🔧 Game Engines
Quick Summary
Game Engines are software frameworks that provide the fundamental systems game developers need — rendering, physics, audio, input, networking, and asset management — so developers can focus on game logic rather than rebuilding infrastructure from scratch.
Major Game Engines
| Engine | Developer | Best Known For | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unity | Unity Technologies | World’s most-used engine; mobile/indie dominant | Free (revenue share above $200K) |
| Unreal Engine | Epic Games | AAA photorealism; UE5 Nanite/Lumen | Free (5% royalty above $1M) |
| Godot | Open Source Community | Lightweight; free; beginner-friendly | 100% Free |
| GameMaker Studio | YoYo Games | 2D game development; low barrier to entry | Freemium |
| Source Engine | Valve | Half-Life 2, Portal, CS:GO; physics simulation | Proprietary (Valve only) |
| Proprietary Engines | Various studios | In-house engines: RAGE, Frostbite, Decima, REDengine | Internal only |
Choosing an Engine: Key Considerations
| Consideration | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| 2D mobile game, indie | Unity or Godot |
| AAA realistic 3D | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Browser/HTML5 game | Godot + HTML5 export |
| Beginner 2D game | GameMaker Studio |
| Learning game dev | Godot (free, Python-like scripting) |
| VR development | Unreal Engine or Unity |
See also: Shader, Optimization, FPS (Frames Per Second)