What is GameMaker used for?

GameMaker is a 2D game engine and development environment from Opera, aimed at beginners and professional indie developers. It is a good fit for learning game development as a beginner, building 2D indie games and teaching game design in classrooms.

Yes. GameMaker has a free plan, and paid plans start at $99.99 as a one-time payment.

Is GameMaker open source?

No. GameMaker is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to GameMaker include Godot.

What are some alternatives to GameMaker?

GameMaker competes with Construct 3, Unity and Unreal Engine. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source GameMaker alternatives.

GameMaker: features, pricing and alternatives

About GameMaker

GameMaker is a 2D game engine and editor owned by Opera that is marketed as a friendly option for indie developers. The homepage stresses that no prior experience is required and presents the engine as a way to learn game development quickly while still scaling to larger projects.

The site is built around learning and community. It offers tutorials, a showcase of games made with the engine, asset bundles, a blog and community areas, and material for teaching game design. Quotes from developers on the page describe moving from beginner to professional work using the same tool. A prominent promise on the site is that a simple game can be made in a short time.

GameMaker is proprietary software. It is promoted as a free engine to download and start with, and the vendor lists its current licensing options on a dedicated page.

Key features

2D game engine and editor
Beginner-friendly tools with no experience required
Tutorials and learning resources
Asset bundles for projects
Community and game showcase
Materials for teaching game design

Good fit for

→Learning game development as a beginner
→Building 2D indie games
→Teaching game design in classrooms

Tags: game-engine; 2d-games; indie-games; game-development; education; opera

GameMaker: questions and answers

What is GameMaker used for?: GameMaker is a 2D game engine and development environment from Opera, aimed at beginners and professional indie developers. It is a good fit for learning game development as a beginner, building 2D indie games and teaching game design in classrooms.
Is GameMaker free?: Yes. GameMaker has a free plan, and paid plans start at $99.99 as a one-time payment.
Is GameMaker open source?: No. GameMaker is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to GameMaker include Godot.
What are some alternatives to GameMaker?: GameMaker competes with Construct 3, Unity and Unreal Engine. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source GameMaker alternatives.