Game engines
| Name
| Language
| Platform
| License
| Graphics
| Sound
| Networking
| Scripting
| Other features
| Plus
| Minus
|
| 3DCakeWalk
| Python
| Windows/Linux
| commercial
| 2D/3D via DirectX and OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| Yes: Python scripting with 3DCW helpers
| Many
|
|
|
| A6 Game Engine
| C-script like language/C++/Delphi
| Windows
| Commercial
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Custom C-Script scripting language
| Physics
|
|
|
| Adventure Game Studio (AGS)
| C++
| Windows (Mac & Linux ports available)
| Free
| Allegro
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Custom C-Script scripting language
| Supports user-made plugins and modules
| Immense user community, including Beginners' Forum
|
|
| AgateLib
| .NET
| Windows / Mono
| Free
| 2D via Direct3D or OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| AGen
| C++
| Windows
| Indie/Commercial
| Hardware accelerated 2D via Direct3D or OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
| Physics
| Scene management, high-level framework, automatic memory management
| Not cross platform yet
|
| AGL Engine
| C++
| Windows
| Commercial
| 2D via DirectDraw, Direct3D or OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| No
| High-level game states framework
| Easy to start, several layers of abstraction, automatic resources management, custom filesystems support
|
|
| Allegro
| C
| DOS, Unix, Windows, BeOS, QNX, MacOS
| Free (Open Source)
| 2D and 3D
| Yes
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| Artificial Engines
| .NET
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|
|
|
|
| Asphyre
| Delphi / Delphi .NET
| Windows
| Free
| 2D/3D via DirectX
| No
| Yes
| No
| GUI Editor
|
| Versions later than v3.1 are only for BDS and Turbo Delphi
|
| Avalon
| C++
| Windows, Linux, Mac
| Free
| 2D
| Yes
| No
| Yes: Lua
| Many
|
|
|
| Axiom website
| .NET
| Windows / Linux / MacOS
| LGPL
| 3D via OpenGL/DirectX/XNA
| No
| No
| No
|
| Based on the very popular OGRE rendering engine.
|
|
| Baja Engine
| C++/Lua
| Windows, Mac Os X
| Free
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
| Professional Results, Includes all tools
| Shaders, Shipped a Commercial game, Easy to use, Flexible
| As far as I can see, the site does not indicate source is included with the download (or for that matter, is available) Hard to use art pipeline, no community.
|
| Blender Game Engine
| Python
| Windows, MacOS, Linux, Solaris, Irix
| Free (Open Source)
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes: via Python
| Yes: Python
| Physics (including soft bodies) via Bullet, custom written shaders (via GLSL). Can use logic bricks to create basic games without programming experience, or Python for more complex games.
| Included as part of Blender, a fully featured 3D package, so modeling, texturing, etc. all built in.
| Occasionally spotty documentation.
|
| Blitz3D
| Basic
| Windows
| Commercial
| 2d/3D via DirectX7
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: BlitzBasic
| Big community, a lot games
| Easy to start, support BSP, 3DS, better for shareware games
| No OOP, basic syntax
|
| BlitzMax
| Object Basic
| Windows, Linux, MacOS
| Commercial
| 2d via OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: BlitzMAX Script
| Has many modules (GUI, 3D, Sound, Physics, etc ). Easy to start
| Fast 2D engine, better for casual games(Arcanoids, Puzzles etc.), OOP, LUA Bind
| Has no 3D module
|
| Blox Game Engine
| C++
| Windows
| Free
| 2D via Direct3D
| Yes
| No
| No
| Color Blending, Alpha Blending, and many more.
| Free. Easy to use. Fully object-oriented. Includes basic collision detection. Choose between 2 different rendering systems(Software, Hardware).
|
|
| [http:// chrisk.free.fr/cariboost2/ Brume Game Engine]
| .NET 2.0/3.5 (C#)
| Windows (XP/Vista/Seven)
| Free
| 3D via DirectX 9/DirectX 10
| Yes
| No
| No
| Have more modules (GUI, Sound, Physics, Collisions, Animations, Effects (Hardware Shaders), Terrains, etc ). Easy to start
| Easy to use, object oriented, animation system, integrated physics
|
|
| C4 Engine
| C++
| Windows, Mac, PS3
| Commercial
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Visual Scripting
| Voxel terrain, shader editor, more
| Active development, good support, clean architecture
| Incomplete physics
|
| Chingu
| Ruby
| Windows, Mac, Linux
| Free
| 2D via OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| No
| Game states,plugginable game logic.. game engine features
| Available on github, 16+ bundled examples.
|
|
| Cipher Game Engine
| C/C++
| Windows
| Commercial
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| Collision Detection, AI
|
|
|
| ClanLib
| C++
| Windows, Linux, MacOSX
| Free (Open Source)
| Accelerated 2D
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| Open Source. Excellent lightweight networking
|
|
|
| Clockwork (Unfinished)
| None needed
| Windows 2000-Vista
| Indie/Commercial
| 3D via OGRE (OpenGL render system)
| Yes: OpenAl
| No: Planned. May use RakNet.
| Yes: Lua
| Will include physics engine, GLSL shaders (and editor), OGRE material editor.
| Self-contained system (one multi-purpose application for nearly all tasks). Only requires 3rd party applications for game resource creation (levels, models, audio, etc). Uses OpenGL 2.x.x, and GLSL for shaders. Will have physics engine, using PhysX. Editor written in C#(.NET 2), engine written in C++.
| Still in beta; not finished.
|
| CRM32Pro
| C++
| Windows, Linux (Port to MacOS X x86 in 2007 aprox.)
| Closed Source; LGPL announced on site
| 2D via SDL/glSDL and optimized MMX blitters
| Yes: API built on top of SDL_mixer
| Yes: API built on top of SDL_Net
| No
| XML parser, Log, propietary file system to package your resources with full protection and useful EditorDPF to manage them, graphics primitives, cursors, tiles, sprites, fonts, several FX effects, GUI system, accurate timer, MPEG-I video, full support of OGG,modules,WAV and VOC, useful network API and more...
| Full documentation (english and spanish). Cross-platform. Heavily optimized for each current CPU (MMX and SSE). Available as a DLL or static library(only Win32). EditorDPF, a resources manager. SetupProyect, a customizable config system. Everything is free!
|
|
| Crystal Space
| C/C++
| Linux, Windows, MacOS X
| Free (LGPL)
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| Yes: Python, Perl or Java
|
|
|
|
| DaBooda Turbo Engine v1.5.4
| VB(COM)/FreeBASIC(VTable)
| Windows
| Free (GPL)
| 2D(and old school style 3D) via DirectX8
| Yes
| Yes -dp p2p and winsock as of v1.5.2a
| Yes: Maybe? DBT uses an inline customizable console, DBTC
| complete 2D game development environment. Supports VB,VB .Net, FreeBASIC
| AutoMove(ala Zelda1),Sprites,Overlays,Maps,Audio,Network,Counters,
Key,Joy, FreeBASIC supported through IDispatch, DBFE, or Vtable Documentation in chm, plenty of tutorials and examples..
| Final Build, FreeBASIC build in transition, see DBOS, DBHGE at our site
|
| Daimonin
| C (server), C++ (client), java (editor)
| Linux, Windows, MacOSX
| GPL
| 2d/3d via SDL and OGRE3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
| complete MMORPG engine
|
|
|
| Delta3D
| C++
| Linux, Windows, MacOSX
| Free(LGPL)
| 3D via OpenSceneGraph (OpenGL)
| Yes
| Yes - Client/Server and HLA
| Yes: Python
| ODE Physics, STAGE Game Editor, Much More
| A well-supported open source project. Built upon other open source projects (OSG, ODE, OpenAL, etc.). Great for games, simulations, or other graphical applications. Supports massive terrains. Used by many large scale companies (e.g., Boeing, Lockheed Martin, etc.), educational institutions, and small developers.
|
|
| D'Enfent Engine
| C++
| Linux, Windows
| GPL
| 2D / 3D via OpenGL
| No
| No
| No
|
| Lessons and samples for easy start. Shaders are supported.
|
|
| DarkbasicPro
| Basic
| Windows
| Shareware
| 2d/3D via DirectX9
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Darkbasic
| Big community, a lot games
| Easy to start, support BSP, 3DS, better for shareware games
| No OOP, basic syntax
|
| DizzyAGE
| C++
| Windows
| Free
| 2D via DirectX
| Yes
| No
| Yes: GS9 scripting language
| Tool used to create Dizzy games, in the classic adventure style
|
|
|
| DXGame Engine
| VB6
| Windows
| Free
| 2D+ via Direct3D
| Yes
| No
| No
| Automated Sprites, 2D Tile Map (Unlimited Layers), Collision Checking, Explosions, Basic Particle Engine, High Level
|
|
|
| DxIce
| VB6.0 and VB.NET
| Windows
| Free (closed source)
| Mostly 2D and some 3D DX9
| Yes
| No
| No
| Various functions/methods to aid in RAD
| Great for 2D, many helpers for common game routines
| Limited 3D support
|
| dx_lib32 2.0
| VB 6.0 (also VB.NET)
| Windows
| Free
| 2D hardware via DirectGraphics (D3D8)
| Yes Via DirectAudio (DSound8) for sound effects and DirectShow for music playback
| No
| No
| Draw 2D textures with isometric or caballera perspective in one call, support movie playback (include DivX formats), easy imput handling class, PAK File format support (Quake/Half-Life format), basic Timers counters, support for Timers Events for multithreaing routines (like Timer control of VB but without control interface and instance of this) and more...
| Single light DLL (VB6 Runtime and DirectX API only dependency), simple interface, easy to start, several layers of abstraction, automatic resources management, full documentation of all functions
| No full OOP interface, ActiveX DLL (need register in the system), all documentation and web site are in spanish (this a problem? maybe... if you aren't
spanish ;-) )
|
| ScriptENGINE:Lua 3D Engine
| 100% lua scriptdriven
| Windows
| Commercial SDK/Free Demo
| 2D/3D via OpenGL/DirectX
| Yes DirectAudio/Software
| Yes UDP/TCP support
| Yes 100% scriptable
| Includes 2D/3D graphics, newtonian physics, 3D sound, cryptography, threading, world management, gui controls, gui skins, event management, key-mapping, special fx, dynamic lighting, 3D animation, multi-language support. Software Development Kit includes World Editors, GUI Editors, Code Editors, Programmer's Reference and more...
| 100% scriptable - No compilers required!, Completely extensible and flexible, Can create any type of program
|
|
| EasyWay Game Engine
| Java
| Windows, Linux, Mac OS
| opensource GPL
| 2D/3D via OpenGL
| Yes: OpenAl
| No: coming soon
| No
| Easily extendible, perfect pixel collision, PathFinding, special effects, automatic engine that don't draw what you don't see, engine anti bug
| very simple: you can write a game in very few lines of code; You can extend simply the game engine with your function
| the API documentation isn't completed yet
|
| Epee Engine
| C++
| Windows,Linux,Mac,homebrew console planned
| zlib/libpng
| 2D SDL but 3D planned using OpenGL
| Yes
| Not yet but planned
| Not yet but planned
| see web site
| Very easy to use and fast rendering
| Engine is still in the early stages
|
| Entropia Engine
| VB6/C
| Windows, and works perfectly with Wine on Linux (tested version 0.9.44)
| LGPL
| 2D using DirectX 8.1
| Yes (Via DirectSound or FMod, or DirectShow for music/video)
| No
| No
| See Web Site (or the SDK)
| Very easy to use, fast, lots of utilities for a rapid game development, particle engine, sprite engine, map engine and dynamic lights engine (in development but works, see SDK), tiler, console, PAK file format (Quake PAK's), compression , MD5, and much more!
| Web site in Spanish (engine 95 % in English, will fix this soon)
|
| ephLib
| C++/Io
| OS X (Others in progress)
| GPL/Other
| 2D/3D via OpenGL
| No: Soon, via OpenAl
| Yes High level soon, sockets available
| Yes Fully scriptable with the IoLanguage
| Constrained particle and rigid body physics, scalable polygonal and continuous collision detection
| Easily modifiable, suitable for prototypical development
| Under development, not yet feature-complete
|
| Esenthel Engine
| C++
| Windows, Mac OS X, iPhone
| Commercial
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes C++
| Many
| Next-Gen Graphics. Physics. Rich Toolset. Lot of Tutorials. Stable.
|
|
| Espresso3D
| Java
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free and Commercial
| 3D via LWJGL
| Yes 2D and 3D via OpenAl
| No: Soon
| No
| Many
|
|
|
| Ethanon
| AngelScript (made with C++)
| Windows
| Free (LGPL)
| Advanced 2D with hardware acceleration
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Many
|
|
|
| Fenix Project (beta)
| language hibrid between Pascal and C
| Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Solaris, BeOs, DreamCast, GP32X
| Open Source
| 2D via SDL
| Yes Via MikMod
| Yes Via SDL_Net
| No
| Perfect Pixel collision, path finding routine, music modules and Ogg Vorbis Support, cross plataform, very similitudes with Div Game Studio: compatibility with more of file formats (FPG, MAP, PAL, etc...) and a few compatibility with the syntax and other functions of the Div language
| Very easy syntax, documentation and web site in english and spanish, a complete game of functions, easy for newbies, the evolution of Div Game Studio!
| No oficial IDE (but exists alternatives), 2D via software, no OPP language, few bugs
|
| FIFE - the Flexible Isometric Free Engine
| C++, Python
| Win32, Linux, MacOS X, BSD
| Free of charge / open source (LGPL 2.1)
| 2D software renderer via SDL, hw-accelerated mode via OpenGL
| Yes (OpenAl audio backend)
| No
| Yes: Python support out of the box, Lua and a couple of other languages supported in theory via SWIG.
| Ingame console, GUI framework pychan based on guichan, custom XML-based file formats
| One of the few open source 2D isometric game engines available
| Not feature complete at this point but ready to create game with it nevertheless
|
| FlatRedBall 2.5D
| .NET
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes
| No: Soon
| No
| Template, Collision Detection, Physics, Skeletons
|
|
|
| G3D
| C++
| Linux, Windows, MacOS X
| Free (BSD)
| 3D via OpenGL
| No
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| G3DRuby
| Ruby
| Windows, Linux
| Free
| 3D via OpenGL
| No
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| GameBrix
| No Programming
| Web-Based
| Free
| 2D
| Yes
| Yes Some
| Yes: Script Editor for Action Script 2.0
| No programming required for making quick 2D web-based Games and Animations
|
|
|
| GameCore
| C++
| Windows, Mac,
| Commercial, Free trial
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: AngelScript
| WYSIWYG World Editor provides Terrain editor, FX design, Physics editor, Pathfinding editor, Procedural geometry
| Active development, good support, knowledgeable community
|
|
| Game Maker
| Delphi
| Windows
| Free and Commercial
| 2D/3D
| Yes
| Yes Some
| Yes: Its own scripting language(GML)
| Terrific for making quick 2d tile-based games with easy scripting interface, slow 3D support(via DirectX)
|
|
|
| GameSalad
| No Programming
| Mac OSX / iPhone
| Free and Commercial
| 2D
| Yes
| No
| Yes: Visual Scripting Language
| Physics, Particles
| Visual system allows for rapid development.
| Mac OS X on Intel only.
|
| GameStart
| C++
| Windows, Wii, Mac version alpha, Linux version planned
| Commercial, Free trial
| 2D/3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Squirrel
| Physics, Particles, Terrain, Character animation
| Comprehensive and fully visual IDE, tailored for developers, designers and artists. Production proofed workflow.
|
|
| Genesis3D
| C++
| Windows
| Free/Commercial
| 3D via DirectX
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| GhostEngine
| C++
| Windows (Mac and Linux support is on the works)
| Engine code is Zlib/libPNG-licensed
| 3D via OpenGL/DirectX, with DirectX support in the works
| Not (in progress)
| Yes (UDP)
| Yes: Lua and Pawn support on the works
| None in particular
|
| As of 5-28-2008, the project has been marked as no longer under development.
|
| Goblin 2D+
| C/C++
| Windows
| Freeware, Shareware and Commercial
| Mainly 2D via D3D but has support for .X and .MD2 3D models
| Yes - Own
| No
| No
| Many. Small footprint and able to make standalone execuables. (no DLL)
| Active development - stable
| Windows platform only
|
| Golden T Game Engine
| Java
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free
| 2D via OpenGL
| Yes
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Gosu
| C++, Ruby
| Windows, Mac, iPhone, Linux
| Free (MIT licensed itself, but relies on FMOD or SDL_mixer)
| 2D via OpenGL
| Yes, via FMOD or SDL_mixer
| Yes (C++)
| No
| Integration with many Ruby libraries
| Modern C++, rather minimalistic
|
|
| Grail Adventure Game Engine
| C++, Lua
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X (SDL)
| GPL
| 2D via SDL
| Yes, via SDL
| No
| Yes, Lua
| No
| Open & Flexible, write Games in Lua or direct in C++
| Currently still in Development (rewriting from former D-Version known as "indiana")
|
| HGE (Haaf's Game Engine) HGE at SourceForge HGE
| C++
| Windows
| Open Source (Zlib/libpng license)
| 2D via DirectX
| Yes, via BASS
| No
| No
| Authoring tools, lightweight
| Easy to start, good engine structure
| No multiplatform
|
| Horde3D
| C++, C DLL interface
| Windows
| Free (LGPL)
| 3D via OpenGL
| No
| No
| Yes GLSL Shaders
| Shader based design, skeletal animation, animation blending, morph targets, post processing effects like HDR or DOF, COLLADA support
| Lightweight next-generation engine with clean design
|
|
| Irmo
| C
| Linux
| Free
|
|
| Yes
| Yes Ruby
|
|
|
|
| Irrlicht
| C++/.NET
| Windows, Linux, Mac OSX
| Free (zlib/pnglib)
| 3D via DirectX(8,9), OpenGL or various software renderers
| No
| No
| Yes: Lua
| Collision Detection, HDR, PARALLAX
| Big Community, a lot examples and tutorials
| Active development - Stable
|
| ika
| C++
| Windows, Linux
| Free (GPL)
| 2D via OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| Yes Python
| very low overhead...
|
|
|
| Jad Engine - C# + MDX Game Engine
| C#
| Windows
| LGPL
| 3D via Managed DirectX
| Yes MDSound? And Vorbis .NET
| No
| No
| Focused to graphics cards that support shaders 2.0 or better, It uses Newton Physics Engine to generate realistic movements and responses, HDR support (the graphic card must support floating point blending), FirstPerson and SelfDriven (exported from 3D Studio Max) cameras support, Animation Skeletal animation using channels, Imports directly MD5 files..., Postproduction system integrated in the engine, AI Engine: Genetic Programming Framework
| Very more easy and intuitive interface, documentation and support are in english, a simple DLL
| No full documentation
|
| Jamagic 1.2
| Jamascript
| Windows
| Commercial(Withdrawn from sale)
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Inbuilt editors
| Easy to Learn, online games like flash
| No longer supported
|
| JEngine SSE
| C++
| Windows, Linux
| Free (GPL)
| 2D via OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
| Collision detection,Cg&GLS effects,GUI,etc. Contains full 2D open source framework with editor.
|
|
|
| Jet3D
| C/C++
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via DirectX
|
| Yes
|
|
|
|
|
| JGame
| Java
| Windows, Unix, MacOSX
| Free (BSD)
| 2D
| Yes
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| jMonkey Engine
| Java
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free (BSD)
| 3D via LWJGL
| Yes - OpenAl
| Yes - JGN and jme-networking
| Yes - jMonkey Scripting Framework
| A Java scene graph based 3D game engine. See the latest release notes
|
|
|
| Joge
| Java
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free (Creative Commons License)
| 2D via LWJGL
| Yes
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| JOGRE Engine
| Java
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free (BSD)
| 2D
| ?
| No
| No
| Java Online Gaming Real-time Engine.
|
|
|
| kanji game engine
| C++
| Windows, MacOS X, iPhone, iPad
| Free and Commercial
| 2D with 3D capabilities for special effects
| Yes
| No
| No
| Render to texture, TTF, passworded zip archives
| Supports win/mac/iPhone/iPad, static linking, GUI components, used in production games
|
|
| Leadwerks 3d engine
| C++/C#/Delphi/BlitzMax
| Windows
| Commercial
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
|
|
|
|
| Lightfeather 3d engine
| C++
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free (zlib/libpng)
| 3D via OpenGL
| No
| Yes
| No
|
GLSL and Cg shaders,
HDR rendering,
MRT , Portals, occlusion culling, PVS,
Skeletal and Morphing Animation,
Exporter for Blender to lfm format,
Post-Processing Framework,
Paging terrain with splatting,
Built-in GUI,
Particlesystem-editor,
Terrain-editor,
Terrain-generator
|more..
|
|
|
| LÖVE
| Lua
| Windows / Linux
| zlib/libpng
| 2D via OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| Yes
|
|
|
|
| Multimedia Fusion 2
| Custom - none scripting
| Windows
| Commercial
| 2D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
| ActiveX, Dll, many plug-ins, movement extensions
| Easy to Learn, a favourite with younger developers, online games like flash
|
|
| neabEngine
| PHP
| Windows, Linux
| Free / Commercial
| 2D (AJAX)
| No
| Yes
| Yes
| Comes with the full source code, allows to add/edit modules.
|
|
|
| NeL
| C/C++
| Windows, Linux
| Free/Commercial
| 3D via DirectX or OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
|
| CEGUI Integration
|
|
|
| NemoX 3D Engine
| VB/Delphi/.NET
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes DirectX
| Yes
| Yes easy to use
|
|
|
|
| NeoEngine
| C++
| Windows, Linux
| Free (MPL)
| 3D via DirectX or OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
|
|
|
|
| Novashell Game Creation
| Lua
| Windows, Linux, OS X
| zlib/libpng
| ClanLib (OpenGL)
| Yes OpenAl
| No
| Yes: Lua
| Fast Game Creation with Lua
| sector based partitioning, easy editing files, level editor
| Beta
|
| OGE - Open Game Engine
| C++
| Windows (VC, mingw), Linux (gcc)
| Free (LGPL) / Commercial
| 3D (OGRE hence DX + OpenGL)
| Yes OpenAl
| No: Soon RakNet
| Yes Lua (later Squirrel)
| Multithread and pluggable design, MyGUI, Physics (Bullet), Unicode, OGEd - Game Editor
| Multithread, Plugin-based, Clean OO, Early stage of development
| Early stage of development
|
| OGRE
| C++
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free (LGPL) / Commercial
| 3D via DirectX or OpenGL
| No
| No
| No
| Super 3D Engine, Support All HighEnd 3D Technologies, Plugin structure
| Big Community, A lot examples and tutorials, made severals big games (like as air simulation, 3d adventure, 3d action), Open Source
| too big source code
|
| ORE
| VB6
| Windows
| Free
| 2d via DirectX7 / DirectX8
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
|
|
|
| Orx: Portable Game Engine
| C/C++
| Windows (mingw/vc), Linux, MacOS X, iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad
| Free (zlib)
| 2.5D, hardware accelerated
| Yes: 2D/3D with OpenAL
| No, planned
| No, planned
| Data driven. Lightweight. Portable. Very easy to use.
| Extended unique features (animation graph, hierarchical config files, independent clocks, hierarchical objects, differential scrolling, ...).
|
|
| Ovorp Engine
| .NET
| Windows
| Free
| 2D via DirectX
|
| Yes
|
|
|
|
|
| PAB game engine
| VB
| Windows
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Panda3D
| C++, Python
| Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, iPhone
| Free
| 3D via OpenGL, DirectX or TinyGL
| Yes (FMod or OpenAl
| Yes
| Yes Python, C++
| Free models, documentation, simple installation
| Used by Disney to make ToonTown, easy learning, very stable
|
|
| Photon
| C++
| Linux, Windows
| zlib
| 2D via OpenGL
| Yes: OpenAl
| No
| No
| State, Resource Management, Math Routines
| Good License, Great C++ API, Good Documentation
| Early in development, uncertain future
|
| PLib
| C++
| Linux, UNIX, Windows, MacOSX, MacOS9
| Free (LGPL)
| 2D and 3D via OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
|
|
|
| Popcap Framework
| c ++
| Windows
| Free
| 2D
| Yes
| No
| No
| Super Game Engine for developing super games like as Zuma
| have great game ZUMA
| Not 3D
|
| PowerRender
| C++
| Windows, XBox
| Commercial
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes
| No
| Yes Custom C++ Script scripting language
| Physics, Collision Detection, HDR
| Easy to start, flexible engine
| Bad working with shadowing
|
| PTK Engine
| C++
| Windows, Mac
| Free and Commercial
| 2D
| Yes
| No
| No
| Font, TTF, Spline, Tar files
| Lightweight and Crossplatform
|
|
| PPTactical Engine For RTS games
| C++
| Windows, Linux
| Free (LGPL)
| 2D
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| PureBasic
| Basic
| Mac OS X, Linux, Windows
| Commercial
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
| PySoy
| Python
| Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
| Free (GPLv3)
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes, with OpenAl and Ogg
| Yes
| Yes
| Integrated Physics
| No proprietary dependencies
| Still in Beta (lacks features)
|
|
| Quake Engine
| C
| DOS, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
| GPL, Commercial
| Software, OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes QuakeC
|
|
|
|
| Quake II Engine
| C
| Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
| GPL, Commercial
| OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
|
|
|
|
|
| Quake III Arena Engine
| C
| Windows, Linux, Mac OS
| GPL, Commercial
| OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
|
|
|
|
|
| Raydium 3D
| C
| Windows, Linux
| Free (GPL)
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes, OpenAl
| Yes
| Yes embedded PHP, Python bindings
| Physics via ODE
|
|
|
| Ray Game Designer 2
| None needed
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via OpenGL or Direct3D
| Yes
| No
| Yes
| Collision Detection, Translucency, Lighting
| Requires no programming, very easy to use, includes most needed tools
| Very limited gameplay options, outdated graphics engine, very small community
|
| The RealFeel Engine
| VB6
| Windows XP/Vista
| Free (Closed Source)
| 2D
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| Powerful 2D MMORPG Engine
|
|
|
| Reality Factory
| None needed
| Windows
|
| 3D via Genesis3D (DirectX)
| Yes
| Yes?
| Yes
|
|
|
|
| RealmForge Game Engine
| C# (.NET)
|
|
| 3D via Axiom (OpenGL)
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
|
|
|
| RetinaX
| Completelty .NET 2.0 (C#). No wrapped C++ Libraries.
|
| Free (BSD)
| 3D via Managed DirectX
| Yes
| No
| No
| User Interface
| Easy to start programming DirectX. Framework is well structured and you can modify it to your liking.
|
|
| Revolution3D
| VB/C++/.NET
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| RPG Maker 2003
| C/Delphi
| Windows
| Shareware
| 2D
| Yes via DirectX
| Yes
| Yes Ruby
| Level Editor
| Easy to use
| Not open source
|
| RPG Maker XP
| C/Delphi
| Windows
| Shareware
| 2D
| Yes via DirectX
| Yes
| Yes Ruby
| Level Editor
| Easy to use
| Not open source
|
| Saq2D
| C#
| Windows
| Free
| 2D engine via XNA
| No: Soon
| No: Maybe
| Not Yet
|
|
|
|
| Sprite Craft
| VB/C++/Delphi
| Windows
| Free
| 2D
|
|
| Yes VBScript/JavaScript
|
|
|
|
| Source Engine
| C++
| Windows, Linux (server-side)
| Commercial/Free
| Direct3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua(disabled by default)/custom
| Havok Physics, Valve Faceposer Technology, VGUI, HDR, Steam Community,SDk
|
|
|
| Sphere RPG Engine
| Javascript
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| GPL
| 2D via software or hardware (OpenGL or DirectX) rendering
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes Javascript
| Map editor, tile editor, image editor, imports RPG Maker resources
| Very good map/tile engine, cross-platform, imports many resources, and fully featured to make your own SNES/Genesis style game.
|
|
| The Nebula Device 2
| C++
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
|
|
|
| Thousand Parsec Framework
| Python, C++, others
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Free (GPL)
| 2D/3D
| No
| Yes TP Protocol
| Yes
| Framework for online turn based space strategy games
|
|
|
| TNT Basic
| Basic
| MacOSX
| Free (GPL)
| 2D
| Yes
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| Torque
| C++
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Commercial
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes OpenAl
| Yes
| Yes Custom Torque Script
| Mission Editor, Terrain Editor, Mac and Linux Support, WYSIWYG GUI Editor, Particle Engine, Theora Video, Multiple Language Support
| Source Code Included, Large Community, Many 3D modeling exporters
|
|
| Torque2D
| C++
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X
| Commercial
| 2D
| Yes OpenAl
| Yes
| Yes Custom Torque Script
|
|
|
|
| Truevision3D
| VB/Delphi/C++/.NET
| Windows
| Free for learning/Commercial
| 3D via DirectX
| Yes DirectX
| Yes
| Yes VBscript, Python, JavaScript
| Physics, Plugins for popular modeling packages, Active user base, Normal Mapping, Relief Mapping, and complex shaders
|
|
|
| UnrealEngine2 / 2X / 3
| C++
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X, PS2, Xbox, PS3, XBOX 360
| Commercial
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes UnrealScript
| Physics, HDR (UE3)
|
| high cost
|
| UnrealEngine2 Runtime
| C++
| Windows, Linux, MacOS X, PS2, Xbox, PS3, XBOX 360
| Non-Commercial / Educational
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes UnrealScript
|
|
| Need to be a 'serious developer'. Still pricey. No source code.
|
| Unigine
| C++
| Windows, Linux
| Commercial
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes UnigineScript lika C++
| Physics, HDR, PRT, Pixel and Vetex Shaders (3.0) , soft shadows
| Great 3D Engine, image quality like as Doom3, Unreal, small cost, more tools, gui
|
|
| Unity
| C++
| Mac (development), Windows, web, Nintendo Wii
| Commercial
| 3D via DirectX or OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes .NET based JavaScript, C#, Boo, or C++ DLLs
| Ageia PhysX, terrain engine, extensible shaders, JIT compiled scripts, soft shadows, collaboration tools, realtime networking, friendly community, most file formats supported
| Amazingly smooth workflows, lots of powerful tools, complete documentation
| Source code is a separate license
|
| Verge
| Lua or VergeC
| Windows, Mac, Linux
| Free (BSD license)
| Software 2D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Friendly community, tile-based map editor tool, fully scriptable game
| Extremely easy to rapidly prototype something, simple-to-use software graphics.
| Requires some knowledge of scripting. Does not have hardware accelerated graphics.
|
| XtremeWorlds
| VB6
| Windows
| Free (Closed Source)
| 2D
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| Designed towards ORPG and MMORPG design
|
|
|
| vbGORE
| VB6
| Windows
| Free (Open Source)
| 2D via 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| Designed towards ORPG and MMORPG design
|
|
|
| NetGore
| C#
| Windows
| Free (Open Source)
| 2D
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Open source, multiplayer (MMORPG) support, very active development
|
|
|
| [Valve]
| Python
| Windows/Linux
| commercial
| 2D/3D via DirectX and OpenGL
| Yes
| No: Soon
| Yes Python scripting with 3DCW helpers
| Many
|
|
|
| Visual3D Game Engine
| C# (.NET)
| Windows, Web*, Xbox 360*
| Commercial, Free for Open Source and Educational Use
| 3D via XNA
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes C#, IronPython, VB, JavaScript, C++, Visual Scripting, Behavior Trees (State Machines)*
| All-in-one Game Development Toolset with Next-Gen Graphics (HDR, Per-pixel, Parallax, Dynamic Soft Shadows, God Rays, SSAO*), Entity/Model/Material Editor, Particle Editor (Explosions, Volumetrics) , Advanced Physics (Rag Dolls, Vehicles), Terrain Editor (Procedural Generation, Massive Full-Globe Terrain, Land Cover Painting, Geodata), AI and Pathfinding, Multiplayer Networking, Cinematics/Path/Road Editors, Real-time In-Game Scene/Mission Editing, Script/Conversation Editor, 3D Audio, Day-Night Cycle, Free Starter Kits/Asset Libraries, C# Shaders, UI Editor, Web Deployment*, Collaborative Editing* (* coming soon)
|
|
|
| YAKE Engine
| C++
| Windows, Linux
| Free
| 3D via OGRE (OpenGL), Direct3D9
| Yes: OpenAl
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
| GUI via CEGUI, physics via ODE
|
|
|
| Yage
| D
| Windows, Linux
| Free (LGPL)
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes: OpenAl
| No
| No
|
|
|
|
| Wild Pockets
| C++
| Windows
| Free
| 3D via OpenGL
| Yes
| No
| Yes: Lua
| Integrated Physics
Art import from 3DS Max and Maya
Global art/script library
Transaction system to sell games
Shader support
| Free
Web based, send games with url link.
|
|
| Zak Engine
| C++
| Windows
| Free
| 2D via DirectX 8.1 and 9.0
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes AngelScript
| Tiles Maps (AnaConda Map Editor), Sprites, Particle Systems, Bitmap Fonts
| Very stable, easy to use, fast games development
|
|
| ZFX Community Engine
| C++
| Windows, Linux, BSD
| Free (LGPL)
| 3D via DirectX and OpenGL
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes: Lua
|
|
|
|
| Edge2d Engine
| C++
| Windows, Linux
| Open Source
| Library independent(both DirectX and OpenGL etc
| Yes
| No
| No
| very object-oriented and plugin-based, you can create your own graphics plugin without modified base library
|
|
|
| Phoenix Engine
| C#
| Windows, Mono
| Beta
| SDL.NET
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| IronPython
| Map Editor, Sprite, Plugin system, e.t.c
|
|
| Weaver
| C
| Linux
| Free (GPL)
| 2D
| Yes
| No
| No
| Ogg Vorbis support, complete framework, collision detection
| Easy to start, learn and use. Fast 2D engine. Self-contained system.
|
|
| id Tech 1
| C
| DOS and Windows prior to XP (official) Windows XP and later, Linux (Unofficial Ports)
| Free (GPL)
| 3D (but in the official version, moving up and looking up and down is impossible)
| Yes
| Sometimes
| No
| (Better) C++ support in some fan-made versions.
| Used to make Doom WAD's, Ports and Mods
| Official Version outdated, fan-made versions still made and updated
|
| id Tech 2
| C
| DOS, Windows and Linux (official version may not work on later versions of Windows and Linux)
| Free (GPL) or Commercial without GPL limits
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes (Networking engine also offered separately)
| No
| (Better) C++ support in some fan-made versions.
| Allows designing of Quake II Mods (with Quake II Source)
| Technically outdated, may not work on later Windows + Linux machines.
|
| id Tech 3
| C
| Windows, Linux, DOS (Possibly)
| Free (GPL) or Commercial without GPL limits
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| (Better) C++ support in some fan-made versions. Last C-based id Engine that works on all Windows and Linux machines.
| Still used today
| Relatively weak graphics compared to new Engines
|
| id Tech 4
| C++
| Windows, Linux, DOS (Possibly)
| Commercial (Will be Free with GPL after the release of id Tech 5)
| 3D
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| First intended C++ id Engine
| Modern graphics (compared to other id Engines), XBOX Support (With XBOX License)
| Expensive to Indie Game Designers, loss of money post-open-source conversion.
|
