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Hey there, game dev! 😸

This week we break down the brand new Phaser 4 Filter system, the upgrade that finally unifies FX and Masks into one clean pipeline 🎛️ We also rounded up 9 platformer games built with Phaser, from Itch.io to Steam, including fresh 2026 releases 🔥 

Plus: a maze horror game, the cleanest Phaser 4 beginner course out there, and an interview with the team behind Desktop Heroes 🎙️

Let's get into it 👇

⭐ Phaser 4 Filter System Explained

Phaser 4 replaces the old FX and Masks systems with a single, unified Filter pipeline that works on every game object and camera with no restrictions. Sprites, text, tilemaps, containers, even Extern object ✨

From image-based lighting and gradient maps to pixel art tools and advanced compositing, the built-in filter library is seriously impressive. If you are coming from Phaser 3, there is also a clear breakdown of what changed and how to migrate 🎛️

🎞️ 9 Platformer Games Built with Phaser: From Itch.io to Steam (+ New 2026 Releases!)

We are back with a new Phaser game compilation, this time focused on platformers! 🎮

After covering Steam games, horror games, and retro & classic picks, we wanted to dig into one of the most popular genres out there. So we rounded up 9 platformer games built with Phaser and published on Itch.io and Steam, including some fresh 2026 releases ✨

If you have ever wondered how far Phaser can take you in this genre, this is the video you need to watch 🚀

🔥 Fresh From the Web This Week

» Dark Cone: Maze Horror Game

Dark Cone is a browser-based survival horror game built with Phaser for a game jam. You are trapped in a maze-like facility with one hostile creature and a flashlight running on limited battery. The twist: the creature only moves when it is out of your light, but the battery only recharges in darkness 👻

No download required, runs directly in your browser and it is completely free to play on itch.io. Short but effective, Dark Cone delivers a tight tension loop that is easy to understand and hard to master 🔦

» Learn Phaser 4: Scott Westover's Free Mini Course

Scott Westover just released a free mini course on YouTube to get you started with Phaser 4 from scratch. No prior game development experience needed, just a working knowledge of JavaScript. Short, practical, and builds toward a fully playable browser game step by step 🎯

What makes it stand out is that it is written specifically for Phaser 4, so no legacy code or outdated workarounds from old Phaser 3 tutorials. The cleanest starting point available right now 🤓

» Interview: The Team Behind Desktop Heroes on Shipping to Steam with Phaser

What if your game lived at the bottom of your screen, quietly running while you worked? That is exactly what Telazer Games built with Desktop Heroes, an idle RPG on Steam where your heroes fight monsters in real time, sitting just above your taskbar without getting in the way 🏹

We caught up with the team to find out how they pulled it off and why they think Phaser is far more than a browser game engine. A must-read if you are curious about shipping a commercial game with Phaser 🙂

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📩 20,000 Devs Want to See What You've Built

Games, tutorials, tools, videos. If you made it with Phaser, we want to feature it. Completely free, always. Drop us a line and let's get it in front of them 👇

Happy coding, and see you next week! 🏎️