Why does my pixel-perfect game letterbox the wrong way?

Pixel Perfect Camera's Crop Frame controls letterbox/pillarbox behavior. None: stretches. Pillarbox: vertical bars. Letterbox: horizontal bars. Window: bars on whichever axis exceeds reference.

What does Stretch Fill do?

Stretch Fill upscales the rendered image to fill the screen, sacrificing pixel-perfect appearance for full coverage. Off keeps integer scaling and adds bars. Pick based on whether sharp pixel edges or full screen matters more.

Reference Resolution affects this?

Reference Resolution defines the design canvas (e.g. 320x180). Window resolution divided by reference gives the integer scale. Mismatched aspect produces bars on the longer axis.

Fix: Unity Pixel Perfect Camera Letterbox Wrong Aspect

Quick answer: Set Reference Resolution to your design canvas (320×180 typical pixel art). Crop Frame = Window. Stretch Fill = off for true pixel-perfect with bars; on for full-screen with stretch.

Pixel art game with 320×180 design renders pillarboxed in a 16:9 window when you wanted nothing. Or vice versa. The Crop Frame setting picks behavior.

The Symptom

Game shows unexpected black bars or stretching. Editor and build behave the same way; you don’t want either.

The Fix

Pixel Perfect Camera component:
  Asset Pixels Per Unit:    16
  Reference Resolution:     320 × 180
  Crop Frame:               Window     // or Pillarbox / Letterbox / None
  Stretch Fill:             false     // off = bars, on = stretch
  Pixel Snapping:           true
  Upscale Render Texture:   true      // crisp pixel edges

Crop Frame Modes

None: scale to nearest integer; may stretch.
Pillarbox: vertical bars when window is wider than reference aspect.
Letterbox: horizontal bars when window is taller.
Window: pick based on which axis exceeds reference.

Window is the most flexible default for arbitrary windows. Pillarbox/Letterbox lock the bar orientation if your game has a known aspect.

Stretch Fill Trade-Off

Stretch Fill on: full screen but pixel edges may be slightly distorted at non-integer scales. Off: pixel-perfect but you accept bars on mismatched windows.

Verifying

Resize the Game window to 1920×1080, 1366×768, 1280×720. Bars should appear or not appear consistent with your Crop Frame choice. Pixels stay sharp with Upscale Render Texture on.

“Pick Crop Frame. Stretch or bars. Pixel art holds its grid.”

Related Issues

For Canvas Scaler high DPI, see Canvas blur. For TilemapRenderer batching, see Tilemap batching.

Reference resolution. Crop Frame. Pixels stay perfect.