Editing Browser game (section)

{{Short description|Video game played in a web browser}}
[[File:Freeciv-net-screenshot-2011-06-23.png|thumb |alt=Play.Freeciv.org screenshot|The browser version of ''[[Freeciv]]'']]

A '''browser game''' is a [[video game]] that is played on the [[internet]] using a [[web browser]].<ref>D Schultheiss: ''Long-term motivations to play MMOGs: A longitudinal study on motivations, experience and behavior'', page 344. DiGRA, 2007.</ref> They are sometimes referred to more specifically by their format, such as '''[[Adobe Flash|Flash games]]'''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pot |first=Justin |title=How to Play All of Those Old Flash Games You Remember |url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-play-old-flash-games-ruffle/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> or '''[[HTML5]] games.'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gartenberg |first=Chaim |date=2020-02-14 |title=GameSnacks are Google’s new HTML5 games designed for bad internet connections |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21137737/gamesnacks-google-html5-games-area-120-bad-internet-connection-budget-phones |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref> They are generally [[free-to-play]] and can be either [[single-player]] or [[multiplayer]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=2011-11-15 |title=Korean game startup Pangalore targets HTML5 games |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/korean-game-startup-pangalore-targets-html5-games/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}}</ref> It is not necessary to install a browser game; simply visiting the webpage will run the title in a browser. Some browser games were also made available as [[Mobile game|mobile apps]], [[PC game]]s, or [[Video game console|console titles]]. However, the browser version may have fewer features or inferior [[Computer graphics|graphics]] compared to the others, which are usually [[Native (computing)|native]] apps.

Browser games have existed in various forms since the origins of the open internet in the 1990s. However, the 2000s were a "golden age" for the medium, and a great many were created with [[Adobe Flash]] during the period. The 2000s also saw the rise of [[Social network game|social network games]] such as [[FarmVille]], and the web ecosystem of the time was a "creative vortex" of rapid iteration and development, which had a huge influence on [[independent video games]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joho |first=Jess |date=2020-10-10 |title=Browser games were a digital awakening for an entire generation |url=https://mashable.com/article/browser-games-flash |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> Ultimately, the decline of Flash as a format and the rise of [[mobile gaming]] in the 2010s brought an end to the scene, though there have been more recent developments such as .io games.