The Best Video Game Engines

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Game engines make awesome video games possible.

By combining coding skill and imagination, anything is possible when using a top of the line gaming engine.

But first, for those unfamiliar, it raises the question: What is a game engine?

What is a Game Engine?

A game engine is an architecture that developers use to run a game.

A video game engine allows you to add:

• physics
• input
• rendering
• scripting
• collision detection
• artificial intelligence
• and more without the need to program them

Overall, we can quickly introduce the concept of gaming engines as being facilitators, providing game developers with tools to cut down development time.

Why are Game Engines Important?

Game engines are reusable components developers use to build the framework of the game.

This gives them more time to focus on the unique elements like character models, textures, how objects interact, etc.

If everyone made their games from scratch without the help of excellent game development engines, games would take longer and be more difficult to make.

That being said, there are still plenty of large companies and even indie teams that create their own proprietary engine.

This requires using application interfaces like DirectX, OpenGL, and XNA as well as commercial and open-source libraries containing physics, scene graphs, and GUI libraries.

Creating a gaming engine is no easy task but sometimes necessary if the game is different enough that no existing engines will work.

With that being said, let’s find out which is the easiest game engine to learn.

The 25 Most Popular Game Engines

It’s easy to get hung up on the technicalities of video game development. Finding your way through a gauntlet of gaming engine software options can be a daunting mission. So, let’s take a step back and look for the best game engine for beginners.

Unreal Engine

One of the most popular game engines present in the industry today is the Unreal Engine by Epic Games.

The original version was released in 1998 and 17 years later it continues to be used for some of the biggest games every year.

Notable titles made with Unreal Engine include the Gears of War series, Mass Effect series, Bioshock series, and the Batman: Arkham series.

Why It’s Popular

The strength of the Unreal Engine is its ability to be modified enough that games can be made into very unique experiences.

The latest version, Unreal Engine 4, is said to be the easiest game engine to use when in the hand of a professional.

However, there are other engines available that are easier for new designers.

Unreal is on Xbox One, PS4, PC, iOS, Android, Mac OS X, Linux, and VR.

What Makes It Great

• Drag-and-Drop Visual Programming: Unreal Engine uses a drag-and-drop programming system called Blueprint Visual Scripting. This allows game designers to create various game aspects like health systems, respawns, and player movement without writing a single line of code.
• Full Access to Source Code: The engine provides full access to its source code written in C++. This allows users to learn from, edit, and expand upon the code, giving them complete control over the engine.
• Easy to Develop for Mobile: Unreal Engine has features that make it easier to develop games for mobile platforms. It can automatically adjust the quality of a material depending on the device and allows for quick packaging and testing on mobile devices.
• Pushing the Virtual Reality Movement: Unreal Engine is capable of creating hyper-realistic environments, making it ideal for developing immersive Virtual Reality experiences.
• Thousands of Assets and Examples on the Marketplace: Unreal Engine’s marketplace offers a wide range of assets and examples, some of which are free. These can be used in any game you plan on publishing.

Unity

The Unity multi-platform game engine that allows you to create interactive 3D content with ease. From the best open-source game engines to the best engine for 2D games, Unity has everything covered.

A lot of indie developers use Unity for its excellent functionality, high-quality content, and ability to be used for pretty much any type of game.

Recent notable titles made with Unity include Lara Croft Go, Her Story, Pillars of Eternity, and Kerbal Space Program.

One of the best things about this popular popular game engine, is that is a free.

This video game engine is available with all its features and can (for the most part) be used to make games on every platform.

What Makes It Great

• Active Development and Features: Unity is continuously evolving, adding more features with each release.
  Wide Platform Support: Unity supports a huge range of platforms, from mobile and web to high-end PCs and consoles.
• NET Integration: Unity uses C# as its primary scripting language and integrates well with the .NET ecosystem, making it appealing for both beginners and experienced programmers.
• Visual Scripting: For those with limited coding skills, Unity offers visual scripting, allowing the creation of game logic through a node-based system.
• Advanced Graphics: Unity offers two types of graphic pipelines—Built-in and Scriptable Render Pipeline (SRP), each with its own set of advantages for different needs.
• Asset and Package Management: Unity has an Asset Store and a Package Manager, making it easy to reuse and share assets and code.

Drawbacks of Using Unity as a Gaming Engine

The problem is that the Professional Edition, which has a host of excellent tools, requires that you pay a monthly fee.

These features include beta access, game performance reporting, customizable splash screens, a team license, and more.

Nearly half of the mobile games being made today have used Unity as their gaming engine. It’s a cross-platform engine that gives the user access to the Unity store: a place where assets can be used for your game.

Unity is supported on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Tizen, and Fire OS.

GameMaker

Unlike most gaming engines, the GameMaker Studio game engine has become widely used because it doesn’t require programming knowledge to use.

Instead, users can “point-and-click” to create games much easier and faster than coding with native languages.

Some of the best titles made with GameMaker include Spelunky, Hotline Miami, Super Crate Box, and the upcoming Hyper Light Drifter.

GameMaker is popular because you can make a game without having to learn a programming language first, and those that do have coding experience can use it to make their game better.

The problem with GameMaker and other point-and-click engines is that developers are much more limited than with other engines.

And while there is a free version, getting the most out of GameMaker requires you to buy either the Professional or Master Collection versions.

An Accessible and Easy-to-Use Game Engine

GameMaker Studio is an open-source game engine from Yoyo Games. It’s the second iteration of GameMaker Studio and comes with an import feature so your previous projects with the first one can be up and running in no time.

The time it takes to develop a 2D game using game development engines such as GameMaker is pretty quick, emphasizing a drag and drop feature for their assets, making the workflow much more dynamic and robust.

The community is vast, and you can find multiple resources across social media.

You can find GameMaker Studio 2 on Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Tizen, Amazon Fire, and PS Vita.

What Makes It Great

• High-End 2D Engine: GameMaker is particularly strong in 2D game development, supporting a wide variety of pixel art games and higher-fidelity games.
• Versatility in Genres: GameMaker can handle all genres and styles, from sprite-based 2D games to various other types of games, including roguelikes and metroidvanias.
• Rapid Development: GameMaker allows for quick prototyping and iteration, enabling developers to get a simple game up and running in record time.
• Ease of Use: The engine removes a lot of the overhead from setting up a project, offering a more focused interface for 2D game development.
• GameMaker Language (GML): Even if you want to go beyond drag-and-drop, GameMaker has its own easy-to-learn language, GML, which is less complex than languages like C# or C++.
• Multi-Platform Export: GameMaker makes it easy to export your game to multiple platforms with the right publishing license.

Godot

The Godot engine is considered one of the best 2D game engine in the market, and it “provides a huge set of common tools, so you can just focus on making your game without reinventing the wheel.”

It’s a free game engine and is also one of the big-name open-source game engine, through the MIT license. No royalties, no subscription fees, no hidden strings—whatever you develop through the Godot engine is yours.

Godot has a community that’s constantly fixing bugs and developing new features, which is always a good sign. An active community means answers to even your most specific Godot-related questions.

Godot also links out to its other internet HUBS, including Reddit forums, Facebook groups, steam community, the Godot forums, and more.

What Makes It Great

• 3D Capabilities: Godot offers impressive 3D support, allowing developers to create a wide range of 3D games, including rail shooters and first-person exploration games.
• Versatile Game Types: Godot can be used to develop everything from 2D side-scrolling platformers to top-down strategy titles, as well as virtual reality and augmented reality games.
• Node-Based Workflow: Godot uses a node system to organize projects, making it easier to manage complex games. Each piece of data, from objects to animations, exists as a “node” placed inside “scenes.”
• Multiple Programming Languages: Godot supports multiple languages including C++ and Rust, along with its custom Python-like GDScript language. It also offers a visual scripting language called VisualScript.

AppGameKit

This is a great little cross-platform game engine. It caters to all levels of game designers, from the beginner to the expert.

AppGameKit utilizes Vulkan as its coding language and doubles down on its cross-platform support. You can get started easily, have everything running quickly, and branch out to different platforms, achieving a large amount of exposure for your game.

“AppGameKit is an easy to learn game development, ideal when it comes to game engines for beginners, Hobbyists & Indie developers.” Does that sound like you?

What Makes It Great

• Powerful 2D and 3D Features: AppGameKit Studio supports both 2D and 3D game development, including Vulkan and OpenGL rendering, realistic physics, augmented reality, and virtual reality.
• Wide Range of Game Types: The engine can be used to create various genres, from educational apps to roguelike dungeon crawlers and tower defense games.
• Affordable Pricing: The core AppGameKit Studio package is priced at $99, which is considered affordable given its range of functionalities.
• Mobile Companion Apps: AppGameKit Studio offers mobile companion apps that allow you to write and test code for your projects on your phone, available on both Android and iOS.
• Revamped Integrated Development Environment (IDE): The new IDE is intuitive and organized, making it easier to manage assets and scenes.

Should You Pay for Apple’s Video Game Engine?

The AppGameKit proprietary engine focuses on quickly coding and building apps and being able to share them across platforms. This rapid iteration and cross-platform sharing is geared towards mobile game development, but handles most platforms:

• iPhones and iPads
• Linux
• HTML5 Browsers
• Raspberry Pi
• macOS
• Windows
• Android

AppGameKit costs $79.99, with options to bundle the base product with add-ons, like the Visual Editor, to save money on both products.

It is supported on Windows Phone, iOS, Android, and Blackberry.

CryEngine

Crytek states on their site,

“With CRYENGINE, we have a simple goal: to create the most powerful gaming engine software in the industry, and to give creators all across the globe the tools to harness this power to create world-class gaming experiences, no matter their budget or team size.”

I believe that they do just that.

Forgive me, but I’m about to age myself. Back when I was seventeen and I first played FarCry, I was floored. It was truly like being in a breathing, living world with different aspects of nature immersing you in an intense gaming experience.

I remember spending time ignoring game objectives to take in the environment: swaying palm trees, dynamic shadows, and animal life. I knew I was experiencing something different.

Compatible with Every Major Platform in the Market

CryEngine is one of the best free game engines on the market. You get the full proprietary engine code and all the engine features without having to pay any license fees, royalties, or other hidden fees.

The CryEngine is a visually stunning cross-platform game engine. The graphics are beautiful and the characters are life-like.

You can use CryEngine to develop for several different platforms:

• Xbox
• PlayStation
• Windows PC
• Oculus Rift

That’s right—if you were looking to dive into the world of virtual reality game creation, CryEngine has you covered.

What Makes It Great

• What You See Is What You Play’ System: CryEngine features a ‘what you see is what you play’ system that can significantly speed up the development process.
• Access to Source Codes: Developers have access to both the engine and its editor source codes, allowing for greater customization and flexibility.
• Royalty-Free Up to a Point: Your first $5,000 of annual revenue per project is royalty-free. After that, you’ll pay a 5% royalty to Crytek.
• Asset Marketplace: CryEngine has its own marketplace with thousands of assets, providing a rich resource for developers.
• High-Fidelity Visuals: The engine is known for its advanced rendering tool that is well-optimized and produces high-quality visuals.

Arguably the Best Game Engine for Beginners

In addition to the engine itself, CryEngine also provides plenty of free learning resources. Tutorials, forums, and documentation give you the tools you need to get started. Because of the power behind this gaming engine, there’s a bit of a learning curve. YouTube and the official CryEngine resources are your friends, here.

If you’re looking for a shortcut for in-game assets, you can likely find it in the marketplace. The Cryengine marketplace offers packages like “mountain cottage” or “space soundtrack” in exchange for money. There are also assets available for free, like the “CryEngine V Beginners Pack” and the “Explosives” pack.

It’s also worth mentioning that CryEngine is one of the few open-source games engines in the AAA industry. Which offers free licenses and incredible flexibility for developers.

Amazon Lumberyard (Open 3D Engine)

Lumberyard was a beta AAA game engine that has since been replaced by Open 3D Engine. It is based on Crytek’s CryEngine, but the dev team over at Amazon has already made significant updates to the system. Continued upgrades on Amazon’s part will bring Lumberyard further away from the CryEngine.

Lumberyard’s visual technology is based on CryEngine, which means gorgeous 3D environments and a whole slew of awesome real-time effects. Everything is there: weather effects, camera frameworks, cloth physics, character and animation editors, particle editor, UI editor, it’s all there! And there’s more.

In addition to the seamless AWS integration, Lumberyard also includes Twitch integration. There was an event a while ago called “Twitch Plays Pokemon” and it was a real mess. But it was a delightfully entertaining mess. The idea that many users influence a single game is such a great concept.

Understanding Amazon’s Lumberyard Engine

Amazon is also including the source code for Lumberyard. Developer teams will be able to take the source code and customize this game development engine to optimize game development for their team. Aside from optimization, developers can customize the source code to mix up the gameplay.

Lumberyard is an open-source 3D game engine. There are no royalties. There are no licensing fees. There are no upfront purchases of the software. If you are making a single-player game, it is completely free to use. If you are making a local-only multiplayer game, it is completely free to use.

Where Amazon makes money is through AWS. Naturally, this is a great game engine for beginners and is designed for effortless compatibility with the Amazon Web Service. The thing is, Amazon has made it clear that developers only pay for what they need as they need it.

Endless Possibilities as a Gaming Engine

And now Twitch support is built right into the Lumberyard engine. Twitch ChatPlay means developers can easily incorporate interactions in real time with the viewers on Twitch into the gameplay. This could be something like chat commands.

It doesn’t get much better than this. An AAA-caliber game engine, with gorgeous, award-winning graphic potential, is totally possible with this simple game engine. The source code is included, and parts of the source code can even be included in your game, to let your players mod a bit! Plus, AWS integration means throwing your game online has never been easier.

If you’d rather make a single-player game and never pay Amazon a cent, you can do that. If you want to support online multiplayer with servers of your own, you can do that! Such a powerful engine with such a cheap pricing structure is very exciting.

Don’t even get us going again about the Twitch integration. Player-viewer interaction, integrated right into the engine? This software could fuel some awesome new game mechanics. It’ll be great to see what developers do as more of them get their hands on the engine and start tinkering.

What Makes It Great

• Modularity and Extensibility: Open 3D Engine focuses on modularity, allowing developers to easily add or remove features. It also has an extensible UI.
• New and Improved Features: Amazon has kept the best parts of Lumberyard and added new features like a new prefab system, a new build system, and many new cloud capabilities.
• Advanced Rendering: The engine includes a whole new PBR renderer capable of forward+ and deferred rendering with ray tracing and GI support.
• Performance Improvements: Numerous optimizations have been made to the engine, including math library optimizations and new networking capabilities.
• AWS Integration: While the engine itself is free, it has great support for Amazon Web Services (AWS), offering a monetization avenue for Amazon.

RPG Maker

The best thing about RPG maker is the same reason why it occasionally gets a bad rap—just about anyone can use it to create a game.

This game development engine is designed to let you build a complete game, from start to finish (even if you don’t know anything about game programming).

“The RPG Maker series allows you to customize every aspect of your game with an easy-to-use interface, making it perfect for beginners yet powerful enough for experts.”

There are several RPG Maker products. RPG Maker MV costs $79.99. There’s a free trial option for Windows users.

Experienced users can take advantage of their Javascript knowledge to “change the game to your liking, from Battles to Menu UIs.” Users without Javascript knowledge will be limited to only what the gaming engine offers—but there’s still plenty there to build a game.

What Makes It Great

• Multiple Versions for Different Needs: RPG Maker comes in various versions, each with its own set of features and limitations. This allows developers to choose a version that best suits their project’s needs and their level of expertise.
• Flexibility and Community Support: RPG Maker XP introduced a scripting language called “RGSS,” allowing for greater flexibility. The community has created numerous scripts that can be easily integrated, extending the engine’s capabilities.
• Quality of Life Features: RPG Maker MZ, the latest installment, has added quality of life features like greater control over facial features in the character editor, an autosave system, and an interface friendly to mouse and touch controls.
• Cross-Platform Play: RPG Maker MV allows for cross-platform play by converting your game into an HTML5 application. This makes it easier to distribute the game across multiple platforms, including mobile.

LibGDX

“Libgdx is a Java-focused game engine that provides a unified API that works across all supported platforms.”

API is the abbreviation for application programming interface—having a single API makes the libGDX engine a great choice for cross-platform development. It doesn’t matter which platform you’re targeting: Windows, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, etc. all use the same API.

LibGDX allows you to run and debug your game natively on your desktop. This makes it easy to generate rapid iterations of your game and test the changes quickly (since you won’t need to fire up iOS/Android etc. to test those changes).

The libGDX forums are alive as well, with topics that cover development with libGDX and tutorials for getting started. There’s also a “source guide” with demos and examples you can take advantage of.

What Makes It Great

• Great performance across devices: While it may not always have the best performance for a particular device or system, it’s one of the few engines which consistently performs very well across different platforms.
• Can use any JVM language: Since it’s built with Java and runs on the JVM, any language that compiles to Java bytecode can be used to develop games with libGDX.
• Allows you to migrate from 2D to 3D within same framework: LibGDX supports both 2D and 3D game development. Allowing developers to migrate from 2D to 3D with ease without having to switch the engine they are using or having to learn a new API.
• Doesn’t force a specific design: Unlike some engines, which only allow you to make your game in a few specific ways, libGDX allows you to design any type of game you wish as it is extremely customisable.

Urho3D

“Urho3D is a free lightweight, cross-platform game engine for 2D and 3D titles, and implemented in C++ and released under the MIT license.”

The Urho3D wiki contains everything you need to get started with the engine, including How-To Guides for setting upon:

• Windows with Visual Studio
• Windows with MinGW
• Android
• Linux

There are walkthroughs for creating your first project, and several other forum topics ranging from cutting holes in terrain to developing basic material effects for rendering.

Fully Usable, and Free 2D Game Engine

Urho3D is currently on version 1.7, and as we mentioned earlier it’s a completely free 2D game engine to download.

There’s a long list of credits and an actively contributing community.

The website has a complete list of features, including the version in which those features were first implemented.

Urho3D also addresses its limitations, including the fact you’ll need skills in “C++ for performance-critical code and improving existing subsystems such as networking, physics, and animation, depending on your needs.” The brief limitations list is available in full on their site.

What Makes It Great

• Free and fully open source: The entire engine is open source and makes use of other open source libraries. Source code is licensed under MIT and available on GitHub.
• Includes a lot of samples: There are a lot of sample projects included with the engine for both C++ and Angelscript. They are mostly very simple applications built to demonstrate the engines capabilities and features.
• Very high code quality: Urho3D is written in a modular and super-clean way, so that it can be integrated into the other parts of your game seamlessly
• In constant active development: Bugs are usually fixed that same day. Core devs are very active on forums. New features are always being worked on. HTML5, DirectX11, and OpenGL3.1 support have recently been added (as of 4/15/15).

SpriteKit

SpriteKit is a proprietary engine developed by Apple and is exclusively on Apple devices. It has a lot of depth for a free application and can help you develop a 2D title in no time. You will have a great support system in the form of Apple, and iOS is solid.

When it comes to mobile game engines, SpriteKit is a perfect choice if you are looking to break out onto the app market, especially on the Apple store.

It is a free engine download for iOS.

What Makes It Great

• Ease of Use for iOS Developers: SpriteKit is designed to be easy to use, especially for those already familiar with iOS development. It integrates seamlessly with Swift and Xcode, making it a natural choice for Apple developers.
• Comprehensive Toolset: SpriteKit comes with a built-in physics engine, animation handling, particle systems, and a shape creator. This makes it a one-stop-shop for 2D game development on Apple platforms.
• High Performance: SpriteKit is optimized for the Apple ecosystem, offering high performance for 2D games. It avoids the inefficiencies that can come with cross-platform engines, making it a strong choice for resource-intensive games.
• Rapid Prototyping: The engine allows for quick and easy setup of animations and user interactions, making it ideal for prototyping game ideas before investing in full development.

Buildbox

Now, this is what I’m talking about. You don’t exactly need to know how to code to access the best that this 3D and 2D game engine has to offer. It is as easy as just cutting and pasting assets.

The BuildBox game engine is able to create 3D and 2D titles without coding at all. The great graphical quality of the assets is super attractive and adds a great style to your arsenal. This is perfect for those new to game design and developing things for mobile platforms. Check out Bruce Lee Dragon Run!

As of right now, it’s on iOS and is offered as Plus, Indie, and Pro plans priced at $15, $35, and $99 respectively.

What Makes It Great

• Easy to learn: Buildbox is a drag and drop engine, making it easy for beginners to pick up. There are many tutorials available to help get you started.
• Has many game templates: Buildbox has 20+ different game templates including templates for platformers, racing games and Flappy Bird clones.
• Develop once publish everywhere: Exporting iOS/Android/macOS/Windows/Steam/Amazon

Corona SDK

Corona SDK uses Lua as its programming language, which can be a breath of fresh air for those game developers who need a little break from the more intense programming languages.

It allows for great app development on this easy game engine, allowing the designer to include all the bells and whistles we are used to as mobile phone users. Creating roblox games will require roblox scripting.

Corona SDK is found on iOS, Android, Kindle, and Windows Phone.

What Makes It Great

• Ease of Learning: Corona SDK uses Lua, a scripting language that is easy to learn but powerful, making it accessible for beginners and efficient for experienced developers.
• Built-in 2D Physics Engine: The SDK comes with a built-in 2D physics engine, simplifying the process of adding physics-based elements to your game.
• Cross-Platform Support: While the article focuses on Android, it’s worth noting that Corona SDK is also available for iOS, Kindle, and Windows Phone, offering broad platform support.
• Event Listeners and Touch Events: Corona SDK allows for easy event handling, including touch events, which is crucial for interactive games.

Marmalade SDK

Marmalade SDK is a proprietary engine by Marmalade Technologies Limited.

Marmalade Games has had a hand in making some iconic adaptations of board games like Clue, Life, and Battleship for mobile devices, so you know what it is capable of. This mobile game engine’s philosophy is called ‘write once, run everywhere, AKA writing the game assets and the like in one form and being able to run it on many different platforms.

It utilizes C++ as its chief programming language.

Since this gaming engine holds a proprietary license, you will be doling out some coins on this bad boy. We’re talking hundreds of dollars. However, if you are a serious game designer, no price is too great to get your vision across.

It is supported on Android, BlackBerry 10, iOS, LG Smart TV, Tizen, Mac OS X, Windows Desktop, Roku 2, Roku 3, and Windows Phone 8.

What Makes It Great

• Single Source Code for Multiple Platforms: Marmalade allows developers to write code once and deploy it across multiple platforms without the need for re-compilation. This saves time and effort in the development process.
• High-Performance Native Applications: Marmalade compiles your application directly with native CPU instructions, ensuring maximum speed and performance on target platforms.
• Rich Set of Subsystems: Marmalade SDK is composed of five subsystems—Marmalade C++, Marmalade Juice, Marmalade Quick, Marmalade Web, and Marmalade Ecosystem—each offering unique capabilities. For instance, Marmalade Quick is designed for fast and flexible development using Lua, while Marmalade Web allows the creation of hybrid applications using HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Third-Party Library Integration: The engine allows easy integration of third-party libraries, enhancing its functionality and making it more versatile.

Clickteam Fusion

Clickteam Fusion is a fun tool when it comes to game development engines, and it’s supported by an even more fun and creative team. Ever hear of Five Nights at Freddie’s? Yep, made with the Fusion engine.

This gaming engine comes chock full of graphical assets already made and ready to be put to use. It has an integrated physics engine and a great community, to boot.

It is available on iOS, Android, and Windows. You can even get it on Steam.

What Makes It Great

• Well-optimized: Runs well under high object numbers, particularly on PC and iOS thanks to hardware acceleration.
• Great for non-game apps: Such as tools, utilities, multimedia projects, etc.
• Balanced feature set: An excellent compromise between ease of use, power, flexibility and ability to export to different platforms. Easy to learn for beginners with the ability to make complex things, of course, at the expense of a larger effort.

Construct 2

What better than an HTML-based engine to wrap up the list? Construct 2 doesn’t hinge on your ability to code making this tool one of the best game engines for beginners in the market. Sign me up!

If you are much more familiar with HTML5, this could well be the mobile game engine to pick. Not only do you not need to code to create 2D games in Construct, but it runs pretty well and has cross-platform support.

You can find Construct 2 on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and web browsers.

Whatever you ultimately choose, there is a whole slew of video game engines that can be tailored to your specific needs for mobile game development.

Whether it’s Unity, Unreal, or Clickteam Fusion, there is truly a gaming engine out there for every type of designer and creative type. Some are pricier than others, with some having proprietary licenses instead of being open-source.

If you’re willing to part with some money, (or not), you can build on your portfolio of creative works by creating a great little mobile game to bring in players.

What Makes It Great

• Quick to pick up: Construct 2 is fast to pick up, get into, and belt out some pretty impressive games in a relatively small amount of time. Seems to be built for people who don’t have a lot of programming skills, but want to make great games.
• Little programming knowledge needed: Using Construct 2 requires very little programming knowledge because it’s all drag’n’drop, intuitive, visual and event-driven instead of code-only.
• Built-in physics system: Thanks to the great power of Erin Catto’s Box2D, Construct 2 is able to make physics games which are similar to Cut the Rope and Angry Birds
• Easy to create particles and animations: With spriter file implementation and internal animation editor Construct 2 provides an easy way of creating particles and animations.

Spring Engine

The Spring engine is a game engine specifically aimed towards RTS creation, specifically 3D RTS games.

Using the specific code, Lua, Spring engine makes nearly everything customizable. For control freaks like me, that is a godsend! If you are a fan of RTS gems like Age of Empires or Halo Wars, Spring engine might be exactly what you are looking for when developing your title.

Spring engine emphasizes that the capability of in-game assets, (i.e. unit sizes, etc.), is only limited by your own PC’s power, giving you the potential for some seriously large battles in your created game. It was written using many different programming aspects, including C++, OpenGL, FreeType2, and more.

Spring engine is completely free, but I recommend throwing a few dollars the developer’s way to show some love from one gamer to others!

What Makes It Great

• Highly Detailed 3D Maps: Spring Engine allows for the creation of full 3D maps with dynamic and reflective water, deformable terrain, and forest fires, among other features.
• Multiple Camera Modes: The engine offers several camera modes, allowing the user to view the game from almost every angle, enhancing the gaming experience.
• Multiplayer Support: Spring Engine is designed for online multiplayer matches and includes a specifically designed protocol comparable to IRC for chat, battle options adjustment, and player matchmaking.
• Deterministic Simulation: For concurrent execution across all client platforms, the engine utilizes deterministic simulation. This ensures that the game runs the same way on all platforms, which is crucial for multiplayer games.

Panda 3D

Panda touts that ‘it just works’, and it’s true. Panda stresses great visualizations, flexibility, and more. They aim to be the ‘most flexible’ game engine out there, and so far, they are making a pretty decent case for it.

Like many great open-source game engines, Panda 3D can run on nearly every major platform. This adds valuable versatility to both the programmer as well as the player of the game.

Panda 3D wants you to know it is geared towards tinkerers; those game developers that aren’t satisfied with merely thinking, building and finishing. No, Panda 3D wants you to look under the hood of your project, exploring all of its features and what it has to offer.

Panda 3D also allows for support with assets from different game engines, like Bullet, allowing for more flexibility, the very thing they emphasize.

As a designer, you can have direct control over nearly every aspect of the building process, with everything you need being in close contact, monitored heavily, and easily editable for your convenience.

Anyway, I have said enough about the pros of Panda 3D, go download it already!

What Makes It Great

• Free, open-source, and permissive license: The liberal license allows use of the engine for any purpose without restrictions or royalties.
• Will be very easy for developers already familiar with Python: Although it’s possible to use only C++ to program in Panda3D, all its power is available to the Python scripting language, while not trading in performance since the performance-critical parts are implemented in C++.
• Supports most popular physics engines: Panda3D has in-depth integration with industry standard physics engines such as Bullet, NVIDIA PhysX and ODE, but also offers a simpler built-in physics engines that will cover more basic needs.
• Powerful profiling and debugging tools: Panda3D has a suite of powerful tools to help track down performance bottlenecks, memory leaks and examine internal state.

Cocos 2d-x

Cocos 2d-x claims that it is the ‘World’s #1 Open-Source Game Development Platform’. Well, are they?

Of course, it is difficult to give a definitive answer if you aren’t exactly familiar with game design, or if your personal preferences favor something more in line with Godot or Panda 3D.

Using the MIT license, Cocos 2d-x is considered to be one the best engine for 2D games. It has a truly impressive bevy of features at your disposal, namely the ability to be cross-platform and an easy way into the world of game development. Overall, Cocos 2dx is considered a C++ game engine, but can be versatile and also use Java.

Cocos 2d-x is probably your best bet if you are planning on developing 2D games over 3D. You have greater control over the code, which allows you more freedom to tinker around and build your project with full autonomy.

Cocos 2d-x is fast, and I mean fast. You can crank out projects pretty quickly compared to other engines, and it has great stability of use.

What Makes It Great

• A proven engine for mobile development: 25% of iPhone games are made using Cocos2d-x.
  This means you will not be alone in development, and will have access to a large community. You’ll know you are developing for an engine that works.
• Supports 3D models with skeleton animation: A new feature since Cocos2d-x v3.1 is support for 3D models (in your 2D game), not only this but support for skeleton animations is included too!
• One code for all platforms: On top of supporting pretty much all existing platforms (except consoles), Cocos Creator (Cocos’s IDE) allows you to write 1 code that runs on Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS and HTML5 (not Linux though).
• No external dependencies: Because it is based on Pyglet.

jMonkeyEngine

This free game engine is a great option when it comes to open-source game engines for Android. It emphasizes working with Java, i.e. making it super easy and accessible for developers to pick up and go.

Not that it means it is completely easy; the team at jMonkey Engine does recommend taking it slow, especially if you do not have a lot of programming experience. They recommend having some prior knowledge just to make the transition into game creation easier.

Right off the bat, the team boldly claims that using their gaming engine will be easier than utilizing and outright learning how to use a C++ game engine. C++ can be a hang-up for many not familiar with programming, and jMonkeyEngine can be a great option for those who want to create games without really breaking their back trying to learn a whole new language.

As stated, jMonkeyEngine can help you build the next great Android or iOS game, with cross-platform design to help integrate your game or project. They are currently shifting some focus to virtual reality and the ambitious Oculus Rift.

And like any solid Java game engine, they provide a bunch of good tutorials and guides. These can be true lifesavers when you are stuck in the creative or technical process of development.

What Makes It Great

• Developer-Friendly and Code-First Approach: jMonkeyEngine is designed to be developer-friendly, emphasizing a code-first approach. This gives developers full control over their code and the ability to extend and adapt the engine to their workflow.
• Wide Platform Support: The engine supports a variety of platforms including Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, Raspberry Pi, and Android, making it versatile for different types of game development.
• Rich Audio Support: jMonkeyEngine supports various audio file formats like WAV, MP3, and OGG, and offers buffered and streaming support as well as global, directional, and positional sounds.
• Advanced Graphics and Post-Processing: The engine supports OpenGL up to 4.5 and offers a range of post-processing effects like water, bloom, depth of field, and more.

Leadwerks

If you have been inside learning code, C++, and Lua, you already know they’re all useful in their own ways and especially when it comes to game development.

If you are looking for a game engine that combines C++ and Lua, along with a strong emphasis on those beginning their game development journeys, Leadwerks could easily be your answer.

Leadwerks is a cross-platform game development tool that is one of the best game engines for beginners. In fact, it stresses the ease of access and use of the engine for newer programmers. The engine utilizes C++, Objective-C, and Lua as its programming languages, with a particular emphasis on Lua and LuaJT.

What Makes It Great

• Specialized for VR: Leadwerks is specifically designed to capture the maximum capabilities of VR, focusing on high-end PCs and graphical fidelity.
• C/C++ Interoperability: The engine is written in pure C++, allowing seamless integration with existing C and C++ code. This is particularly useful for scientific and engineering applications.
• High Performance: Leadwerks is optimized to maintain a steady 90 frames per second, which is crucial for preventing motion sickness in VR applications.
• Source Code Modification: Full access to the engine’s source code allows for customization to meet specific needs, such as re-compiling the software using 64-bit floating points for greater precision.

Create Games Without Mastering a Coding Language

Leadwerks is so far only for Windows and Linux operating systems.

While it’s recommended that you know some basic programming, Leadwerks prides itself on being able to crank out some games without a knowledge of programming at all. Again, making it one of the best game engines for beginners.

Granted, you’ll need to show off your programming skills for developing more in-depth projects, but the possibility to just mess around and create smaller projects is an excellent practice for beginning game developers.

It has a proprietary license, so Steam users will have to dole out around $99 for using it entirely. While this may be steeper than other, smaller engines, there is no royalty fee to pay once you actually develop your game.

Benefits of Using Leadwerks as a Game Engine

Along with this, you can download further aspects to this gaming engine, increasing your assets and programming capabilities, and really fleshing out the entire experience.

There is a free demo (the Indie Edition Demo) of Leadwerks right on the Steam client, so you don’t have to take a costly plunge into using a game engine in which you don’t know if you’ll click.

However, since it has reputed ease of use, I can guarantee you’ll get something out of it. This demo gives you a feel for what is possible in comparison to different game engines.
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What would a reliable game development engine be without some substantial tutorials?

Leadwerks tutorials can be found in multiple locations. Personally, I recommend YouTube walkthroughs for the best possible visualization. Witnessing in action, and getting a better feel for how the workflow could look when developing a game.

Of course, going on the actual parent site can give you some documentation to get you around the small learning curve needed to achieve game development greatness.

GameSalad

Developed by Gendai Games, GameSalad was released in 2010. GameSalad increased in popularity after partnering with Macworld Expo and eventually created a free version in 2010. After five years, however, Gendai Games discontinued the service, opting for a few payment options. But we’ll get to those a little later.

GameSalad is one of the best game engines for beginners! With all of the different game engines on the market right now, it can be challenging to find one that works for you. If you are an absolute beginner, GameSalad could be the perfect tool. One of GameSalad’s promises is that you can ‘Make your first game in an hour.’

The Best Game Engine for Beginners

In fact, it’s quickly gaining steam in schools. It’s a method to teach younger students and computer rookies how to jump into the world of computer science. What makes GameSalad different from other gaming engines and authoring tools? It totally foregoes the use of syntax, which simplifies the learning process a lot.

However, this doesn’t mean that more experienced developers can’t benefit from the ease of use of GameSalad Creator. No matter your experience level, you can definitely thrive in any project you pursue by using an appropriate 2D game engine.

GameSalad is especially great for those developers focusing on 2D game development in particular.

What Makes It Great

• Allows you to focus on the logic rather than code: Since the user mainly uses menu options there is very little code needed to be keyed in. This makes the code very easy to read and understand. Hence there are many help videos on youtube
• Powerful expression editor and functions: Allows you to create expressions on par with LUA (it’s back end-language).
• Easy to publish: Software prepares your app so you can just send it to Apple. All my games are reviewed with no problems.
• Drag and drop editor: The drag and drop editor makes GameSalad very easy to use, no programming experience needed.
• Great engine: Very quick to learn and great for making games. Community is very open and helpful.

Payment Options

GameSalad has a few payment options. Unfortunately, as of right now, there is no GameSalad free version. There is, however, a free trial to see if you gel with it and its creative capabilities.

• First is the monthly version, which costs $8.
• $17 a month
• $25 a month

The latter two payment options obviously include additional features not included in the free trial and $8 versions.

GameSalad Pro offers additional features like

• Publishing to IOS
• Publishing to Android
• Publishing to HTML5

Regardless, the price points are pretty reasonable. If you are a creator dead set on making a game or app, the monthly price is more than doable. I mean, you pay more for a few streaming services a month, so why not try GameSalad?

There are even some discounts available for educational options. For example, if you are teaching a class how to develop games, GameSalad helps you establish a payment plan and procedure for using what is considered a great game engine for beginners.

CraftStudio

CraftStudio is a cross-platform game engine. Even better, it emphasizes collaboration with other game developers. It was initially put on IndieGoGo for crowdfunding. It reached its goal of $16,000 and began development in earnest.

Developed back in 2011 and launched in 2017 by Élisée Maurer and Sparklin Labs, CraftStudio aimed to be a fantastic and comprehensive voxel-based game development & gaming engine.

The central aspect of CraftStudio is maintaining game development assets in the cloud. Using this method, game developers the world over can access resources and collaborate with other talented creators.

What Makes It Great

• Cloud-Based Asset Management: CraftStudio stores game development assets in the cloud, allowing developers from around the world to access resources and collaborate effectively.
• Flexible Pricing: The engine operates on a ‘name your price’ policy, making it financially accessible for developers at all levels. Donations are encouraged to support ongoing updates and patches.
• Comprehensive Tutorials: CraftStudio offers a wide range of learning resources, including an in-depth Wiki and multiple video tutorials, to help both new and experienced developers.
• Multiple Download Options: Users have the flexibility to choose from three main download options to get started with CraftStudio.

Box2D Engine

If I wanted to start developing a very simple, bare-bones kind of game, one that deals with the foundations of such a game, I couldn’t find a more suitable open-source game engine than Box2D. First released in 2007 as Box2D Lite, what we now know of Box2D has had a most recent stable release in April of 2014.

What is the best way to sum up what this 2D game engine is? Here, let the developers explain,

“Box2D is an open source C++ engine for simulating rigid bodies in 2D. Box2D is developed by Erin Catto and has the zlib license. While the zlib license does not require acknowledgment, we encourage you to give credit to Box2D in your product.”

Box2D’s gaming engine has been included in some titles on the Nintendo DS, the Wii, and others, and offers cross-platform. This includes the potential to port to mobile phones especially. Imagine you develop a new, more modern version of the cellphone classic ‘Snake’.

What Makes It Great

• Realistic Physics Simulation: Box2D is a 2D rigid body simulation library that allows objects in games to move in realistic ways, enhancing the interactivity of the game world.
• Written in Portable C++: The engine is written in portable C++, making it compatible with various platforms and easy to integrate with other game engines.
• Comprehensive API: The manual covers the majority of the Box2D API, providing a robust set of tools for game development.
• Solver for Time and Constraints: Box2D has a high-performance iterative solver that operates in order N time, where N is the number of constraints. This solver is used to advance time and resolve contact and joint constraints

One Issue With Box2D’s Game Engine

A big issue that Box2D deals with and stresses is collision detection. Collision detection is especially emphasized in video games. Very generally, it is the issue of two game objects, (buildings, characters, etc.), colliding with one another.

I think it is pretty clear that the Box2D engine is a unique little engine if you are interested in more in-depth concepts of coding like collision detection and other bits of 2D know-how.

If you are familiar with C++ and have a penchant for 2D games, more specifically something that teaches you more about the basics of video game design, (i.e. physics, collision detection, etc.), this just might be the ticket for you.

Build Engine

In the mid-1990s, Ken Silverman, a rookie game programmer, started working on and tweaking what would become an integral part of video game history: the Build engine.

As a college freshman, Ken Silverman worked tirelessly on the Build engine. Working around the same time as John Carmack and id Software, Ken Silverman launched the Build Engine in 1995.

If you have ever played Duke Nukem 3D, you’ll remember the Build engine creating a semi-3D environment. This 2.5D factor changes a lot of things about game design, namely the perceptions of gamers.

While many of the Build engine games resemble games like DOOM or Wolfenstein 3D, the engine takes advantage of sectors with varying heights of ceilings and floors. When these varying heights are taken into account, the final product gives the distinct impression of playing in a three-dimensional world while not actually doing so.

The Build Engine has some pretty famous games to its name. Including Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage, and Blood.

What Makes It Great

• Richly Animated Sprites: The Build Engine allowed for detailed and lively 2D sprites that were essentially 3D computer-made models condensed into 2D form. These sprites had advanced shading, movement, and death animations.
• Interactive Environments: Unlike many other game engines of its time, the Build Engine allowed for environments that felt real and interactive. It moved the action from abstract spaces to more grounded settings like urban centers and small-town Americana.
• Innovative 3D Editing Mode: The Build Engine featured the first-ever in-built 3D editing mode for a first-person shooter. This made working on 2.5D games much quicker and allowed designers to fine-tune various aspects of their games.
• Dynamic Gameplay Elements: The engine supported a wide range of dynamic gameplay elements, such as destructible environments and detailed physics. For example, shooting a zombie in the face in a game like “Blood” would result in a highly detailed and dynamic response.

The Best Game Engines for Mobile

Right now the biggest market for video games is on mobile devices.

Video games such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and Five Nights At Freddy’s became massive pop-culture sensations and influenced many game creators to follow their lead.

There’s never been a better time to develop games for mobile devices, but which mobile game engines should you use?

Unity Engine for Mobile

Unity is widely considered to be one of the best mobile game engines. Unity lets you easily import 3D models from Maya and Blender and has a huge library of both free and paid assets you can use for your game. It even comes with both 3D and 2D modes, allowing you to make any style of game you have in mind.

It’s a powerful engine that’s well-known for a very good reason. Unity works across platforms, including iOS and Android, and has a very large and very active community. In fact, the sheer number of tutorials and resources available makes it a perfect engine for new developers. Best of all, Unity is available free of charge but does take royalties from the games you release if they reach a certain threshold of success.

Gamemaker Engine for Mobile

With that said, another perfectly good option is GameMaker. One complaint about Unity is that its 2D mode can be a bit complicated. It handles 3D games exceptionally well, and can certainly make compelling 2D games.

But the crown for best 2D game engine goes to GameMaker Studio. If you’re a novice at game development, Gamemaker is among the simplest engines to use out there, and has been widely credited with the creation of many professional Indie games. It’s been used to make games such as Webbed, Death’s Gambit, and Hotline Miami.

It even has a simple drag-and-drop system you can use while you’re still getting to grips with how coding works and some video tutorials to help you get started. GameMaker Studios offers up an unlimited free version, though you do get more out of it by paying a subscription fee.

Godot for Mobile

Finally, there is Godot. Similarly favored by Indie game developers, one feature that Godot offers that the others do not is hundreds of nodes.

Nodes are pre-made codes that can be selected to make the opening steps of game creation easier. It also is free and open-sourced, so you’ll never have to pay royalties for the games you make.

Use any one of these gaming engines and you’ll soon be well on your way to making the next mobile gaming sensation. With new mobile games coming out every day, there’s plenty of room for the next Angry Birds or Candy Crush to shake things up.

These engines are perfect to practice, improving your skills, and finally releasing your games. Start your engines.

How to Choose the Right Game Engine

The answer to this is quite straightforward: just pick a simple game engine in order to build your foundation, and climb your way to more technical engines.

You will soon realize that popular game engines are solid starting points, be it for active community support, or user-friendliness.

From simple free game engines all the way to top-of-the-line cross-platform game engines, here are the main points you should consider when choosing a gaming engine software to learn:

• Your Computer – The best computer for your budget. You want power. Something that can handle a larger workload.
• Your Game Genre – Different engines for different genres.
• Your Perspective – Are you creating a 3D or 2D game? This changes the way you develop your game considerably, so keep it in mind.
• Your Art Skills – Not required. But helpful.
• Your Targeted Platform – Android, Xbox, etc …
• Solo or Team – Will you be working with others? Some engines are better for collabs.
• Community Support – Most of the popular engines have awesome support. Check them out before you start.

Sources

https://turbofuture.com/computers/Why-Should-I-Use-Unity-Top-8-Reasons
https://stepico.com/blog/why-is-unity-the-best-game-engine-pros-and-cons/
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/what-is-the-best-game-engine-is-gamemaker-the-right-game-engine-for-you
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/godot
https://www.slant.co/options/1098/~buildbox-review
https://www.androidauthority.com/writing-your-first-android-game-623386/
https://en.yeeply.com/blog/game-development-using-marmalade/
https://www.mycplus.com/featured-articles/spring-rts-game-development-engine/#google_vignette