Pyroblast vs RetroAchievements

Pyroblast is a browser-based service for bringing gaming activity from Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox into one profile. It detects and logs sessions without manual input, recording the game, start time, and duration. Connected libraries, playtime, achievements, and rankings appear together, with trophies and achievements collected in an achievement vault. Its Global Arena has boards for achievements, mastery of game difficulty, and lifetime play hours. Players can also review timelines, streaks, habits, play patterns, and a year-in-review recap. The service may generate AI-powered gameplay summaries, recommendations, and profile descriptions. Profiles can be public or private, and only public ones appear in the Arena. Pyroblast says it uses authorised platform APIs and permissions users grant, does not circumvent platform privacy settings, and does not sell or share data with third parties. It is free to start at free, with connections for Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. The terms require users to be at least 16 years old; the current homepage describes browser access, while desktop and mobile applications are described as future offerings.

RetroAchievements adds achievement goals and progress tracking to retro games. Players can build profiles, follow completion, and compete with friends. Its game listings span systems from Atari 2600 to PlayStation 2 and include Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and other platforms. Supported emulator options include PCSX2, Dolphin, PPSSPP, Flycast, and BizHawk, with choices for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, and browser-based SkyEmu.

Hardcore mode disables save-state loading, cheats, and most speed-altering emulator features. It is required for game mastery and some leaderboards. Community events include RA Roulette and Achievement of the Week, and developers can use public API documentation. Players can report broken achievements and request manual unlocks by providing proof of completion. The service is free. Its web application source code is GPL-3, while achievement trigger logic is proprietary to the RetroAchievements community. The service does not host copyright-protected ROMs. A player must be connected to the internet when starting a session, so fully offline play is not supported. System support and new features depend on volunteers.