Asobi vs Namazu Elements
Asobi
asobi.devNamazu Elements
namazustudios.comSide by side
| Figure | Asobi | Namazu Elements |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Game Matchmaking Software | 8.8 (#7) | 7.7 (#23) |
| Integrations | Official client SDKs are listed for Unreal, Unity, Godot, Defold, TypeScript/JavaScript, Dart/Flutter, and Lua. | The maker lists Unity, GameMaker, and Godot as supported game-engine integrations. |
| Intended users | The repository describes Asobi as intended for solo developers and small teams building indie 2D multiplayer games. | The maker identifies indie developers, studios of all sizes, and backend engineers as intended users. |
| Support | The maker invites users to ask questions and share projects in its Discord community. | AWS Marketplace configurations include private helpdesk support, while the managed cloud beta lists helpdesk support from Namazu Studios. |
Plans
Namazu Elements
- Namazu Elements Community EditionFree
- Namazu CloudPriced on request
In their own words
Asobi
Asobi is an open-source multiplayer game backend built on Erlang/OTP for solo developers and small teams making indie 2D games. It provides authentication, matchmaking, real-time sync, leaderboards, a virtual economy, social features, cloud saves, and an admin dashboard. Developers can build ephemeral matches or persistent worlds with lazily loaded zones. Lua match logic can be changed while a match runs, with updates taking effect on the next tick. Official client SDKs are listed for Unreal, Unity, Godot, Defold, TypeScript/JavaScript, Dart/Flutter, Lua, and LÖVE. Monitoring includes OpenTelemetry integration, structured logging, and telemetry events for matches, queues, and connections. The Apache 2.0 core can run locally with Docker Compose or be self-hosted as a Docker container. Asobi Cloud is hosted on Hetzner in Germany and uses EU-only infrastructure subprocessors, but is invite-only while studios are onboarded. The project is single-node by design and pre-1.0, so minor breaking API changes may occur before 1.0.
Namazu Elements
Namazu Elements is an open-source backend server and LiveOps platform for online and connected multiplayer games. It includes player accounts and profiles, matchmaking, leaderboards, inventory, missions, and in-game economy tools. REST and WebSocket APIs, along with direct database APIs, connect clients and backend services. The maker describes WebRTC-based matchmaking and peer-to-peer real-time multiplayer support. A CMS lets teams manage in-game content and create or test entities without deploying new code. Listed integrations include Unity, GameMaker, and Godot, and developers can extend server logic in Java, Kotlin, Scala, or another JVM-compatible language. Deployment options include local Docker, self-hosting in a cloud account, AWS Marketplace, and a managed cloud beta. The product uses a server-authoritative security model and is designed for self-hosting, which the maker says lets customers retain ownership of backend and player data. Community Edition is free under MPL 2.0 and self-hosted. Namazu Cloud is in closed beta, with a one-month free trial for accepted teams.