# What PlayDrop adds to your game

What a PlayDrop game can do with the SDK, catalogue.json and hosting, where each feature works, and its guide: saves, leaderboards, parties, servers and more.

Source: https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/playdrop-games

A PlayDrop game is a web game that PlayDrop hosts, lists and runs on its website and in the PlayDrop apps for iOS, Android, Windows and macOS. In the apps a game plays full screen, with no browser bar around it; it is the same web game running in the app's game view, not a separate native build. This page lists what PlayDrop can add and where each part is documented.

## Two ways in

| | Simple HTML | Package |
|---|---|---|
| What you send | One self-contained HTML file, up to 10 MiB | A built folder, ZIP or .play with catalogue.json |
| PlayDrop SDK | No | Yes, every feature below |
| Listing images and video | No | Yes |
| Hosted game server | No | Yes |
| Guide | [Simple HTML games](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/html-games) | [Packaging](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/packaging) |

Any game can start simple and become a package later under the same name and link.

## What players get

| Capability | What it gives players | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Host lifecycle | Clean pause and resume, audio that follows the player's mute, a fast first frame | [Loading, pause and audio](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/lifecycle) |
| Full-screen layout | Edge-to-edge play with the HUD clear of notches and PlayDrop's controls | [Full screen and safe areas](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/viewport) |
| Cloud saves | Progress that follows the player between devices | [Cloud saves](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/cloud-saves) |
| Leaderboards | Top scores and the player's rank | [Leaderboards](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/leaderboards) |
| Achievements | Goals with icons and progress | [Achievements](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/achievements) |
| Sharing and invites | Share sheets with an image or clip, friend invites and game cards in chat | [Sharing, friends and invites](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/social) |
| Online parties and voice | Friends join the same room together, with optional room voice | [Online parties and voice](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/online-party) |
| Local parties and controllers | Gamepads and phones as controllers on one screen | [Local parties and controllers](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/local-party) |
| Realtime servers | Colyseus rooms with a MongoDB database per game | [Realtime game servers](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/game-servers) |
| Reviews, tips, purchases and ads | Ways for players to support the game; credits for the creator | [Monetization](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/monetization) |
| Assets and AI generation | Shared assets, generated media and player creations | [Game assets](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/game-assets), [AI assets](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/ai-assets), [Custom formats](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/custom-assets) |

## What the listing gets

catalogue.json gives the game its page: title, description, genre and [tags](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/tags), [icon, hero art, screenshots and video](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/listing-assets), [translations](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/localization) and [Instant](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/instant-games) eligibility. [Visibility](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/distribution) decides who can open it: private for testing, unlisted for anyone with the link, public for discovery on PlayDrop, open to search engines. Public listing creates discovery opportunities; it does not guarantee players.

## Where each feature works

The website and the apps run the same game with the same SDK, but some host features depend on the device:

- Haptics only work in the native apps; `sdk.haptics.supported` tells you.
- Sharing a video clip depends on the host; hosts without it reject instead of sharing a plain link.
- Offline play and file preloading happen in the native apps for games that declare them; the website loads games online.
- Room voice and parties depend on the host build, sign-in and the platform rollout.
- Ads depend on the host and on available inventory; `load()` reports when none is ready.

Design so the game still plays when an optional service is missing.

## Start with the SDK

Load the SDK, read the host state, then signal readiness when the first designed frame is on screen:

```html
<script src="https://assets.playdrop.ai/sdk/playdrop.js"></script>
<script type="module">
  const sdk = await playdrop.init();
  // Set up pause, audio and HUD from sdk.host, then render the first frame.
  sdk.host.ready();
</script>
```

Continue with [loading, pause and audio](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/lifecycle). The [client SDK reference](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/sdk) lists every namespace.

## What the connector cannot do

Your AI app publishes built games and reads your account. It cannot open or change games made in PlayDrop Studio, return source code, or upload executable 3D model code. Those limits belong to the connector, not the platform: Studio and PlayDrop's own tools can still do them.

## Related guides

- [Simple HTML games](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/html-games): Publish one self-contained HTML file up to 10 MiB with upload_game: what fits, the mini catalogue, visibility, updates and when to switch to a package.
- [Packaging and .play](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/packaging): Lay out a built game folder, ZIP or .play with catalogue.json at its root, declare listing media and servers, and upload it with prepare_catalogue_upload.
- [Loading, pause and audio](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/lifecycle): Initialize the PlayDrop SDK, signal ready at the first playable frame, pause and resume cleanly, follow the audio policy, and preload files for offline play.
- [Client SDK](https://www.playdrop.ai/create/learn/sdk): Reference for the PlayDrop browser SDK: host lifecycle, identity and saves, controllers, social, multiplayer, shop, ads, leaderboards, assets and AI.