Quick answer: Partly. GameAnalytics is a free game analytics platform that can send error events with a severity and a message (which can be a stack trace). Its Unity SDK can submit errors automatically, but after launch it sends at most 10 automatic error events, and native crash reporting is available only on Android and iOS. That is useful as a signal in your analytics, not as a crash reporter. For grouped crashes with logs, screenshots, hardware and player reports, add a tool such as Bugnet.
Many game developers already have GameAnalytics in their project for retention and progression data, so it is natural to ask whether it can double as crash reporting. Its documentation answers most of the question. Here is what its error events do, where the limits are, and how to pair it with a crash reporter.
What GameAnalytics error events are
GameAnalytics supports an error event type alongside its progression, resource and design events. Each error event has a severity (info, debug, warning, error or critical) and a message, which can be a custom label or a stack trace. Its documentation lists error events as sent automatically in its Unity, iOS and Android SDKs and implemented manually elsewhere. In Unity you can send one yourself with GameAnalytics.NewErrorEvent(GAErrorSeverity.Error, message).
The limits that matter
- A cap on automatic errors. GameAnalytics' Unity configuration docs state that after a game has been launched it will only send a maximum of 10 error events automatically. A crash loop or a noisy error will not flood your analytics, but you will not see the full picture either.
- Native crashes on mobile only. Automatic reporting of native unhandled exceptions is available only for Android and iOS.
- Analytics, not triage. Errors appear as counts in analytics dashboards. There is no grouping by stack trace into issues, no screenshot, no recent log lines, no hardware breakdown per crash and no workflow for assigning and fixing.
What a crash reporter adds
| GameAnalytics error events | Bugnet | |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Up to 10 automatic error events per launch (Unity) | Every error, grouped into issues with occurrence counts |
| Context | Severity and message | Stack trace, recent logs, screenshot, GPU, RAM, OS, resolution, build, frame rate and memory |
| Desktop and web | Manual error events | Automatic capture in Unity, Unreal, Godot, GameMaker, Construct 3, Pygame and web SDKs |
| Player bug reports | No | In-game report widget |
| Workflow | Dashboards | Tracker, assignees, integrations with GitHub, Linear, Jira and more |
Use both, for different jobs
The tools answer different questions. GameAnalytics tells you how players progress, where they drop off and how your economy behaves. A crash reporter tells you exactly which bug broke which player's session, on which hardware and build. A healthy setup keeps GameAnalytics for design analytics and uses Bugnet for crashes, errors and player reports, with crash-free sessions per build sitting next to your retention curves. Read game analytics vs crash reporting for the bigger picture.
Adding Bugnet next to GameAnalytics
- Create a free Bugnet project and copy the API key.
- Add the Bugnet SDK for your engine (one file for most engines; see the SDK docs) and initialise it at startup next to GameAnalytics.
- Optionally keep GameAnalytics' automatic error submission on as a signal in your analytics; Bugnet captures errors independently.
- Bind Bugnet's report widget to a key or menu button so players can report what does not crash.
Frequently asked questions
Does GameAnalytics report crashes?
GameAnalytics can send error events, including automatically in its Unity, iOS and Android SDKs, and can report native unhandled exceptions on Android and iOS. It is an analytics platform, so errors appear as event counts rather than grouped crash reports with full context.
How many errors does GameAnalytics send automatically?
Its Unity configuration documentation states that after a game has launched it will only send a maximum of 10 error events automatically.
What severities do GameAnalytics error events support?
Info, debug, warning, error and critical.
Should I use GameAnalytics or a crash reporter?
Both. Use GameAnalytics for player behaviour and design analytics, and a crash reporter such as Bugnet for grouped crashes with stack traces, logs, screenshots, hardware details and player bug reports.
Does Bugnet conflict with GameAnalytics?
No. They run side by side and capture different data.
Analytics tells you that players left. A crash reporter tells you which bug showed them the door.