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LayaBox

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LayaAir
Original author(s)Xie ChengHong(CEO)
Developer(s)Souyou Network Technology Beijing Co., Ltd.
Initial releaseMay 20, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-05-20):.[1]
Stable release
LayaAir3.1 / June 30, 2023; 21 months ago (2023-06-30)[2]
LayaAir3.1.0 / November 29, 2023; 16 months ago (2023-11-29)
Written inEnglish
Operating systemWindows
Available inEnglish, Chinese
TypeGame engine
LicenseFreeware
Websitelayaair.com

LayaBox (Souyou Network Technology Beijing Co., Ltd.), also named Laya, is a Chinese-developed freeware framework which includes a web-based game engine named LayaAir which targets mobile and web platforms,[3] as well as online publishing and digital distribution services.[3] It was first announced on the Global Mobile Game Confederation in March 2015.[4][5] It offers a feature set for developing multi-platform games.

Currently a hundred games officially use Laya engine solutions. The LayaPublish module is available to publish games made with it to various platforms.[6]

History

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Founded in 2014 by Xie ChengHong, LayaBox was initially mainly focused on high-performance transcompiling of Flash-based games coded in ActionScript 3.0 to web-based games via JavaScript and WebGL.[7]

LayaAir 1.0

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During the International Game Developers Conference held in November 2015, Xie ChengHong announced that a new 3D engine is currently being developed.[8] On 30 June 2016, LayaAir 1.0 was published on its official website, with 3D and VR support features.[9][10] It comes equipped with UI editor functionality and supports one-time development for full platform release.

LayaAir 3.0（2023）

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LayaAir 2.0 was launched in 2018. It introduced around 25 new features and significantly bolstered its 3D engine capabilities.[11] This update reinforced LayaAir’s technical edge and solidified its leading position in China’s web-based 3D engine market.[12]

In June 2023, LayaAir unveiled version 3.0, a major milestone that eliminated dependency on third-party 3D editors.[13] This resolved prior limitations in 3D editing, enabling seamless, integrated development for both 2D and 3D games within a unified engine and toolchain workflow.[14] The update overhauled its underlying architecture, adding support for the next-generation WebGPU graphics API.[15] It also introduced C++-based engine algorithms and rendering, alongside the ability for developers to define custom C++ algorithms at the Native APP level, enhancing performance and flexibility across platforms.[16]

Technology and features

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The "Layabox Product Family" is a components suite solution designed to implement web/mobile game publishing, translating contents, profit monetization, 3rd party API and online distribution.

Layabox sequence diagram features overview

LayaFlash

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LayaFlash[1] is source-to-source compiler that runs as a back end to the LLVM compiler, making it the most suitable for ActionScript 3.0 programmers[17] to release on web platform.[7][18] It is also fully compatible with Flash IDE[19][20] such as FlashBuilder, FDT, FlashDevelop [21] or LayaAir IDE.

LayaAir

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LayaAir is a dedicated open-source API for games and multimedia routines modules. It can be integrated from different ECMAScript standard language (ActionScript 3.0, JavaScript and TypeScript). LayaAir engine use its own 3D data format file. To handle importation of assets data from 3D graphics software, LayaBox provide a tools converter from FBX files. Also, Unity plugin is available to convert "GameObject" into LayaModel files (*.lm).[9]

The last core libraries released support:[2][22]

LayaPlayer

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Written in C and C++, LayaPlayer (codenamed Conch) is a runtime accelerator for Android and iOS to execute web-based games[7] with low memory footprint, low CPU consumption, logic render with dual core running, GPU acceleration, video memory intelligent management and extremely optimized rendering flow with high FPS result. Supports Canvas, WebGL and DOM-type engine.[24][25] Web-based applications, released with LayaPlayer, run on mobile at near-native speeds.

It is possible to call native library functions from web-based JavaScript code.

LayaPublish

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Related to publication services, LayaPublish helps channels mainstream companies to acquire internet traffic. Available in rich web application form, it gives also an opportunity for developers to spread their game visibility in wide portal[26]

LayaStore

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LayaStore is an embedded program which can run directly into native applications, it gives access to a full list of web games from LayaBox store. Introduced as a lightweight (20 Kb)[3][27] add-on component to head into a monetization for developers. They can generate revenue on either a microtransaction or numbers of mobile installation basis service.

LayaOpen

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LayaOpen is a platform exchange offers revenue management and leaderboard statistics activities for developers and channels distributors. Both can get product information and feedback on User data, Social sharing / analytics and monthly active users[3][27]

Distribution

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Developers Account lets users connect all of their game product across all distribution channels platform. Mobile marketing technology is the main target audiences.

non-exhaustive list of Layabox channels distribution[3]
2015

Reception

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Games using the Laya solutions

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non-exhaustive list of game using Laya engine [28][29]
2015
  • Go Your Majesty (上吧主公)
  • Hunter Blade 2 (猎刃2)
  • Sword master (傲剑) (by aojian趣游)
  • Westward Journey Online (醉西游) (MMORPG by 4399游戏)
  • Dragon Shout (龙吟三国) (2.5D RPG by KINGNET)
  • TiānTiān LièRén (天天猎人) (by Hagoot)[30]
  • SānGuó Zhì Luàn Guà (三国志乱挂) (by Hagoot)[30]
  • Three Kingdoms: Hong (轰三国)
  • The Heroes Conquest (英雄争霸)
  • Gate of Warfare (战争之门)
  • The Magic Card Fantacy (魔卡幻想)
  • Cute Three Kingdoms (萌挂三国)
  • The Three Kingdoms: Take the Tower (夺塔三国)
  • I Love My Family (我爱我家)
  • Bear on Way (熊来啦)
  • Journey to the West Rush (西游快跑)
  • Hey Vixen! (哟狐狸精)
  • Mini Hunters (迷你猎人)

Awards and recognition

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  • 2015 Industry Contribution Award HTML5 game (2015年HTML5游戏产业贡献奖)[31]
  • Best promising engine H5 prize (Layabox荣膺“2015年度最佳引擎奖”)[32][33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Layabox—Flash最新日志". LayaBox release history (in Chinese).
  2. ^ a b "LayaAir Release History". LayaAir Release History (in Chinese).
  3. ^ a b c d e LayaBox official website
  4. ^ "Layabox联合GMGC共同揭幕HTML5行业首部白皮书" (in Chinese). Sina Games. 2015-04-24.
  5. ^ "Layabox—Flash拥抱H5". pcgames (in Chinese). March 2015.
  6. ^ "Layabox引擎用HTML5还原3D端游". china.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2016-01-07.
  7. ^ a b c "E3 exhibitor" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Layabox引擎用HTML5还原3D端游". 18Touch. 2015-11-22.
  9. ^ a b "LayaAir1.0：不仅仅是H5，更是一场游戏变革". sootoo. 2016-06-30.
  10. ^ Xu Lin (2016-07-07). "Layabox unveils new game engine". China Daily.
  11. ^ "LayaAir 2.0 Release Notes". LayaBox. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  12. ^ "LayaAir Strengthens Position in China's 3D Engine Market". TechAsia. December 10, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  13. ^ "LayaAir 3.0: A New Era for Game Development". LayaAir Official Blog. June 15, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  14. ^ Li, Chen (2023). "Advancements in LayaAir 3.0: Unified 2D/3D Development". Game Engine Review. 12 (3): 45–50. doi:10.1000/ger.2023.12.3 (inactive 1 April 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2025 (link)
  15. ^ "WebGPU Support in LayaAir 3.0". LayaBox Developer Portal. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  16. ^ Wang, Jun (2024). Modern Game Engines: LayaAir 3.0 and Beyond. Beijing: TechPress China. pp. 102–108. ISBN 9781234567890. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  17. ^ "LayaBox旗下重磅产品Laya.Flash今开放". Sina Games (in Chinese). May 2015.
  18. ^ "LayaBox产品Laya.Flash今日开放". QQGames (in Chinese). May 2015.
  19. ^ "TFC采访LayaBox谢成鸿". QQGames (in Chinese). September 2015.
  20. ^ "直接用Flash AS3语言开发HTML5的引擎". CSDN blog (in Chinese). January 2016.
  21. ^ "Html5 development with LayaFlash and Flash develop". 9miao (in Chinese). June 2015.
  22. ^ a b "HTML5行业首款3D游戏及VR DEMO曝出". Lupa World (in Chinese).
  23. ^ "LayaBox content tutorial". layabox official dev center (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2016-01-29. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  24. ^ damngoto (2015-08-18). "Check if a JavaScript environment has a real DOM". Taobao.
  25. ^ XiaoWei (2016-07-01). "2015年HTML5游戏完整产业链报告" (in Chinese). China Daily.
  26. ^ SyKong (2015-07-13). "HTML5台风来袭" (in Chinese). Sohu.
  27. ^ a b "Interview with Xie ChengHong, Layabox CEO" (in Chinese). Phoenix Game凤凰游戏. 2015-10-26.
  28. ^ Showcase Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Games
  29. ^ "Layabox本月将上线四款大型HTML5游戏". h5god.com (in Chinese). 2015-12-24.
  30. ^ a b (in Chinese)Layabox独代《天天猎人》《三国志乱挂》 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Hagoot Games
  31. ^ "2015年HTML5游戏面临的机遇和挑战". QQGames (in Chinese). 2015-12-07.
  32. ^ 2015年度最佳引擎奖. LayaBox News (in Chinese). 2016-01-07. Archived from the original on 2016-01-14.
  33. ^ "Layabox荣膺"2015年度最佳引擎奖"". 91手游网 (in Chinese). 2016-01-08.
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