Does Firebase Crashlytics Work for PC and Steam Games?

It is a common story. A mobile game uses Crashlytics from day one because it is free and every Unity tutorial shows it. Then the game does well, a Steam version gets greenlit, and someone notices weeks after launch that the PC crash dashboard is suspiciously empty. Here is why Crashlytics does not cover PC games, and how to get crash reporting on every platform your game ships to.

The short answer

The Firebase Unity SDK README says it supports Android, iOS and desktop platforms, and that desktop is only supported for development purposes. The desktop libraries exist so your game can run in the editor and on your development machine without errors, not so you can ship a Steam build that reports crashes to Firebase.

Why Crashlytics is mobile-only

Crashlytics was built for mobile apps, and its crash capture leans on the platform: Apple's and Android's crash mechanics, app lifecycle events, and the way mobile apps are distributed and symbolicated. Desktop games run on thousands of hardware and driver combinations, are distributed through Steam, itch.io and other stores, and fail in ways mobile apps rarely do. Firebase does not position Crashlytics as a desktop game crash reporter, and the Unity SDK documentation is explicit about it.

What it costs you to stay mobile-only

• Blind spots on your biggest platform. For many indie games, Steam is where the revenue and the reviews are. Crashes there go unreported unless players complain.
• Hardware-specific bugs you never see. A shader that fails on one GPU family or a crash on Steam Deck only shows up in reviews.
• Refunds and reviews. On Steam, a player who crashes in the first two hours can refund, and often leaves a review on the way out. Read how crashes affect your Steam reviews.

Your options

Option A: Keep Crashlytics on mobile, add a desktop crash reporter

Least change to your mobile setup. The cost is two dashboards with different grouping, different version tagging and no single crash-free rate for the game. It works, but someone has to check both.

Option B: One crash reporter for every platform

Usually the better choice for a cross-platform game. One list of issues, one crash-free sessions figure per build across platforms, and one place to compare a crash on Android with the same crash on Windows.

For a broader comparison see the best crash reporting tools for game developers.

Adding Bugnet to a Unity game that uses Crashlytics

Bugnet's Unity SDK is a single C# file that supports Unity 2020.3 and later and reports from Windows, macOS, Linux, WebGL, iOS and Android builds. Create a free project, copy the API key, and install the SDK from your project root:

curl -s https://bugnet.io/sdks/unity/install.sh | bash

For Option A, initialise Bugnet only on the platforms Crashlytics does not cover:

using UnityEngine;

public class CrashReportingBootstrap : MonoBehaviour {
    void Awake() {
#if UNITY_STANDALONE || UNITY_WEBGL
        // Crashlytics keeps iOS and Android; Bugnet covers desktop and web.
        BugnetSDK.Instance.Init("YOUR_API_KEY", "https://api.bugnet.io");
#endif
    }
}

For Option B, drop the #if and initialise Bugnet everywhere, then remove Crashlytics once you have compared a release's worth of mobile crashes in both tools. The SDK creates its own persistent GameObject, reads the version from Player Settings, and captures exceptions, errors and failed asserts from Unity's log stream with the last 100 log lines, GPU, RAM, OS, resolution and a frame-rate and memory snapshot attached.

Not on Unity? Bugnet has SDKs for Godot, Unreal, GameMaker, Construct 3, Pygame and web games.

Beyond crashes: what PC players report

PC players are more likely than mobile players to tell you what went wrong, if you make it easy. Bind Bugnet's in-game widget to a function key or a pause-menu button and those reports arrive with a screenshot and the player's hardware attached. Connect your Steam app and your reviews sync into the same dashboard, so a review that says “crashes on my save” sits next to the crash itself. See how to monitor Steam reviews for bugs and refund risk.

Frequently asked questions

Does Crashlytics support Windows games?

Not for production. The Firebase Unity SDK supports desktop platforms, including Windows, only for development purposes, so Crashlytics is not a supported way to collect crash reports from a shipped Windows or Steam game.

Does Crashlytics work on Steam Deck?

No. Steam Deck runs Linux builds or Windows builds through Proton, and the Firebase Unity SDK supports desktop platforms for development only.

Can I use Crashlytics and another crash reporter in the same Unity game?

Yes. A common approach is to keep Crashlytics for iOS and Android and initialise a second tool, such as Bugnet, only on desktop and web builds with Unity's platform defines. Many teams later consolidate on one tool for a single view of every platform.

What is the best free crash reporter for a Unity PC game?

Bugnet, Sentry, Backtrace and BugSplat all have free tiers that work with Unity desktop builds. Bugnet's free plan also includes an in-game bug report widget and Steam review sync, which matter most for games sold on Steam.

Does Crashlytics support WebGL builds?

For Unity games, Crashlytics' production targets are iOS and Android. For Unity WebGL or other browser games, use a tool with web support, such as Bugnet's Unity or Web SDK.

The platform you are not watching is the one your next refund comes from.