Happy 2026! Time for GameSalad "3.0" (The business, not the product version).
adent42
Key Master, Head Chef, Executive Chef, Member, PRO Posts: 3,302
Happy New Year GameSaladers!
As we enter 2026 we're working to roll out an effort we're calling internally GameSalad 3.0. Instead of laying out a roadmap, I'm just going to share the first few big efforts work working to launch by the end of January:
GameSalad Viewer 2.0
We're working on a new viewer app (it's almost done, I just need to track down one annoying bug). With a new core app based on React Native, we'll be able to iterate faster on new features and keep things up-to-date. Look forward to things like:
- Load games from your Publishing Library
- Adjustable scaling (stretch, contain, fill) and rotation settings (landscape , portrait, auto).
- Shows ads on ad behaviors.
- Dialogs prompting how to handle IAP requests (i.e. test allowing and rejecting a purchase).
GameSalad macOS and Windows
I know we keep saying it's coming, but really this time! We're working on a beta of a new macOS and Windows native target!
Rendering Improvements
As we mentioned earlier, we have have a version of the engine waiting in the wings with automated texture atlasing and nearest neighbor rendering (sharper pixel art scaling). And if some of our investigations work out, we'll have a few more improvements in the wings. With the new Viewer build, this will also accelerate testing as we can quickly test a variety of games with these new engine features.
We have more in the wings and we're excited to share once things become more concrete! Happy New Year and I look forward to see what you all build in 2026!
Comments
Happy new year! Can't wait!
Happy New Year! Any screenshots, features or timeline that can be shared?
No timelines because there's so much variability in how i think things will go.
I'm hoping to have the new viewer out within the next two weeks.
Here's some screenshots:
Happy New Year! It’s great to hear so much good news. Wishing you continued success.
FYI, Viewer 2 is now in "step away for a day" mode. I basically finished a first pass that i think is a good RC. I'm leaving it alone for a day or two so I can have fresh eyes when I test it out. If all goes well, we'll be releasing next week. Then on to the new desktop builds!
In the mean time, does anyone see value in creating Desktop HTML5 targets?
Basically take our Tauri build and make it into something you can access from publishing.
Even after we get native desktop out there, I think some people might want the HTML5 based build for extensibility.
Hi @adent42 and happy new year for all and hanks for the update!
The new viewer 2, exceed what was requested not too long ago, congratulations! :)
Will it still work with the Mac version? Or is it limited to the HTML5 web version?
Being able to export to PC opens up a whole new world and allows publishing on Steam. I hope it can be achieved! :)
I never tire of saying it, GS has "something" that's well worth pushing... however, there are details that need addressing, like this viewer issue and exporting to PC... As for development, I still prefer the desktop version for Mac... but it's becoming obsolete; it's missing some features that would make a developer's life a little easier.
On the other hand, I think they should review their monetization model... not having a free version always available limits their expansion... these days everything needs a demo, it happens with games... demos have limited functionality, but they don't stop working after a while... I think that should be the way forward.
In any case, once again, Happy New Year to everyone and best of luck! :)
Thanks!
The new viewer will work with the current native creators.
The web version will be converted into a desktop app. Let me know what you miss from the desktop version (if it's mainly performance, we're looking into that).
We hear you on the pricing model and have something in mind (part of the code is already in Creator 2).
Happy New Year!
Desktop HTML5 targets. I've just been doing exactly that, but there are definitely some things beyond "just do a Tauri build" that I discovered need to be taken into account. I ended up adding custom stuff to get things working "cleanly". I'll put together a summary but it was a bunch of little things rather than anything major - things like supporting cmd+Q and opening URLs. I came to uncertain conclusions regarding music and SFX and improving their performance in Tauri (only Tauri, HTML5 direct as fine) - I need to check what I actually ended up doing there.
For me the main reason I still stubbornly stick to desktop Creator is less about performance and more about UI. Particuarly the expression editor.
I hope in the next version we can backout the project to a previous version (load/replace) like we can do for 1.x by saving out the project to our mac folders.