Unity Multiplayer vs Photon Engine

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

Unity Multiplayer is a Games solution with tags like multiplayer, networking, unity, game-engine.

It boasts features such as Networked scene management, Matchmaking, Lobbies, NAT punchthrough, Voice chat, Relay servers, Authoritative or autonomous networking models and pros including Built into Unity so no extra SDKs needed, Good documentation and samples, Handles a lot of multiplayer complexity for you, Works across multiple platforms.

On the other hand, Photon Engine is a Gaming Software product tagged with multiplayer, networking, realtime, game-backend, matchmaking, lag-compensation, crossplatform.

Its standout features include Real-time multiplayer, Matchmaking, Authentication, Lobby system, In-game chat, Custom room support, Lag compensation, Cross-platform support, and it shines with pros like Easy to integrate, Scalable, Good documentation, Active community support, Free tier available.

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

Product Overview

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.

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.

Key Features Comparison

Unity Multiplayer Features

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

Photon Engine Features

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

Pros & Cons Analysis

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

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

Pricing Comparison

Unity Multiplayer

• Free
• Subscription-Based

Photon Engine

• Freemium
• Pay-As-You-Go