Phaser 4 Audio

Phaser 4 wraps the Web Audio API for all audio playback. Know when each audio backend applies and follow the loading/playback patterns below to avoid the most common audio bugs.

Web Audio vs HTML5 Audio

Phaser uses Web Audio by default on every browser that supports it (all modern browsers). Web Audio runs audio processing on a dedicated thread, supports spatial audio, effects chains, precise scheduling, and is never subject to the single-track limit that plagues HTML5 Audio.

HTML5 Audio is the automatic fallback when AudioContext is unavailable — typically older Android WebViews and some edge-case browser configurations. You rarely target it intentionally. If you must force it:

const config: Phaser.Types.Core.GameConfig = {
  audio: {
    disableWebAudio: true,   // force HTML5 Audio fallback
  },
};

Never force HTML5 Audio unless you have a specific compatibility requirement. Its limitations — single concurrent track, no detune/rate, no spatial positioning — will constrain your design.