Games have improved a lot over the years and the main reason behind it is the development software which has improved a lot. There are tons of game development software out there and each has its own complexity level. However, game development is much easier these days due to the fact that there are so many resources out there that one can learn it without going to any institution. In this guide, we will share our pick of 5 best game development software which you can use to make your own games. Let’s get started.

Construct 3

Construct 3 is a 2D game engine which you can use to develop games like puzzle, shooter, RPG, Racin, etc. Construct 3 also come with the Box2D physics engine which you can use to create a physics-based game.

The best thing about Construct 3 is that it is perfect for beginners. Even if have never written a single line of code in your life, you can still create your own game by using the Drag and drop feature. Here are some of the best features of Construct 3.

• It is a GUI-Driven engine and all you need to drag and drop the components in your game. You can design logic and other variables via design features available in the engine.
• Construct 3 supports tons of platforms and formats. Once you create your game on Construct 3, you can export it to multiple platforms like Microsoft Windows, Mac, Xbox One, Android, iOS, HTML5, etc.
• Contrast 3 comes with tons of documentation. You will find the variety of tutorials explaining the different concepts from beginners to pro level on the internet. It also has an active community and you can ask pro users for help.
• Construct 3 comes with a big asset store where you will find art, music, animation, etc. You will also find the ready-made game assets which you can simply buy and put it in your game. The store also features the more advanced pro-grade assets which are more expensive than regular assets.
• Construct 3 is free to use but there are limitations like you can only use 25 events, 2 objects, 1 web font, no multiple functionalities. In the free version, you are restricted to export your game to HTML 5 and no permission to sell your game. The personal license is $99/year and you will get access to all core functionalities.

GameMaker Studio 2

GameMaker Studio 2 is another great studio which offers the same functionality as Construct 3 but it is more flexible as it supports the scripting languages like C++, Pascal, etc. It is the 2 version of the GameMaker Studio and it’s rewritten from scratch back in 1999. Today it is one of the most popular game development engines out there. Following are some of the best features of GameMaker Studio 2.

• Apart from the regular features like drag and drop, it comes with some great built-in advanced features which make it easy to add the in-app purchases to your games, real-time analytics to examine the behavior of your users, source control, multiple networking and extend your game via third-party extensions.
• It has the built-in editor where you get the images, animations, and shaders.
• It supports the scripting languages which make it more flexible and you can include more complex features into your game.
• The free version comes with the limitations. There are multiple paid versions available, starting from $39 per year and goes up to $799 per year.

Unity

Unity is one of the most popular game engine available out there. It started out in 2005 as a 3D engine but later the 2D support was added to it in 2013. You can create a very good 2D games on it but Unity is mainly popular for its 3D games. The popular games like Assassin’s Creed, Cypher, etc. are designed on Unity Platform. Here are some of the best features of Unity.

• Unity offers both 2D and 3D game development. 2D Games work fine on it but you can come across the occasional glitches which could affect the performance. However, it works flawlessly for the 3D games.
• Unity uses the component-entity design which makes game development easier. In short words, the game has multiple objects and each object is made up of various component and these components define or control the behavior of the object.
• Unity is a very popular game engine and it has a very large community. That is the reason why you will find tons of resources and documentation on the web.
• Unity supports more than 27 platforms including Android, IOS, Window, MAC and many more.
• It also features the asset store where you can pre-designed assets for your game.
• The Unity engine is completely free as long as you earn less than $100,000 in revenue. There are also other plans available for big companies.

Godot Engine

Godot Engine is a comparatively new engine which was released in 2014 but it has become very popular in a very short time. The main reason behind its popularity is that it is completely free to use and it is open-source software. It also comes with many advanced features which make it ideal for 3D and 2D games development. Following are some of the useful features of Godot Engine.

• It is perfect for both 2D and 3D game development. It also offers much better 2D support than Unity.
• The Godot Engine uses the Scene-based design approach where each scene is a collection of elements like sounds, sprites or scripts. You can combine multiple scenes and make a bigger scene and so on. This design approach makes it much easier to organize and modify the elements of your choice.
• It also comes with drag and drops feature but it also allows you to extend each element with custom python-like script GDScript. Just like Python, it is very simple to learn and even a beginner can learn it without no prior coding experience.
• It comes with advanced features like live-debugging and hot reload, source control, post-processing and many more.

Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine has been around for more than 20 years and its latest version was released in 2014. Unreal Engine 4 is one of the most popular gaming engine available out there and it is used by many pro developers and companies around the world. Following are some of the best features of Unreal Engine 4.

• Unreal Engine 4 is the most professional game engine on this list. It is designed by the industry masters and it comes with many advanced cutting-edge features like live-debugging and hot reloading, instant game previews, streamlined asset pipeline, tons of pre-designed assets. It also includes systems like Artificial intelligence, post-processing effects, cinematic tools and many more.
• It comes with unique Blueprint system which allows you to develop the logic without the code. Unreal Engine 4 is capable of creating a full-fledged game without opening your source-editors. However, you can also design your own blueprints with the code.
• It has a very large community and you will find tons of documentation, video tutorials, and resources on the web.
• It supports all popular platforms like Windows, Android, IOS, Mac, PS4 and many more.
• It is completely free to use and you will have to pay %5 royalty on the revenue per quarter after the first $3000. If your game doesn’t get popular, you won’t have to pay for anything which is a pretty fair deal.

Conclusion

These are the best 5 game development software out there. All of these offers their own unique features and you can pick them according to your requirement. Let us know your thoughts about these game development software in the comment section below. Also, visit our website for more useful guides.