Crux vs Joystick
Crux
crux.supercraft.host
Joystick
getjoystick.comSide by side
| Figure | Crux | Joystick |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $10/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 2 |
| Spec score · Game LiveOps Software | 8.6 (#12) | 7.6 (#20) |
| Integrations | The maker lists Unity, Roblox, Godot, and custom game servers as supported integrations, and publishes JavaScript, Godot, Unity, and Roblox client SDKs. | Joystick offers a native Google Sheets integration, webhooks, a REST API, and SDKs including JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP, C#, Java, Unity, Unreal, and Godot. |
| Intended users | Crux says it is best suited to dedicated-server and multiplayer survival or co-op games, including indie and mid-size studios, and less suited to offline single-player games. | The site identifies game, augmented reality, enterprise software, HR tech, and consumer app teams among its users. |
| Support | Dev includes community support, Launch includes email support, and Scale includes priority email support. | The site says its team supports customers through onboarding, and the Enterprise offering includes one-on-one onboarding and support. |
Plans
In their own words
Crux
Crux provides multiplayer game backend services for player authentication, persistent data, leaderboards, server registration, live configuration, game economies, and matchmaking. Authentication supports email and password, guest sessions, Google, GitHub, and Discord OAuth, as well as Roblox verification. Developers can store player- or project-scoped JSON documents and configure ranked or seasonal leaderboards with recurring resets. Economy tools handle currencies, virtual items, and inventories through atomic, server-authoritative updates. Matchmaking queues players by game mode and region, then assigns them to live servers from the dedicated server registry. The maker lists Unity, Roblox, Godot, and custom game servers as integrations, with client SDKs for JavaScript, Godot, Unity, and Roblox. The hosted API is documented with OpenAPI, and client SDKs are MIT-licensed; the managed backend is proprietary. Crux has a free Dev plan and paid plans from $10.00 per month. Runtime is a capacity-gated closed alpha for Godot 4 Linux dedicated-server exports, with Dev evaluation limited to admitted projects. Crux says it best suits dedicated-server multiplayer survival or co-op games.
Joystick
Joystick is a remote configuration platform for app and game teams, delivered through the web and an API. Teams can change settings or content without releasing an app update, using JSON, XML, YAML, and other formats. It supports feature flags, phased rollouts, player targeting, live operations, localization, content management, and generative-AI prompt management. A/B tests and segmentation can deliver variants to selected users. Deployment controls include multiple environments, staged and scheduled changes, protected environments, and review policies. Revision history, audit logs, permissions, access controls, and JSON Schema validation track and protect changes. Integrations include Google Sheets, webhooks, a REST API, and SDKs for JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP, C#, Java, Unity, Unreal, and Godot; Cocos is also listed. Cloud is hosted with edge delivery and caching. Enterprise is single-tenant with custom sizing and pricing.