If you have a great game idea but a not so great budget, worry not! Here are some of the best free game engines available right now.

Game Engines – What Are They?

A game engine is a software-development environment used for designing and developing games. They can be used to construct games for consoles, computers, and mobile devices. As you can probably imagine, they can get a little complex, so why not check out these game design classes on Skillshare to get yourself familiar?

Just like video editing software can vary in price, so too can game engines. Fortunately, there are some fantastic packages available online that won’t cost you a thing! Here are some of the best free options out there at the moment…

Unity

If coding isn’t your thing, Unity gives game developers the opportunity to create games using drag and drop. However, it also has programming power through scripting languages, such as C# (C sharp). With Unity, you can develop your games and then upload them to 20+ of the top gaming platforms. These include Windows, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo. Some popular games that have been made using Unity are Assassin’s Creed: Identity and Temple Run Trilogy.

Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine is a free software that comes with everything you need to create and ship multi-platform games. It has a fantastic range of features and all the tools you need for working with real-time technology. Not only can you design visualisations and create cinematic experiences for PC, console and mobile, but you can also create virtual and augmented reality games. Some games created with Unreal include Gears of War and Batman Arkham City.

Godot

Godot is a free, open source software with a huge set of common tools, allowing you to bring your game ideas to life. Perhaps a great game engine for beginners, it is simpler to use and easy to navigate. The platform allows you to work in both 2D and 3D, as well as add your own code easily to each element. This engine is a great choice if you’re a beginner looking to build games of a more old school nature or mobile focussed games.

If you’ve used a game engine and created a game you’re proud of, why not show it off on a Twitch stream? Use Synchedin to add music to the background of the stream to really showcase your game. Choose from a huge library of royalty free music available to stream for free.