by Are you a developer trying to enter the vast Game Development Market? Or maybe you’re a gamer who’s just starting out in the fantastic world of IT, and you really want to work in the Gaming Industry? Well, the best and the most efficient way to get into this world would be by learning to work with the best free Game Engine. So what is a Game Engine, you might ask? Well, it’s simply an API. It won’t code the game for you, that’s your job, but it will handle all the rendering, physics, and the mathematical operations needed for your game. In the Gaming industry, it is vital for you to gain experience on working with Game Engines.
Why do you need the best free Game Engine in the first place? Well, Good Question. They’re basically frameworks that handle a lot of the calculations, thus giving the developer more time to focus on models and textures and how they all interact with each other. You might’ve seen a lot of developers creating their own engines. Big Companies like EA, Ubisoft, and the like have state-of-the-art exclusive engines tailored to what they need, but as a beginner or even someone just trying to learn, there are numerous free options that’ll get you walking on the right path.
Here’s our list of the Best FREE Game Engine:
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1. Godot
Godot is one of the best Open Source Game Engines on the market. It is one of the best options if you’re trying to make a 2D Game. Maybe like an excellent platforming game!
Godot is also pretty good if you decide to work on something 3D. In its recent updates, Godot delivered a significant update to the 3D features, bringing it up to speed with other current gaming engines. At this point, it’s even up to par with some of the other more advanced game engines, even though they managed to keep it free.
Godot has a dedicated 2D engine that uses pixel coordinates, thus really making 2D game development much more efficient. Godot supports quite a lot of languages. C++, C# and GDScript are all supported, making it open to a lot of developers. This also means it’s pretty easy to learn!
The scene and node system are the greatest parts of the Godot engine. It simplifies the organization of your games, which speeds up development and really makes it easy to work with multiple users.
If you’re going to make a 2D game, I would definitely suggest you try out Godot. Its powerful animation and scripting tools really eases out the development process and puts itself into the list of one the best free Game Engines.
Pros:
- Free and Open Source
- Lightweight
- Multi-platform deployment and development
- Git Friendly
Cons:
- Small Community
- Mostly focused on 2D
Download Godot Ending from here
2. Game Maker
Now this one is a very popular engine and has been used to create quite a lot of Best Sellers. Hyper Light Drifter, Hotline Miami, Katana Zero are all a part of its repertoire. And if you’re into the gaming industry, I don’t need to tell you how popular these games got! Yes, it is mainly a 2d Engine, but it has features to really create proper AAA Games.
Game Maker is pretty easy to get a hold on for Beginners and has all the features needed for any considerable time Game Development studios.
It has it’s own impressive dynamic Physics engine and a custom scripting language, making it one of a kind the best Free Game Engine for 2d games out on the market now. With access to an elaborate 2D physics Engine along with support for multiplayer options and cross-platform development, it’s really great for dreamers trying to bring out their creativity. Speaking of Creativity, creating mind-boggling graphics and stunning visual effects is a breeze with the use of shaders.
It is definitely worth learning if you’re into 2D game development.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Simple and easy to handle Ui
- Lots of available tutorials online
Cons:
- Less focus on narrative games
- Full version isn’t free
Visit Game Maker Official Website
3. GameSalad
If you’re entirely new to Game Design and are still in the learning phase, this one’s for you. GameSalad provides an easy and feature rich way to create and publish games.
Even if you’re an absolute beginner, you can start right here with GameSalad. With an exceptionally well laid out Drag and Drop scripting feature, basic coding knowledge is enough to make the game of your dreams.
This Game Engine is actually used in a lot of teaching institutions to teach programming skills. That should tell you how good it is for the absolute beginner. Development doesn’t always have to be a stressful process. GameSalad makes it fun and enjoyable!
I mean yes, you won’t be able to achieve every little detail, nor would you be able to layout all your creativity, it still is fantastic for making some fun projects.
GameSalad also allows you to export your games for PC, Mobile, web, and many other platforms. For Free too.
Pros:
- Good Choice for Beginners
- Perfect for kids
Cons:
- Limited Features
- A little buggy
4. Corona
Okay, hold on, don’t let the name deter you. Unlike the pandemic that’s ruining our daily lives, this Corona is actually a pretty capable best free Game Engine. Unlike other engine’s, this one is primarily focused on using Lua as it’s resident language. It’s built for rapid prototyping and cross-platform development.
Corona is entirely free and has 0 hidden royalties. Being easy to learn and easy to develop on, it definitely is one of the best free Game Engines. Added to the relative ease, it has a spectacular community of over 500,000 developers and a pretty active subreddit. Any help you need, there’s definitely going to be some there to help you.
Corona isn’t just a best free game Engine though. It has a pretty nifty publishing marketplace. Allowing you to quickly find and distribute your dream game to the public. This will enable devs to focus more on making the game and less on trying to market it! It also has a myriad of plugins with Template, graphic assets, sound design assets and more available to you.
Corona is perfect for beginners and much easier to learn than the others. If you’re looking for a way to make a game without getting stressed 24/7, Go for Corona.
Pros:
- Rapid Prototyping and Cross-Platform support
- No hidden royalties
- Easy to learn
- Amazing Publishing support
Cons:
- No 3D game support
Visit Coronalabs Official Website
5. Monogame
Another Open Source framework, Monogame, is perfect for the novice coder trying to make a fantastic new game. Monogame is also behind one of the best games out right now, Stardew Valley. That got your attention, didn’t it?
You do need a bit of experience in programming, specifically on C# and Microsoft’s .NET environment. While the other items on the list provide a way for non-coders to make games, Monogame doesn’t. This truly is for the coders that wanna start making games. Although this may deter a lot of newbies, it’s still excellent for a novice coder.
Although you’d need to create your own Collisions and Physics Engine, Monogame is a trendy choice among the people who know how to use it—making it a contender for the list of Best free Game Engine. And if you’re ever stuck, there’s a community ready to help you out!
Pros:
- Great for 2d development
- Easier cross-platform development
- Ideal for coders
Cons:
- Need prior experience
- Struggles with 3D
6. Amazon Lumberyard
Yes, Amazon has its own and one of the free Game Engine. It’s remarkable in the sense that it has twitch and game streaming in its focus. The goal is to create beautiful games with insane visuals that are fun to play and cool to look at.
If you’re a little familiar with Game Design, you’ll love what Lumberyard has to offer. It provides a feature-rich experience all with support for the cloud, built-in multiplayer support, and allows their games to support mods.
They also give full access to the C++ source code so the developer really has proper control. Amazon themselves handle the bandwidth and the cloud, thus allowing the devs to focus on making truly incredible visuals and characters.
Lumberyard also gives the artists a pretty handy suite of tools to create shaders, illumination and particle effects!
Amazon’s Lumberyard may be a big engine but it is definitely one of the best Free Game Engine. Well worth learning it.
Pros:
- Highly Flexible
- Good for Service Model Games
- Beginner Friendly
Cons:
- Not many online resources
- Not meant for simple projects
Learn More about Amazon Lumberyard
7. CryEngine
Now, one of the Big ones. We all remember the days when anyone bought a new pc, everyone on the internet or even their own friends would ask “But Can it run Crysis?”. Well, you might not remember if you’re one of our younger readers, but believe me, it was a whole meme, even before memes were a thing!
CryEngine is an insanely powerful 3D game engine primarily focusing on state of the art realistic graphics for PCs and Consoles. CryEngine is made for the AAA games, with VR support and Really advanced Visual Effects. Games made with CryEngine really does question players if what they’re playing is real or just a game! With highly detailed and super-duper realistic characters, CryEngine offers quite a myriad of tools to make photo-realistic graphics a reality.
With CryEngine’s built-in level designer, level design turns out to be much easier of a task than it is made out to be. Once you really get a hold of the ins and outs of the engine, making a game from Start to Finish can be really fast.
Well, CryEngine might have a lot of features that make it easier to make insane visuals, it is notorious for being one of the most difficult-to-use engines. If you’re a TOTAL beginner, this might not be for you, but with enough experience, your dream game is just a long walk away.
CryEngine is free to use but if you do release a game commercially, there is a royalty that you need to consider. But without a doubt this is one of the Best Game Engines for making AAA Games.
Pros:
- Stunning Environments and Characters
- Strong Graphical Capability
Cons:
- Not for beginners
- Tough to work with
Visit CryEngine Official Website
8. Unity Engine
Now Unity is big. If you’re a gamer, there is no doubt you have heard of Unity. With a myriad of top selling AAA games under its name, Unity really is one of the best free engines to consider if you’re really serious about being a game developer. From Rust to My Friend Pedro to Cuphead, all of these GOTY worthy games use Unity as it’s engine.
Unity boasts an immense and accessible set of powerful tools that made Unity quickly jump towards the top of the Best Free Game Engines list.
Not just for PCs and consoles, though, as with its powerful cross-platform support, Unity has been used to create games like Pokemon Go, Hearthstone, Mobius Final Fantasy, and much more.
One of the best features of Unity is the massive community. With an almost unending number of assets and learning resources, whatever you may need to let your creativity out, you can get it. The community is one of the biggest positives for Unity. Making a beautiful looking and working prototype can be really fast with tons of pre-made assets and unity’s amazing rendering engine.
Recently, Microsoft has partnered with Unity, allowing developers to use their Coveted Visual Studio as a scripting Editor. Visual studio is miles better than Unity’s native experience, thus providing quality of life improvements.
Although Unity is Free to make Games and Use, if you’re going to earn a lot from your games, there’s some royalties involved. Nevertheless, Unity is one of a kind the Best Free Game Engine to learn, and will definitely be worth your time.
Pros:
- User Friendly
- Amazing asset library
- Quality Ui
Cons:
- Compatibility issues after a few updates
- Need to integrate a lot of tech to make an app.
9. Unreal Engine
From the creators of the multiple record breaking game Fortnite, comes Unreal Engine. Truly a rockstar in its own right. Games like the previously mentioned Fortnite, Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, and my personal favorite game Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order have all been created by Unreal Engine.
Unreal Engine provides everything you need to start making your dream come true. It is one of a kind the best free game engine among others. Although with Unreal, you’d need a proper team of developers to create amazing works of art that transcend time, small indie teams can also start working on their games.
Unreal Engine’s graphical capabilities are as good as CryEngines but Unreal has the added benefit of being much more user friendly.
All the scripting is primarily handled in C++ but fret not, if you’re knowledge in coding is limited, Unreal has a unique system dubbed the Blueprint Visual Scripting System which allows developers to create behavior systems without ever writing a single line of code.
Epic provides a myriad of tutorials to help beginners get a hang of the Engine. Unreal offers quite a lot of freedom, with support and template for both 2D and 3D games. Users have the option of an asset marketplace where they can find tons of models and tools.
Unreal is worth it. If you’re looking at a career or just simply trying to learn as a hobby, you can never go wrong with learning Unreal Engine. Definitely deserves its place in the Best Free Game Engine list, this is the perfect place to start if you’re serious about game development.
Pros:
- Graphical Versatility
- Easier to Use
- Support for most types of games
Cons:
- Need a full team
- Not really for small projects
Download Unreal Engine from here
Final Words on the Best Free Game Engine
The world of Game Development is amazing. If you really have a passion for games and want to show off your creativity, we hope our Best Free Game Engine list will help you decide which Engine you should start your journey on. Go and make your first game! You got this!
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