Photon Engine vs Unity Multiplayer

Struggling to choose between Photon Engine and Unity Multiplayer? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Photon Engine is a Gaming Software solution with tags like multiplayer, networking, realtime, game-backend, matchmaking, lag-compensation, crossplatform.

It boasts features such as Real-time multiplayer, Matchmaking, Authentication, Lobby system, In-game chat, Custom room support, Lag compensation, Cross-platform support and pros including Easy to integrate, Scalable, Good documentation, Active community support, Free tier available.

On the other hand, Unity Multiplayer is a Games product tagged with multiplayer, networking, unity, game-engine.

Its standout features include Networked scene management, Matchmaking, Lobbies, NAT punchthrough, Voice chat, Relay servers, Authoritative or autonomous networking models, and it shines with pros like Built into Unity so no extra SDKs needed, Good documentation and samples, Handles a lot of multiplayer complexity for you, Works across multiple platforms.

Feature	Photon Engine	Unity Multiplayer
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Gaming Software	Games

Product Overview

Photon Engine

Description: Photon Engine is a proprietary multiplayer game development platform that provides a real-time multiplayer game backend and networking engine. It handles hosting, networking, matchmaking, lag compensation and has out-of-the-box support for different platforms.

Unity Multiplayer

Description: Unity Multiplayer is a set of tools and interfaces that allow Unity developers to add multiplayer functionality to their games. It supports building games that can be played over LAN or the internet. Key features include a networked scene system, matchmaking, lobbies, NAT punchthrough, and more.

Key Features Comparison

Photon Engine Features

• Real-time multiplayer
• Matchmaking
• Authentication
• Lobby system
• In-game chat
• Custom room support
• Lag compensation
• Cross-platform support

Unity Multiplayer Features

• Networked scene management
• Matchmaking
• Lobbies
• NAT punchthrough
• Voice chat
• Relay servers
• Authoritative or autonomous networking models

Pros & Cons Analysis

Photon Engine

Pros

• Easy to integrate
• Scalable
• Good documentation
• Active community support
• Free tier available

Cons

• Limited features in free tier
• Can get expensive at high user volumes
• Not open source

Unity Multiplayer

Pros

• Built into Unity so no extra SDKs needed
• Good documentation and samples
• Handles a lot of multiplayer complexity for you
• Works across multiple platforms

Cons

• Limited to Unity engine games
• Can require additional server hosting costs
• Advanced features may require coding knowledge

Pricing Comparison

Photon Engine

• Freemium
• Pay-As-You-Go

Unity Multiplayer

• Free
• Subscription-Based