Scene setup

Tank control

Camera and lighting

Firing shells

Tank health

Enemy tank variants

Audio mixing

Start menu and Game Manager

Publish for web and mobile

Bonus features

Submit your Tanks-based web game to win Unity swag. Check play.unity.com for details.

Tanks Showcase: Submit by May 22

Originally created in 2015 for Unity 5, Tanks has been completely revamped with new worlds, additional features, and of course, more tanks! 

You’ll start with an empty Unity scene; then, one step at a time, you’ll create a fully polished game, published online with desktop and mobile controls.

If you’re a complete beginner to Unity, you can follow along with the Tanks project step-by-step to learn the basics of the Unity Engine. If you’re more experienced, you can dive deeper into the Unity project, add custom features, and take it to the next level. 

To give this new version of Tanks a try, check out the demo on Unity Play. You’ll be able to choose your own tank and battle against AI-controlled tanks, or if you have a friend nearby, try playing together!

 Tanks: Make a battle game for web and mobile

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Overview

Add mobile controls

Configure the scenes in the build

Switch to the Web platform

Build your project

Publish to Unity Play

Test your game on different devices

Optional: More things to try

Next steps

9.1 - Add mobile controls.mp4

9.2 - Configure the scenes in the build.mp4

9.3 - Switch to the web platform.mp4

9.4 - Build your project.mp4

9.5 - Publish to Unity Play.mp4

9.7 - Easy - Edit the Splash Screen.mp4

Add mobile controls and publish your game to Unity Play.

Gaming

Publishing a Unity project lets you share your game on different platforms, like mobile and web. Each platform has unique challenges, such as adapting controls for touchscreens and optimizing performance.

In this tutorial, you'll configure your project for WebGL and mobile so that anyone with the link can play your game on their computer, phone, or tablet. You'll integrate mobile-friendly controls, adjust build settings, create a build, and publish your game to Unity Play, Unity’s free web hosting platform. 

When publishing a game for both desktop and mobile, you need to consider input differences. On desktop, players use a keyboard and mouse, but mobile users rely on touch controls. In this step, you'll add a MobileControlCanvas prefab, which provides an on-screen joystick and fire button for touch input. A custom script will automatically detect whether the game is running on a mobile device, then show or hide these controls accordingly.

You might have already realized that local multiplayer will not be possible on a mobile device — it would be pretty hard for two people to both control separate tanks on a single screen! There’s some code on the Player Selection screen that detects if a mobile device is being used, and if so, prevents a P2 option from being selected on the Player Selection screen.

In the Project window, open the _Tanks > Prefabs > UI folders, then drag the MobileControlCanvas prefab into the Hierarchy window.

Notice how the joystick and A button appear in the Game view. 

Enter Play mode and notice that the mobile UI elements disappear when testing in the Unity Editor, then exit Play mode.

In the Hierarchy window, select the MobileControlCanvas GameObject.

In the Mobile UI Control (Script) component, disable Auto Disable On Non Mobile Platform.

Enter Play mode again to test the mobile controls using your mouse.

Note: The tanks now use the Direct Control movement system, where the tanks move in the direction you drag, rather than using a fixed forward direction.

In the Mobile UI Control (Script) component, enable Auto Disable On Non Mobile Platform so the UI will properly hide on non-mobile devices.

Your game now includes mobile-friendly controls that dynamically appear only when needed.

A build packages your Unity project into a playable version that can run on a specific platform. To ensure that all necessary content is included, you must select the scenes that should be part of the final build. In this step, you'll add your game scene to the Build Profile so Unity knows to include it when creating the final playable version.

From the main menu, select File > Build Profiles.

Alternatively, press Ctrl+Shift+B (macOS: Cmd+Shift+B).

In the Build Profiles window, under the Platforms panel, select Scene List.

If there are any scenes already present in the Scene List section, select them and press the Delete key (macOS: Cmd+Delete) to remove them from the list.

With the Main scene open, select Add Open Scenes and your scene will now be listed in the Scene List. 

Your game scene is now properly added to the build, ensuring it is included when you generate a playable version. Also, when your game loop is complete, the Main scene will be reloaded after finishing the rounds.

Unity allows you to publish a single project to many different platforms, including mobile, console, desktop, web, and more. To publish your project to the web, you first need to switch to that platform.

If the Build Profiles window is not already open, re-open it (File > Build Profiles).

Select the Switch Platform button and wait for the process to complete.

Tip: If the Web platform appears grayed out, select Install with Unity Hub and install the WebGL Build Support module before switching platforms.

After this process is complete, your project assets and settings are configured for deployment to the Web platform.

Now that you've switched platforms, you can create a build of your project. 

A build is a packaged, playable version of your game that you create when you want people to play it outside the Unity Editor.

In the Build Profiles window, select the Build button.

This will open a file explorer asking you where you want to save your build. 

Tip: To stay organized, first, make a new folder named something like “Web Builds”, and open it.

Enter a name for your build, such as "[YourFirstName] Tanks build", then select Select Folder (macOS: Save).

This first time your project builds can take up to ten minutes. Subsequent builds will not take as long.

When the process is complete, the folder containing your build will appear. Keep that folder open, you’ll need it in the next step. 

With your build complete, you're ready to publish it to Unity Play, allowing you to play your project online and easily share it with others.

Locate the folder you just built ([YourFirstName] Tanks build), then compress it into a zip folder. 

On Windows, right-click the folder and select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder. 

On macOS, right-click and select Compress [Folder Name].

This will create a new .zip file that you can upload to Unity Play.

2.  Upload your build zip file to Unity Play

Go to the Unity Play upload page (you’ll need to be signed in with your Unity account)

Drag and drop your zip file onto the upload area and wait for it to process. 

Edit the title, description, and visibility of your project.

Important: Toggle I have added mobile controls to my game to ensure it works correctly on mobile devices.

Your game is now live on Unity Play, making it accessible for others to play and test!

Now that your game is published, it’s time to try it out! This is your chance to see how well everything works, from controls to performance, and make any final tweaks before sharing it with others.

Play your game on Unity Play, making sure movement, actions, and UI elements work as expected.

Copy the game’s Unity Play link and send it to yourself via email, messaging app, or notes app.

Open the link on a mobile browser (such as Chrome or Safari).

Check that the on-screen joystick and action button appear and function correctly.

If you spot anything you want to improve, simply follow the instructions above to rebuild and re-publish your game.

The tutorial after this one will give you some ideas and guidance for adding new, fun features to your game, too.

The Unity Play link remains the same, so you won’t need to resend it after updating.

Congratulations! Your game is now live and working across multiple platforms! 

Try these optional activities to challenge yourself, build your skills, and improve your project.

Each challenge is tagged as Easy, Medium, or Expert difficulty so that you know what to expect. You can complete one, all, or none of them — it’s totally up to you. If you’re not interested in doing these challenges, mark this step as complete and proceed to the next tutorial. 

Customizing your splash screen makes your game feel more polished and unique. You can adjust colors, logos, and animations to suit your preferences.

Open the Build Profiles window (File > Build Profiles) and select the Player Settings button.

Use the foldout to expand the Splash Image section and explore settings such as the following:

Background Color: Adjust to match your game’s aesthetic.

Logos: Add or remove logos, change sequence, or adjust duration.

Animation:  Modify the way the splash screen elements move.

When publishing to Unity Play, replacing the default Unity logo with a custom thumbnail or video gives your project a more professional look.

If you’re logged in with the same Unity account that you used to upload your game, you can select the More Options menu and select Edit Game Details to make modifications.

Upload a custom thumbnail or video to replace the default Unity logo.

Capture gameplay footage using one of these methods:

Windows: Use the Snipping Tool for screenshots or Xbox Game Bar (Win+G) for recordings.

macOS: Press Cmd+Shift+5 to record a selected area or use QuickTime Player.

For high-quality in-game footage, you can use the Unity Recorder package:

Install it from the Package Manager window.

Your game is now published and ready to share with the world. 

In the next and final tutorial, you’ll get some ideas for how to further personalize and improve your project. 

Publish for web and mobile

1. Overview

2. Add mobile controls

3. Configure the scenes in the build

4. Switch to the Web platform

5. Build your project

6. Publish to Unity Play

7. Test your game on different devices

8. Optional: More things to try

9. Next steps

Complete this tutorial