The Best Gaming Engines You Should Consider for 2023

1

Unreal Engine

2022 saw the official launch of Unreal Engine 5, and it’s already shaping up to be a game changer for game development. Most next-gen consoles, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are already using it, and its powerful tools such as Lumen and Nanite (an engine that imports high-detailed photographic source material – taking advantage of its past acquisition of Quixel) are going to revolutionize the industry.

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2

Amazon Lumberyard

Powered by Amazon Web Services, a secure cloud platform built and maintained by Amazon, integration through Lumberyard means it’s significantly easier to build games with online play. It has good native support for C++, P2P, and client topology. Lumberyard also supports Autodesk Maya and Adobe Photoshop.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 9 social mentions

3

CryENGINE

CryEngine also provides plenty of free learning resources, although their effectiveness is debatable. Gaming giant Ubisoft maintains an in-house modified version of CryEngine from the original Far Cry called the Dunia Engine, which is heavily used in their later iterations of the popular Far Cry series.

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4

Unity

With its all-in-one editor, Unity is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android, Switch, Xbox, PS4, Tizen and other platforms. The user-friendly interface makes development easier and reduces the need for training. The Unity Asset Store curates a vast collection of tools and content that is created daily.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 196 social mentions

5

GameMaker

GameMaker has become widely used because it doesn’t require programming knowledge to use. Instead, users can “point-and-click” to create games much faster than coding with native languages. Some of the best titles made with GameMaker include Spelunky, Hotline Miami, and Super Crate Box.

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6

GameMaker Studio

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 36 social mentions

7

Godot Engine

Godot is free to use and it’s open-source through the MIT license. No royalties, no subscription fees, no hidden strings. The Godot engine is great for making both 2D and 3D games. The engine provides a huge set of common tools, so you can just focus on making your game without reinventing the wheel.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 444 social mentions

8

Cocos2d

All versions of Cocos2d work using the basic primitive known as a sprite. A sprite can be thought of as a simple 2D image, but can also be a container for other sprites. Sprites are arranged together to form a scene, like a game level or a menu. Sprites are then code-manipulated as per events, actions, or animations.

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9

Cocos Creator

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As a cross-platform game engine and development platform, Marmalade SDK enables developers to create games and apps for multiple platforms — including Windows and Mac.

11

Spring Engine

Spring Engine is a free, open-source engine and real-time strategy (RTS) game dev platform. Supported in Windows, Linux, and macOS, it’s used to create not only RTS games but also games in multiple other genres.

#Games #Game Development #Game Engine 24 social mentions

12

Panda3D

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 1 social mentions

13

Gamesalad

Designed for non-technical users, GameSalad is best suited to individuals and smaller teams who are after an easy-to-use platform that supports the creation of games in the HTML5 programming language.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 4 social mentions

14

Phaser

Another open-source platform, Phaser is a HTML5 game dev framework designed for creating 2D games and interactive experiences.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 117 social mentions

15

Cafu Engine

Cafu Engine is a comprehensive platform for 3D game development, suitable for both novices and expert devs. It’s flexible, with easy customization to meet the specific needs of a wide range of projects.

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16

ENIGMA

Enigma is well suited to devs looking to create games with a heavy focus on logic and level design. The engine is designed to be simple and straightforward, making it accessible to both experienced game developers and those just starting out.

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17

Solar 2D

#Gaming Software #Tool #Game Engine 3 social mentions

18

BuildBox

BuildBox allows users to create 2D games without coding. Designed for beginners, users can drag and drop different game objects, animations, and scenes to create games. It also includes features such as level creation, character customization, physics engine, and an asset library.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 2 social mentions

19

Construct

Construct 3 allows users to create 2D games without the need for any coding, making game development much easier and accessible to beginners. The platform features cross-platform support, with export options for Windows and HTML5.

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20

ClickTeam Fusion

Clickteam Fusion 2.5 is 3D computer graphics software that can be used for creating visual effects, animations, and compositing. The platform is easy to use, with tutorials on how to create games in as little as five minutes.

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21

MonoGame

MonoGame is a game development framework that allows developers to create games for multiple platforms using C#. It provides a unified API for accessing graphics and audio, making it far easier for developers to create games that work across mobile, desktop, and web without having to rewrite any code.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 2 social mentions

22

Haxe

Haxe is a multiple-platform game engine that’s used for creating games using the Haxe programming language. It’s designed to be a high-performance game dev framework that’s supported by both a big community of Haxe devs and a wide range of libraries.

#Programming Language #OOP #Generic Programming Language 43 social mentions

23

Defold Engine

Defold is a 2D game engine developed by the creators of Candy Crush, King. It’s designed to make 2D game development easier than ever, and compatible with many platforms, including mobile, desktop, and web.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 47 social mentions