorial you've found online, it's for Phaser 2 and likely won't work in Phaser 3.”
   • [community] “Phaser 4 was announced ~four years ago and was an attempt to get the project written natively in TypeScript. It looks pretty dead in the wat…”
   • [probe] “PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://docs.phaser.io/openapi.json, https://docs.phaser.io/swagger.json, https://docs.phaser.io/api…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Agent editor

1. ai-native userAn agent can drive the editor and project programmatically — create scenes and nodes, edit properties, trigger builds — through a documented scriptable interface

   weight 3 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed6/10

   Unreal documents a genuine scriptable interface — the Python Editor Scripting API for asset/property automation (docs-4, docs-12), Blueprints for visual node-based logic (docs-1), and CLI/UAT commands for cooking, packaging and triggering builds (docs-7,14,16,17) — which together let a script or agent create/edit content and trigger builds. However, the probe evidence shows no official Epic MCP server or AI-agent-oriented interface exists (0 results for org:EpicGames MCP repos), the most popular community MCP wrapper is unmaintained since 2025, and the docs themselves are not agent-friendly (SPA HTML, no llms.txt, .md suffix doesn't return markdown), undermining ease of programmatic/agentic access despite the underlying scripting capability being real. Missing for 10: official AI-agent/MCP integration, machine-readable documentation, evidence of an agent actually driving these interfaces end-to-end.

   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “there may be cases where you want precise control over when and how Assets are discovered, loaded, and audited. For these cases, the Asset M…”
   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed8/10

   Phaser Studio ships an official 'Phaser Game Agent' MCP server with 40+ specialized tools that integrates with Claude Desktop, Cursor, GitHub Copilot and other MCP clients, letting an agent create particle emitters, reorganize scenes into layers, rename objects, tweak physics/animations, and add filters via natural-language commands routed through documented tool calls — directly matching the 'agent drives the editor programmatically' story. Runtime probe confirms the hosted MCP endpoint is live and documented at phaser.io/agent/mcp. missing for 10: independent/hands-on third-party verification that the MCP tools reliably perform builds/edits, and a published open API/tool reference (npm package) beyond the marketing page.

   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”
   • [claimed-docs] “You describe what you want in plain language and your agent calls the tools for you.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Give the player a double-jump and a coin counter.The jump feels floaty, make gravity stronger.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”
   • [probe] “official MCP server documented at https://phaser.io/agent/mcp”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Codegen

1. ai-native userLLM-generated code mostly works on the first try — stable, well-documented APIs with abundant public examples the models have seen

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   No evidence directly addresses whether LLM-generated Unreal C++/Blueprint code works reliably on first try; the pack only shows general API docs exist and community comments about C++ complexity and blueprint limitations. The probe evidence even indicates docs are poorly machine-readable (403s, no llms.txt, gated source) which undercuts the 'abundant examples models have seen' premise but isn't a direct test of code-gen success either.

   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [community] “My main problem with UE is C++, I don't want to even try to download files or read json in a blueprint.”
   • [community] “blueprints are great for prototyping, but once you have too much complexity in a BP it can easily cascade inefficiencies to the point it bec…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialcommunity6/10

   Phaser has extensive first-party docs, TypeScript definitions, and a long history (widely used since ~2013) that HN commenters confirm produced 'many examples and docs to work from' and 'great documentation,' supporting LLM familiarity. However, other independent reports directly contradict doc quality ('worst documentation... very bad design') and TypeScript support is described as a 'best-effort' bolt-on rather than native, plus the docs explicitly warn that pre-Phaser-3 tutorials/code (States) will not work — all of which undercut first-try reliability for LLM-generated code. Missing for 10: no direct evidence of LLM-generated Phaser code being tested/benchmarked, no resolution of the conflicting doc-quality reports, and no confirmation that the API has stabilized enough to avoid version-mismatch pitfalls.

   • [community] “I've made a couple toy projects with Phaser, after comparing other Javascript based 2d engines. Phaser is the most fully featured amongst th…”
   • [community] “After trying out several HTML5/JS game libraries, I'm pretty sure that Phaser is the best one for 2D games. It has frequent updates, great d…”
   • [community] “I've spent the past 6 months building a game using Phaser and TypeScript. On the whole, it's been a great experience... one of the worst par…”
   • [community] “The documentation of Phaser is the worst i've seen to a popular framework. The website is very bad in the design, styling as well as content…”
   • [community] “It's still rough around the edges, but I have no doubt Phaser 3 will get to feature complete. What's holding me back is lack of TypeScript d…”
   • [community] “Phaser 4 was announced ~four years ago and was an attempt to get the project written natively in TypeScript. It looks pretty dead in the wat…”
   • [claimed-docs] “If you find any reference to States in code or a tutorial you've found online, it's for Phaser 2 and likely won't work in Phaser 3.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Full TypeScript definitions can be found inside the types folder”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Copilot

1. ai-native userAn official AI assistant inside the engine helps with engine tasks — generating scripts, answering API questions, scaffolding scenes or assets

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   No evidence of an official in-engine AI assistant for generating scripts, answering API questions, or scaffolding scenes; the pack only covers Blueprints, C++, Python editor scripting, and plugins as manual tooling. The probe evidence explicitly notes no official Epic MCP/AI integration and that the most popular community MCP project is unmaintained.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialprobed6/10

   Phaser Studio ships an official 'Phaser Game Agent' MCP server with 40+ specialized tools that integrates with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Copilot, letting users describe changes in plain language (e.g. 'give the player a double-jump', 'create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers') and have the agent execute them in the editor — directly matching the scaffolding/scripting parts of the story. However this is a separate hosted MCP server/agent rather than an assistant embedded 'inside the engine' itself, and there's no evidence it specifically answers API/documentation questions, nor any independent hands-on corroboration of its effectiveness. Missing for 10: evidence of API Q&A capability, first-party/independent hands-on validation of code-generation quality, and confirmation it's embedded in-engine rather than an external connected tool.

   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”
   • [claimed-docs] “You describe what you want in plain language and your agent calls the tools for you.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Give the player a double-jump and a coin counter.The jump feels floaty, make gravity stronger.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”
   • [probe] “official MCP server documented at https://phaser.io/agent/mcp”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Formats

1. technical artistStandard interchange formats — glTF, FBX, USD — import cleanly

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack contains no documentation, community, or probe citations addressing glTF, FBX, or USD import functionality in Unreal Engine; all provided docs cover Blueprints, C++, plugins, networking, and licensing instead. Since asset-pipeline import is a fair and applicable axis for a game engine, but no supporting evidence exists in this pack, the verdict is none.

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

Import

1. technical artistAsset import is automatable — import hooks, presets, and pipeline scripts process incoming assets without hand-clicking each one

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialclaimed6/10

   Docs confirm Python scripting can automate asset-management tasks like LOD generation, and the Asset Manager gives programmatic control over asset discovery/loading, while Plugins can add new file-type handling — together these support scripted, non-interactive asset pipelines. However, there's no explicit documentation of dedicated 'import hooks' (e.g. post-import delegates/factories) or preset-based automated import workflows, and no independent/community confirmation that artists actually use this for hands-off batch import. missing for 10: explicit import-hook/factory API docs, named import-preset tooling, and third-party/community validation of automated import pipelines.

   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “provides a framework for managing Assets that can divide content into chunks that make sense in the context of your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “there may be cases where you want precise control over when and how Assets are discovered, loaded, and audited. For these cases, the Asset M…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins can add runtime gameplay functionality, modify built-in Engine features (or add new ones), create new file types, and extend the cap…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins are collections of code and data that developers can easily enable or disable within the Editor on a per-project basis.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   Phaser's docs cover its runtime Loader for fetching common asset types (images, atlases, audio) and an editor/MCP agent for interactive scene building, but there is no evidence of asset-import automation tooling (import hooks, preset-based pipelines, or scripts that batch-process incoming source assets before they reach the game) as a build-time pipeline feature. Missing for 10: any documented import-hook API, preset/config-driven asset processing, or pipeline scripting for automating asset ingestion.

   • [claimed-docs] “Common asset types include images, texture atlases, sprite sheets, fonts, audio files and JSON data, but there are many more that Phaser can…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Drag and drop objects into place, tweak their animations, adjust their physics bodies, enable special effects and more as you go.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Add and configure filters visually — Glow, Shadow, Blur, Pixelate, Bokeh, ColorMatrix, Displacement and more — directly in the Scene Editor'…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Marketplace

1. game developerA large asset store or package ecosystem gives me ready-made models, tools, and plugins

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed5/10

   Docs show a genuine plugin and asset-management ecosystem (plugins can add gameplay features, new file types, editor extensions; Asset Manager for content organization) and community comment notes strong third-party program/community support, but there is no direct evidence in the pack describing the actual Marketplace/Fab asset store, its catalog size, or the quality of ready-made models — the probe entry only notes fab.com exists but is API-gated, not its content richness. Missing for 10: concrete marketplace/store catalog evidence, examples of ready-made models/tools available, and independent user reviews of the store experience.

   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins can add runtime gameplay functionality, modify built-in Engine features (or add new ones), create new file types, and extend the cap…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins are collections of code and data that developers can easily enable or disable within the Editor on a per-project basis.”
   • [claimed-docs] “provides a framework for managing Assets that can divide content into chunks that make sense in the context of your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “there may be cases where you want precise control over when and how Assets are discovered, loaded, and audited. For these cases, the Asset M…”
   • [community] “Unreal was already the best engine purely on being easy to work with, support from third party programs and community, none of those things …”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   Evidence covers Phaser's editor, MCP agent tooling, npm install, CDN and framework integrations, but there is no mention of a dedicated asset store, marketplace, or curated plugin ecosystem (à la Unity Asset Store) offering ready-made models/tools/plugins. Missing for 10: evidence of an official or third-party asset marketplace, a plugin registry, or curated ready-made asset packages.

   ⚑ flag

1. ai-native userPerform bulk operations across many items at once

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed5/10

   Unreal's Python editor-scripting API and Asset Manager are documented to automate time-consuming asset tasks (e.g., batch-generating LODs for Static Meshes) and manage large sets of Assets in chunks, which supports bulk operations across many items, and UAT/command-line tooling and cooking commands support batch build/deploy across multiple platforms/targets. However there is no concrete first-party example of an AI-native agent performing bulk edits, no official MCP server, and the probe evidence flags Unreal as the least machine-readable/agent-accessible of comparable products (gated APIs, 403s, no llms.txt), undercutting AI-native automation-depth claims. Missing for 10: worked examples of bulk operations orchestrated end-to-end, official AI/agent tooling or MCP integration, independent hands-on confirmation of scripted bulk workflows.

   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “provides a framework for managing Assets that can divide content into chunks that make sense in the context of your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “there may be cases where you want precise control over when and how Assets are discovered, loaded, and audited. For these cases, the Asset M…”
   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialclaimed3/10

   The Editor/MCP agent evidence mentions handling tasks like renaming multiple objects and reorganizing scenes without switching tools, implying some bulk-editing capability, but there's no detailed documentation of a systematic bulk-operations API or workflow for AI agents. Missing for 10: explicit bulk-edit tooling/API docs, examples of batch operations across many assets/scenes, and independent confirmation of this capability working at scale.

   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”
   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

2. ai-native userDefine rules that trigger actions automatically on events

   weight 3 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine✓fullcommunity6/10

   Unreal's Blueprint visual scripting and C++ delegate system explicitly support binding functions to be invoked automatically at a future time/event (dynamic delegates), and Blueprints expose event graphs for designers to wire up event-triggered logic without code. Community commentary confirms Blueprints are used for prototyping event-driven logic though complexity pushes users to C++. Missing for 10: explicit documentation of Event Dispatchers/Event Graph event-binding UI, and independent hands-on validation of rule-trigger reliability at scale.

   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [claimed-docs] “You can dynamically bind a delegate to a member function of an arbitrary object, calling the function on the object at a future time”
   • [community] “blueprints are great for prototyping, but once you have too much complexity in a BP it can easily cascade inefficiencies to the point it bec…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   Phaser's docs mention a unified input system and scene lifecycle events, but no evidence describes a rule-engine or declarative trigger system where events automatically fire configured actions (e.g., an event-emitter/automation API is never documented in the pack). Missing for 10: documentation of an event-emitter/listener API, examples of rule-based automation, and any AI-native tooling for defining trigger→action rules.

   • [claimed-docs] “Phaser maintains a unified input system that works across all browsers and devices.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Typical uses for a Scene would be a Loading Screen, a Main Menu, a Game Level, a Boss Fight, an in-game Item Shop, a High Score Table, etc.”
   • [claimed-docs] “you can pause, resume and sleep a Scene at will, and that you can easily run multiple Scenes at the same time.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

3. ai-native userVersion, review, and roll back my automations

   weight 1 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack covers Blueprints, C++, Python scripting, plugins, asset management, and cooking, but contains no mention of version control integration, change review/diffing, or rollback mechanisms for Blueprints, Python scripts, or other automations. This is a plausible axis for a dev engine (e.g., source control on Blueprints), but no supporting evidence exists.

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

2d

1. game developer2D is a first-class workflow — sprites, tilemaps, 2D physics — not a 3D afterthought

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack contains no mention of sprites, tilemaps, Paper2D, or 2D physics support in Unreal Engine—only C++, Blueprints, plugins, networking, and licensing topics. Since a 3D-first engine could plausibly ship a first-class 2D workflow, this axis applies, but no evidence documents it, so the story is unsupported.

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullcommunity9/10

   Phaser's docs and community feedback confirm sprites, scenes, arcade physics, animations, tilemaps/atlases, and input are core, well-documented primitives rather than bolted-on features, and community comments reinforce it as a dedicated 2D engine (comparisons to Pixi/Love2D, 'fits 2D, sprites, tilemaps, physics'). missing for 10: independent hands-on benchmarking of tilemap-specific workflows and no explicit dedicated tilemap doc excerpt in the pack (only physics/scenes/animations/input are directly quoted).

   • [claimed-docs] “Typical uses for a Scene would be a Loading Screen, a Main Menu, a Game Level, a Boss Fight, an in-game Item Shop, a High Score Table, etc.”
   • [claimed-docs] “it's a common practise to have a Scene dedicated entirely to handling the UI for your game, that is rendered above all other Scenes”
   • [claimed-docs] “This will allow you to control the Sprite using the built-in physics functions, such as velocity, acceleration, gravity, etc.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Phaser maintains a unified input system that works across all browsers and devices.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Common asset types include images, texture atlases, sprite sheets, fonts, audio files and JSON data, but there are many more that Phaser can…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Animations are created via the Animation Manager.”
   • [community] “It's a great tool if you go for a game that fits this framework - 2D, sprites, tilemaps, physics... After experimenting a little with phaser…”
   • [community] “Phaser is the perfect framework to get started making HTML5 2D games.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Performance

1. game developerProfile and scale — a real profiler, plus data-oriented paths (ECS, jobs, instancing) when scenes get heavy

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack contains no documentation or community evidence about Unreal Insights, stat/profiling commands, GPU profiling, or data-oriented paths like Mass Entity/ECS, job systems, or GPU instancing — only generic command-line-argument docs mentioning 'testing and optimizing' in passing. Profiling and data-oriented scaling are core, expected capabilities for a AAA game engine, so the axis applies, but nothing in the pack demonstrates a real profiler or ECS/jobs/instancing systems.

   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “Command-line Arguments, also called Additional Launch Parameters, customize how the engine runs on startup.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The evidence pack shows no mention of a built-in profiler, ECS architecture, job system, or instancing support for scaling heavy scenes; Phaser's docs and community discussion focus on Scenes, Arcade physics, animations, and rendering (Canvas/WebGL) with only a passing complaint about relative rendering FPS. Nothing indicates data-oriented performance tooling exists.

   • [claimed-docs] “Typical uses for a Scene would be a Loading Screen, a Main Menu, a Game Level, a Boss Fight, an in-game Item Shop, a High Score Table, etc.”
   • [claimed-docs] “This will allow you to control the Sprite using the built-in physics functions, such as velocity, acceleration, gravity, etc.”
   • [community] “The framework is good, however I got faster (fps wise) results using my own rendering functions on Canvas than I was getting using their ren…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Physics

1. game developerBuilt-in physics — rigid bodies, collisions, raycasts — works out of the box

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack contains no documentation, community reports, or probes specifically addressing Unreal's physics system (rigid bodies, collision detection, raycasting, Chaos/PhysX). Coverage is entirely about Blueprints, C++, plugins, asset management, networking, licensing, and community sentiment on cost/usability — none of which substantiates the built-in physics story.

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialcommunity6/10

   Docs confirm a built-in Arcade Physics system providing velocity, acceleration, gravity, and collision handling out of the box, and community testimony (phaser-comm-13) lists physics as a core built-in feature, but the pack explicitly notes Arcade physics 'does have its limitations' (phaser-docs-24) and never mentions raycasting or full rigid-body dynamics (e.g., Matter.js integration) with concrete examples. Missing for 10: explicit raycast API evidence, rigid-body/Matter physics documentation, and independent confirmation of collision accuracy beyond Arcade's simplified AABB model.

   • [claimed-docs] “This will allow you to control the Sprite using the built-in physics functions, such as velocity, acceleration, gravity, etc.”
   • [claimed-docs] “It's very fast and easy to use, with lots of helper functions, but due to its nature it does have its limitations.”
   • [community] “It's a great tool if you go for a game that fits this framework - 2D, sprites, tilemaps, physics... After experimenting a little with phaser…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Rendering

1. game developerThe engine ships a modern production 3D renderer — PBR materials, global illumination or baked lighting, shadows, post-processing

   weight 3 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialcommunity5/10

   Community evidence confirms Unreal's renderer includes Lumen for real-time global illumination/reflections and general praise for lighting quality, supporting the GI/rendering claim, but the evidence pack lacks first-party documentation or hands-on confirmation of PBR material workflows, shadow systems, or the post-processing pipeline explicitly. missing for 10: explicit docs/evidence on PBR material editor, shadow mapping/ray-traced shadows, and post-process volume/effects stack.

   • [community] “Lumen implements efficient Software Ray Tracing, allowing for global illumination and reflections to run on a wide range of video cards, whi…”
   • [community] “For someone who's actually using UE4 as an artistic break for web dev, I thoroughly recommend it. It allows you to create great environments…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

Collaboration

1. studio leadThe project format and tooling play well with version control and multi-person teams — mergeable scenes, diffable text formats, or built-in collaboration

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack contains no mention of Unreal's scene/level file formats, diffability, source-control integration (e.g., Perforce/Git-LFS workflows), or any built-in multi-user collaboration tooling; it only covers Blueprints, C++, plugins, networking replication, and licensing. Missing for 10: any documentation or community evidence on .uasset/.umap format mergeability, text-based diffable formats, or built-in collaboration features like Multi-User Editing.

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The evidence pack covers installation, scenes, physics, animation, and a visual Scene Editor, but nothing addresses version-control friendliness, mergeable/diffable scene file formats, or built-in multi-person collaboration tooling. While Phaser's code-first nature implies plain-text source files, there is no explicit documentation of scene file format diffability, conflict resolution, or team collaboration features for the visual editor.

   ⚑ flag

Editor

1. technical artistA full visual editor — viewport, inspector, prefabs/scene composition — is the primary way to build levels

   weight 3 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine✓fullcommunity7/10

   Unreal's editor-centric workflow (Blueprints visual scripting, Editor extensions, Asset Manager, Level building/testing via UE Toolbar) is well documented as the primary way to construct levels and gameplay without programmer-only tools, and community comments (comm-3, comm-11, comm-16) corroborate that it's an actual GUI-driven editor experience artists use. missing for 10: explicit documentation naming 'viewport' and 'inspector' panels, and 'prefab' terminology (Unreal uses Blueprint/Actor classes instead) with independent hands-on confirmation of scene-composition workflow specifically for technical artists.

   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins can add runtime gameplay functionality, modify built-in Engine features (or add new ones), create new file types, and extend the cap…”
   • [claimed-docs] “provides a framework for managing Assets that can divide content into chunks that make sense in the context of your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “Use UE Toolbar to quickly test a part of your currently loaded Level for testing and debugging.”
   • [community] “Unreal was already the best engine purely on being easy to work with, support from third party programs and community, none of those things …”
   • [community] “What I hate about unity is the whole interface editor thing... Is this Unreal Engine more earth to earth when it comes to programming?”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialclaimed5/10

   Phaser Studio ships an official visual Scene Editor with drag-and-drop placement, a real-time Inspector for effects/physics/animations, and scene reorganization into layers (phaser-docs-12, phaser-docs-27, phaser-docs-29), which covers viewport/inspector/scene-composition claims. However, core Phaser itself remains a code-first framework, prefab workflows are never explicitly named, and all evidence is first-party marketing with zero independent/hands-on corroboration of the editor's actual level-building workflow. Missing for 10: explicit prefab/reusable-component system documentation, independent reviews or hands-on reports of the editor, and clarity on how central this paid add-on editor is versus code-based scene building.

   • [claimed-docs] “Drag and drop objects into place, tweak their animations, adjust their physics bodies, enable special effects and more as you go.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Add and configure filters visually — Glow, Shadow, Blur, Pixelate, Bokeh, ColorMatrix, Displacement and more — directly in the Scene Editor'…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Pixel art, tilemap & atlas editors * SFX & music generation”
   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Extensibility

1. game developerExtend and automate the editor itself — custom tools, editor scripts, plugins that manipulate scenes and assets programmatically

   weight 3 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine✓fullcommunity8/10

   Docs confirm multiple official extension paths: Python editor scripting for automating asset/editor tasks, Blueprints for designer-level scripting, C++ for deep gameplay/editor class extension, and a Plugins system explicitly designed to 'extend the capabilities of the Editor.' These are core, well-documented first-party mechanisms for programmatic scene/asset manipulation and editor customization. Missing for 10: independent hands-on corroboration specifically of the Python/editor-scripting API (community evidence mostly discusses C++/Blueprint complexity rather than editor automation), and no mention of newer scripting surfaces like the Editor Utility Widgets or Python API depth in third-party sources.

   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins can add runtime gameplay functionality, modify built-in Engine features (or add new ones), create new file types, and extend the cap…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Plugins are collections of code and data that developers can easily enable or disable within the Editor on a per-project basis.”
   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [community] “blueprints are great for prototyping, but once you have too much complexity in a BP it can easily cascade inefficiencies to the point it bec…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialprobed5/10

   Phaser's separate Editor product supports visual scene/asset manipulation (drag-and-drop, filters, inspector) and an MCP server exposes 40+ tools letting AI agents call editor-like functions to manipulate scenes/assets programmatically, which partially satisfies 'automate the editor.' However there is no evidence of a scripting/plugin API for the Editor itself (e.g., custom editor panels, extension SDK, editor-scripting language) — the MCP tools are agent-facing, not a documented developer plugin architecture. missing for 10: documented editor plugin/extension SDK, editor scripting API for custom tools, evidence of third-party editor plugins, independent hands-on confirmation of MCP tool automation reliability.

   • [claimed-docs] “Drag and drop objects into place, tweak their animations, adjust their physics bodies, enable special effects and more as you go.”
   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Add and configure filters visually — Glow, Shadow, Blur, Pixelate, Bokeh, ColorMatrix, Displacement and more — directly in the Scene Editor'…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”
   • [probe] “official MCP server documented at https://phaser.io/agent/mcp”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Ci

1. game developerBuild and export the project from the command line, headless, in CI — no human clicking an editor

   weight 3 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine✓fullprobed8/10

   Official docs give concrete CLI commands for headless building/cooking/packaging/deploying a project (UnrealEditor.exe -run=cook, and the build/cook/package/deploy/run automation command), plus a dedicated command-line-arguments reference for scripted/CI use, all without needing to open the editor UI. Missing for 10: independent third-party CI pipeline case study confirming it works end-to-end, and explicit mention of UAT/BuildCookRun tool name or exit-code/scripting integration details.

   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [claimed-docs] “Command-line Arguments, also called Additional Launch Parameters, customize how the engine runs on startup.”
   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The evidence only shows an interactive CLI installer for scaffolding new projects (phaser-docs-2/21) and a separate paid Scene Editor with an MCP 'agent' for human-in-the-loop coding assistance (phaser-docs-12/13/14/27/29) — neither documents a headless build/export command or CI pipeline usage. There is no mention of a 'phaser build' CLI, bundler config, or automated export pipeline suitable for CI. Missing for 10: documented headless build/export CLI command, CI integration example, evidence that game export doesn't require the GUI editor.

   • [claimed-docs] “This CLI tool presents an interactive selection of official project templates and demo games.”
   • [claimed-docs] “This CLI tool presents an interactive selection of official project templates and demo games. Issue the command, answer some questions and t…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Drag and drop objects into place, tweak their animations, adjust their physics bodies, enable special effects and more as you go.”
   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Server

1. game developerGame logic runs headless on servers — a dedicated-server or server-runtime build without rendering

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack covers general networking/replication (client-server sync), command-line arguments, and cooking/packaging, but nowhere mentions Unreal's dedicated-server build target, a headless/no-rendering server runtime, or how to produce a server-only executable. Without explicit documentation of a server-only build path, this axis is unsupported by the given evidence. Missing for 10: any mention of a 'Server' build target, -server or -nullrhi headless launch flags, or dedicated-server packaging instructions.

   • [claimed-docs] “Replication is the name for the process of synchronizing data and procedure calls between clients and servers”
   • [claimed-docs] “Replication is the name for the process of synchronizing data and procedure calls between clients and servers.”
   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [claimed-docs] “Command-line Arguments, also called Additional Launch Parameters, customize how the engine runs on startup.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   No evidence anywhere in the pack of a headless/server-runtime build of Phaser that runs game logic without a canvas/WebGL renderer; all documentation focuses on browser/CDN/npm installs, Scenes, physics, and rendering-oriented editor tooling. Headless server support is a fair question for a game framework (many engines offer it), but nothing here confirms Phaser ships one.

   ⚑ flag

Testing

1. game developerTests run headlessly — unit and integration tests of game code execute in CI against the real engine

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The evidence pack only shows generic command-line argument docs and a UE Toolbar mention for ad-hoc level testing/debugging; there is no evidence of Unreal's Automation System, Gauntlet, or any documented headless unit/integration test execution flow running the real engine in CI. Missing for 10: mention of the Automation Testing framework, -nullrhi/-unattended/-ExecCmds test invocation, CI integration examples, or independent reports of headless test runs against the real engine.

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   No evidence in the pack mentions headless testing, CI integration, test runners, or running Phaser against a headless browser/Node environment for automated test execution — all evidence covers installation, scenes, physics, editor, and MCP tooling.

   ⚑ flag

Governance

1. studio leadThe project's governance and funding are transparent — a foundation, published finances, or a public roadmap I can plan against

   weight 1 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   Evidence covers licensing costs, royalty terms, and technical documentation, but nothing indicates a governing foundation, published financial statements, or a public roadmap for Unreal Engine — Epic Games remains a private, closed-governance company with only EULA/royalty terms disclosed (unreal-docs-10, unreal-comm-9, unreal-comm-13).

   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code”
   • [community] “For those who don't know what the deal is with Unreal Engine, there's no charge until you get the first million dollars in revenue. Then the…”
   • [community] “It appears they've backed off on the royalties, too: originally, it was 5% of gross, and now it's 5% of gross after $3000 sales per quarter.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   No evidence pack items address governance structure, foundation status, published finances, or a public roadmap for Phaser; the evidence covers technical docs, editor/MCP features, pricing/licensing transfer, and community sentiment only. Missing for 10: any mention of a governing foundation, financial transparency/reports, or a published roadmap that a studio lead could plan against.

   ⚑ flag

License

1. studio leadThe license is permissive with no royalties or per-install fees — I keep what my game earns

   weight 3 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   Community evidence explicitly documents that Unreal charges a 5% royalty on gross revenue after the first $1M (or $3,000/quarter) — this is the opposite of 'no royalties, keep what you earn.' No evidence pack item supports a royalty-free/no-fee licensing model; instead multiple citations (comm-1, comm-9, comm-13, comm-2) confirm a royalty-based commercial license.

   • [community] “UE offers everything free... Only way to pay to use Unreal Engine is to earn more than $1,000,000 USD which for most people means everything…”
   • [community] “For those who don't know what the deal is with Unreal Engine, there's no charge until you get the first million dollars in revenue. Then the…”
   • [community] “It appears they've backed off on the royalties, too: originally, it was 5% of gross, and now it's 5% of gross after $3000 sales per quarter.”
   • [community] “i know games with $3 million dollar budgets that chose Unity over Unreal because with Unreal that would have cost them $150k whereas with Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed7/10

   Runtime probe confirms the core Phaser engine is published under the MIT license (npm registry metadata), which is inherently permissive and imposes no royalties or per-install fees, letting studios keep 100% of game revenue. The evidence pack does not include an explicit vendor statement like 'no royalties' or 'keep what you earn,' so this is inferred from the MIT designation rather than a direct claim; separately, the paid Editor/pricing page (phaser-docs-30) mentions 'full commercial rights' and license transfer for a different, optional commercial tool, not the core engine's licensing terms. Missing for 10: an explicit first-party statement on royalty-free/no-fee terms and independent legal/community confirmation of the license text.

   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”
   • [claimed-docs] “Full commercial rights * Transfer your licence to any user”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Source

1. game developerRead and modify the full engine source when I hit a wall

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine✓fullprobed7/10

   Epic's license page explicitly grants 'Access to the source code' and docs describe creating new Gameplay C++ classes that recompile directly into the Editor, and community comments corroborate 'source code included.' Missing for 10: independent hands-on account of actually patching core engine internals (not just gameplay classes), and the probe notes the source repo is EULA/GitHub-account gated rather than freely open, which adds friction to the 'when I hit a wall' scenario.

   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code”
   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code All platforms & features Forums and documentation on the Epic Developer Community”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [community] “Crytek has financial worries. Plus it's the most difficult to use, because it's almost all C++. Unity is very accessible thanks to C# script…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed7/10

   Phaser's source is hosted on GitHub (phaser-gh-1, phaser-gh-2) and the runtime probe confirms it is MIT-licensed (phaser-probe-rt-1), meaning developers can freely read, fork, and modify the entire engine source when they hit a limitation. Community comments (e.g. phaser-comm-11, phaser-comm-12) even show developers digging into internals/rendering behavior, consistent with open-source access. Missing for 10: explicit documentation/tutorial on how to build from source or contribute patches, and no first-party statement framing this as a workaround path for hitting engine walls.

   • [github] “You can use JavaScript or TypeScript for development.”
   • [github] “Games can be built for the web, or as YouTube Playables, Discord Activities, Reddit games, Twitch Overlays or compiled to iOS, Android, Stea…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”
   • [community] “The framework is good, however I got faster (fps wise) results using my own rendering functions on Canvas than I was getting using their ren…”
   • [community] “I just started playing with it and circular dependencies make me cringe... It's really tough to compose things with it.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Trust

1. studio leadThe pricing and license terms have a track record of stability — no retroactive changes that reprice games already shipped

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The pack shows royalty terms changed over time (5% of gross → 5% after $3,000/quarter) but no evidence addresses whether such changes were ever applied retroactively to already-shipped titles or whether Epic has an explicit no-retroactive-repricing policy/track record. Missing for 10: documented policy or community confirmation that license terms are grandfathered for shipped games, evidence of any past retroactive-change controversy or its resolution.

   • [community] “It appears they've backed off on the royalties, too: originally, it was 5% of gross, and now it's 5% of gross after $3000 sales per quarter.”
   • [community] “For those who don't know what the deal is with Unreal Engine, there's no charge until you get the first million dollars in revenue. Then the…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   Evidence shows current pricing/licence terms (full commercial rights, licence transfer) and confirms the core engine is MIT-licensed, but there is no evidence of a documented track record over time — no mention of past pricing changes, grandfathering policies, or community confirmation that shipped games were never repriced retroactively. Missing for 10: historical pricing-change log, explicit no-retroactive-repricing policy statement, and independent/community corroboration of licence stability over multiple releases.

   • [claimed-docs] “You can transfer any active licence or subscription to another registered Phaser user from your account page.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Full commercial rights * Transfer your licence to any user”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

1. ai-native userDo everything through the API that I can do in the UI

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed5/10

   Unreal exposes substantial programmatic surfaces (Python editor scripting, C++ gameplay/engine API, Blueprints, command-line/UAT automation) that cover many editor and runtime tasks, but there is no documentation or evidence claiming full UI/API parity — some editor UI workflows (e.g. certain asset browser, viewport, or complex tooling operations) are not confirmed as scriptable, and the probe notes the engine is poorly machine-accessible overall (gated source repo, 403s on core domains, no official MCP, docs not served as markdown). missing for 10: an explicit statement/spec of full UI-API parity, evidence that every UI action has an API equivalent, and better machine-readable API discovery for AI agents.

   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [claimed-docs] “Automate time-consuming Asset management tasks in the Unreal Editor, like generating Levels of Detail (LODs) for Static Meshes.”
   • [claimed-docs] “there may be cases where you want precise control over when and how Assets are discovered, loaded, and audited. For these cases, the Asset M…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [claimed-docs] “command-line arguments can be an invaluable tool for testing and optimizing your project”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialprobed5/10

   Phaser is a code-first JS/TS game framework whose entire API is already scriptable (Scenes, physics, input, animations, loader), so most 'UI' interactions like the Scene Editor are optional visual layers over the same API. The official MCP server (phaser.io/agent/mcp) lets an AI agent describe intent in plain language and have it call editor-equivalent tools, supporting API-level parity with editor actions like adding filters, particle emitters, and reorganizing scenes. However, evidence doesn't confirm 100% coverage of every visual editor feature (e.g., visual filter/particle configuration, pixel art/tilemap/SFX generation tools) via the plain code API, and the MCP server itself is a separate hosted tool, not something distributed as an installable npm package with public OpenAPI/spec. missing for 10: explicit confirmation that every Scene Editor visual feature (filters, particle emitters, layers, pixel/tilemap/SFX tools) has a documented equivalent API call, independent hands-on evidence the MCP/API can fully replicate editor UI actions, and a public API spec (OpenAPI 404s) proving completeness.

   • [claimed-docs] “Drag and drop objects into place, tweak their animations, adjust their physics bodies, enable special effects and more as you go.”
   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Build games from inside the editor you already use with the Phaser Game Agent MCP server.”
   • [claimed-docs] “You describe what you want in plain language and your agent calls the tools for you.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Give the player a double-jump and a coin counter.The jump feels floaty, make gravity stronger.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Add and configure filters visually — Glow, Shadow, Blur, Pixelate, Bokeh, ColorMatrix, Displacement and more — directly in the Scene Editor'…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Pixel art, tilemap & atlas editors * SFX & music generation”
   • [probe] “PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://docs.phaser.io/openapi.json, https://docs.phaser.io/swagger.json, https://docs.phaser.io/api…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

2. ai-native userExport all of my data in open formats and leave

   weight 3 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   Evidence covers Blueprints, C++, plugins, source-code access, and asset management, but nothing addresses exporting a project's proprietary .uasset/.umap data into open interchange formats to allow a clean migration away from Unreal. The probe evidence even highlights poor machine-readable/open access to Epic's own ecosystem, reinforcing the lack of a data-portability story.

   • [claimed-docs] “provides a framework for managing Assets that can divide content into chunks that make sense in the context of your project”
   • [claimed-docs] “there may be cases where you want precise control over when and how Assets are discovered, loaded, and audited. For these cases, the Asset M…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

3. ai-native userRead the product's source under an open license

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine!disputedcontradicted3/10

   Epic's own licensing page claims 'access to the source code' (unreal-docs-10, unreal-docs-18), but this is EULA/account-gated rather than an open-license grant — the probe confirms the GitHub source repo returns 404 without an authenticated, linked Epic account and all first-party domains block non-browser access, meaning the source is not freely readable under an open license as an AI-native user would need. Missing for 10: no OSI-approved or otherwise open license governing the source, no keyless/anonymous access to the code, no llms.txt or machine-readable confirmation of licensing terms.

   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code”
   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code All platforms & features Forums and documentation on the Epic Developer Community”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed8/10

   Phaser's source is hosted publicly on GitHub (github.com/phaserjs/phaser, cited in phaser-gh-1/2) and the npm package is confirmed MIT-licensed via runtime probe, satisfying the 'read source under open license' story directly. Missing for 10: an explicit first-party LICENSE file citation and independent community commentary specifically about license terms/openness.

   • [github] “You can use JavaScript or TypeScript for development.”
   • [github] “Games can be built for the web, or as YouTube Playables, Discord Activities, Reddit games, Twitch Overlays or compiled to iOS, Android, Stea…”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

4. ai-native userSelf-host the core product

   weight 3 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine~partialprobed6/10

   Unreal ships as a locally-installed engine with source-code access (unreal-docs-10/18), so the core product is inherently self-hostable rather than SaaS-only. However, the probe evidence shows source access is EULA/account-gated (must link a GitHub account to Epic), the GitHub repo is not publicly discoverable via API, and there is no simple open self-hosting path comparable to fully open-source engines. Missing for 10: unrestricted/public source access, no account-gating requirement, first-party documentation framing self-hosting as an explicit feature.

   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code”
   • [claimed-docs] “Access to the source code All platforms & features Forums and documentation on the Epic Developer Community”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime negative (recorded 2026-09-15): Unreal is the least machine-readable presence of the eight — api.github.com/repos/EpicGames/Un…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed8/10

   Phaser is an MIT-licensed, open-source JavaScript library installable via npm or CDN and usable entirely within a self-managed environment (GitHub source, npm package, jsDelivr CDN) — there is no vendor-hosted runtime dependency for the core engine, so self-hosting is inherent to the product. missing for 10: explicit deployment/self-hosting guide (e.g., Docker, server config) and independent confirmation of running fully offline in production.

   • [claimed-docs] “npm install phaser”
   • [claimed-docs] “Phaser is on jsDelivr which is a "super-fast CDN for developers".”
   • [github] “You can use JavaScript or TypeScript for development.”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Targets

1. studio leadOne project exports to desktop, mobile, and (directly or via partners) consoles

   weight 3 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialcommunity7/10

   Docs show a single project can be cooked/packaged/deployed to multiple target platforms via the cook/package pipeline (unreal-docs-16, unreal-docs-17) and tested across platforms via the toolbar (unreal-docs-9), and community mentions cross-platform export (e.g., HTML5) confirm this in practice (unreal-comm-14). However, the evidence pack contains no explicit documentation or independent confirmation of console export specifics (partner/licensee console SDK integration), so console support is inferred rather than directly evidenced. Missing for 10: explicit console-platform export/partner-program documentation, independent studio confirmation of a single project shipping to consoles.

   • [claimed-docs] “UnrealEditor.exe <GameName or uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>”
   • [claimed-docs] “This command can cook content for a platform, package it up into a platform's native format for distribution, deploys it to the device, and …”
   • [claimed-docs] “Use UE Toolbar to quickly test a part of your currently loaded Level for testing and debugging.”
   • [community] “For someone who's actually using UE4 as an artistic break for web dev, I thoroughly recommend it. It allows you to create great environments…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialcommunity5/10

   Phaser docs and GitHub state games can be "compiled to iOS, Android, Steam and native apps using 3rd party tools," covering mobile and desktop export paths, and a community report confirms a real Android .apk export at 60fps. However, there is no evidence—vendor or community—of console export capability (directly or via a documented console partner program), which is a core part of this story. Missing for 10: documented console export path or partner program, first-party tooling/guide for desktop/mobile builds beyond "3rd party tools", independent confirmation of Steam/iOS builds.

   • [claimed-docs] “compiled to iOS, Android, Steam and native apps using 3rd party tools”
   • [claimed-docs] “Games can be built for the web, or as YouTube Playables, Discord Activies, Twitch Overlays or compiled to iOS, Android, Steam and native app…”
   • [github] “Games can be built for the web, or as YouTube Playables, Discord Activities, Reddit games, Twitch Overlays or compiled to iOS, Android, Stea…”
   • [community] “This is the best JavaScript game framework. Been using it for a few years and it never let me down... created a small game and exported it t…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Web

1. web developerMy game runs in the browser with a reasonable payload — WebGL today, and a credible WebGPU story

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The only evidence touching web export is a decade-old community comment noting 'UE4.7 can export to HTML5 too' (unreal-comm-14) — there is no current documentation, no mention of WebGL, no mention of WebGPU, and no discussion of browser payload size or a credible modern web-export pipeline. Given Unreal actually removed HTML5/WebGL export in later versions, this stale anecdote does not establish a current capability.

   • [community] “For someone who's actually using UE4 as an artistic break for web dev, I thoroughly recommend it. It allows you to create great environments…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialcommunity4/10

   Evidence confirms browser-based rendering with WebGL (community mention of 'rendering on both Canvas and WebGL') and easy npm/CDN distribution suggesting reasonable payload, but there is no mention anywhere in the pack of WebGPU support, a WebGPU renderer, or a roadmap toward it. missing for 10: explicit WebGPU renderer/roadmap documentation, payload-size benchmarks, and independent corroboration of WebGL performance beyond one anecdotal comment.

   • [community] “The framework is good, however I got faster (fps wise) results using my own rendering functions on Canvas than I was getting using their ren…”
   • [claimed-docs] “npm install phaser”
   • [claimed-docs] “Phaser is on jsDelivr which is a "super-fast CDN for developers".”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

2. web developerThe engine installs from a package registry into my existing toolchain — a library I import, bundle, and tree-shake like any dependency

   weight 2 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na". (na/none harmonized at arena bring-up — see pipeline/scripts/na-harmonize.ts.)

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser✓fullprobed9/10

   Phaser is published as a standard npm package (`npm install phaser`), confirmed both in docs and via live registry probe (v4.2.1, MIT license, 263k weekly downloads), and includes TypeScript definitions in the package, making it importable/bundleable like any standard JS dependency. Community evidence corroborates typical toolchain use (bundling into games/apps) though tree-shaking specifically isn't explicitly discussed. Missing for 10: explicit documentation or confirmation of tree-shaking/ESM module support behavior.

   • [claimed-docs] “npm install phaser”
   • [claimed-docs] “Full TypeScript definitions can be found inside the types folder”
   • [claimed-docs] “Install via [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/phaser): npm install phaser”
   • [probe] “PROBE runtime (recorded 2026-09-15): `npm view phaser version` → 4.2.1 (MIT, 263,018 weekly downloads), and phaser.io/llms.txt is live as a …”
   • [github] “You can use JavaScript or TypeScript for development.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

1. ai-native userOpt out of telemetry and usage tracking

   weight 2 · round drawn
   Unreal Engine—none0/10

   No evidence in the pack addresses telemetry, analytics, or usage-tracking opt-out settings for Unreal Engine or the Editor; all docs and community items concern scripting, licensing, and pricing topics unrelated to privacy controls.

   ⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   No evidence in the pack addresses telemetry, usage tracking, or an opt-out mechanism for Phaser's library, CLI, editor, or MCP server offerings, despite these being product surfaces where such a policy could exist.

   ⚑ flag

Iteration

1. game developerThe edit-run loop is fast — hot reload or near-instant preview after a script change

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine~partialclaimed6/10

   Docs confirm Blueprints allow instant in-editor scripting changes without recompilation, and C++ changes are 'reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling' via Visual Studio/XCode, indicating a hot-reload/live-coding workflow exists. However, no evidence quantifies compile/reload speed, mentions the dedicated 'Live Coding' feature explicitly, or provides independent hands-on confirmation that the loop is fast rather than just functional. Missing for 10: benchmark/timing evidence on hot reload speed, explicit mention of Live Coding feature, independent developer testimony on edit-run loop responsiveness.

   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   No evidence in the pack describes hot reload, live-reload dev server, or near-instant preview after script changes; only editor visual tweaks (glow/filters, drag-drop) are documented, which is not the same as a fast JS edit-run loop. The templates/CLI installation docs mention project setup but not dev-server hot reload behavior.

   ⚑ flag

Language

1. game developerThe primary scripting language is productive and fully exposes the engine API, with a debugger behind it

   weight 3 · round to Phaser
   Unreal Engine~partialcommunity5/10

   Docs show C++ as the primary language with full engine API exposure (new Gameplay classes, delegates binding to arbitrary objects) and it compiles/reflects via Visual Studio/XCode, implying standard IDE debugger support, while Blueprints (the more 'scripting'-like option) explicitly trades off some API depth for accessibility (unreal-docs-1,2,3,11). Community evidence corroborates a productivity/API-completeness tension: Blueprints alone are 'not sufficient' for real scripting tasks and require C++ fallback, and multiple developers cite C++ as their 'main problem' with UE (unreal-comm-4, unreal-comm-7, unreal-comm-15). Missing for 10: no explicit documentation of an integrated scripting debugger workflow (only external Visual Studio/Xcode debugging is implied), and no first-party evidence that any single primary language achieves both full productivity and full API coverage without trade-offs.

   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [claimed-docs] “You can dynamically bind a delegate to a member function of an arbitrary object, calling the function on the object at a future time”
   • [claimed-docs] “Creating new Gameplay classes in C++, and all changes will be reflected in the Unreal Editor after compiling with either Visual Studio or XC…”
   • [community] “With no scripting support, adding content like vehicles is pretty much impossible. Blueprints are not sufficient for such a task. A few peop…”
   • [community] “My main problem with UE is C++, I don't want to even try to download files or read json in a blueprint.”
   • [community] “blueprints are great for prototyping, but once you have too much complexity in a BP it can easily cascade inefficiencies to the point it bec…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser~partialcommunity6/10

   Phaser's primary language is JavaScript/TypeScript with full TypeScript definitions shipped (phaser-docs-4) and GitHub confirming both JS/TS support (phaser-gh-1), and community members report it as easy to learn and productive (phaser-comm-3, phaser-comm-7, phaser-comm-10). However TypeScript support is described as 'best-effort... layered onto Phaser 3 via DefinitelyTyped' rather than native (phaser-comm-8), and docs quality — key to fully exposing the API productively — is criticized as 'the worst I've seen' by one community member (phaser-comm-16) even as others praise it (phaser-comm-10). No dedicated debugger tooling (breakpoints, inspector) is documented anywhere in the evidence pack beyond standard browser JS debugging implied by using JS/TS. Missing for 10: explicit debugger/dev-tools integration documentation, native (non-DefinitelyTyped) TypeScript support, and independent confirmation that the API surface is fully exposed without workarounds.

   • [github] “You can use JavaScript or TypeScript for development.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Full TypeScript definitions can be found inside the types folder”
   • [community] “A year or so ago I did a lot with Phaser... man is Phaser easy to learn and easy to get more advanced in... I am a big fan of their work.”
   • [community] “I've made a couple toy projects with Phaser, after comparing other Javascript based 2d engines. Phaser is the most fully featured amongst th…”
   • [community] “Phaser 4 was announced ~four years ago and was an attempt to get the project written natively in TypeScript. It looks pretty dead in the wat…”
   • [community] “The documentation of Phaser is the worst i've seen to a popular framework. The website is very bad in the design, styling as well as content…”
   • [community] “I've spent the past 6 months building a game using Phaser and TypeScript. On the whole, it's been a great experience... one of the worst par…”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

Visual

1. technical artistBuild gameplay logic with visual scripting without writing code

   weight 2 · round to Unreal Engine
   Unreal Engine!disputedcontradicted6/10

   Epic's docs confirm Blueprints let designers use most programmer-level tools without code (unreal-docs-1), and this is Unreal's flagship visual-scripting system for gameplay logic. However, hands-on community reports concretely contradict full no-code sufficiency: one dev states Blueprints were 'not sufficient' for adding content like vehicles and required C++ (unreal-comm-4), and another notes complex Blueprint graphs 'cascade inefficiencies' making C++ necessary at scale (unreal-comm-15), with a third citing C++ as the main pain point when trying to avoid it (unreal-comm-7). Missing for 10: independent case studies of large shipped games built purely in Blueprints without C++ fallback, and clearer scoping of what gameplay complexity Blueprints alone can handle.

   • [claimed-docs] “provides the ability for designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only available to programmers”
   • [community] “With no scripting support, adding content like vehicles is pretty much impossible. Blueprints are not sufficient for such a task. A few peop…”
   • [community] “blueprints are great for prototyping, but once you have too much complexity in a BP it can easily cascade inefficiencies to the point it bec…”
   • [community] “My main problem with UE is C++, I don't want to even try to download files or read json in a blueprint.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag

   Phaser—none0/10

   Evidence shows Phaser's editor (phaser.io/editor) provides visual scene/asset editing—drag-and-drop placement, animation tweaking, physics-body adjustment, filter effects—and an MCP agent that translates natural-language requests into code changes, but nothing describes a node-based or visual gameplay-logic scripting system that lets a technical artist build game logic without writing JavaScript/TypeScript code. Phaser remains fundamentally a code-first framework (phaser-gh-1, phaser-docs-4), so the 'no-code logic' capability is unevidenced.

   • [claimed-docs] “Drag and drop objects into place, tweak their animations, adjust their physics bodies, enable special effects and more as you go.”
   • [claimed-docs] “Add and configure filters visually — Glow, Shadow, Blur, Pixelate, Bokeh, ColorMatrix, Displacement and more — directly in the Scene Editor'…”
   • [claimed-docs] “Create a particle emitter, reorganise a scene into layers, rename a bunch of objects — it handles it without switching tools.”
   • [claimed-docs] “For power users, the MCP Server goes deeper. It implements over 40 specialised tools and integrates directly with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gi…”
   • [claimed-docs] “You describe what you want in plain language and your agent calls the tools for you.”
   • [github] “You can use JavaScript or TypeScript for development.”

   proof ↗⚑ flag