Corona Labs

A 2D engine for building once and publishing widely

Corona is a cross-platform 2D game engine made by Corona Labs. It is used to build apps and games for phones, tablets, desktop computers and connected televisions from a single code base. Developers write in Lua, an open-source scripting language that the firm describes as lightweight, fast and powerful, and it cites Lua's use in several well-known game franchises.

Publishing to many devices

A project can be published to iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Amazon Fire devices, Mac and Windows desktops, and connected televisions including Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV. The firm says a developer builds and deploys the app once and the same project reaches each target platform.

Instant updates and live builds

The simulator shows code changes as soon as they are saved. When a project is tested on real devices, code and assets update automatically on every device on the local network. The firm says its apps are compiled at build time, which improves performance and stability. Graphics run on OpenGL, with the scripting layer built on Lua.

Plugins and native libraries

Plugins extend the engine with features such as in-app advertising, analytics and media. If a feature is not in the core or a plugin, a developer can call native libraries written in C, C++, Objective-C or Java directly, which the firm presents as a way to avoid being limited by the engine.

Marketplace and templates

The marketplace stocks project templates, artwork, music, sound effects and a range of plugins. The firm describes it as an ecosystem around the engine, where developers can find what they need to build the next game or app, or distribute their own work.

Open source and licensing

The engine's source code is open, so developers can add the features they need and contribute back to the core product. The site says there are no hidden fees, charges or royalties for core functionality, and that an independent developer and a large publisher alike do not pay for it.

Community and support

Priority support comes from the engineering team through a community Slack channel and by email. The firm says its community includes more than 500,000 developers and an active forum where questions are answered.