Cross-platform game launcher on .NET Core (and beyond)

What the talk is about

Igor Prokopyev explains how Plarium built its cross-platform desktop launcher, Plarium Play. The trigger was the coming end of Flash, which put the company's browser games at risk. The team chose a web approach on a Chromium framework, then rewrote the app from C++ to .NET Core, which now controls the other parts: C++ services, a WPF shell for Windows, a React interface, notifications and the installer. He covers specific problems: loading libraries on Windows 7, communication between JS and native code and between processes (sockets replaced pipes), error tracking and ad attribution. Flash games were kept alive through a separate build with a frozen Chromium version. The talk ends with bringing the mobile game Raid to desktop, the audience growth it brought and the savings on third-party platform fees. Useful for developers of desktop apps and launchers.