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GDevelop VS GameMaker Studio

Compare GDevelop VS GameMaker Studio and see what are their differences

GDevelop logo GDevelop

GDevelop is an open-source game making software designed to be used by everyone.

GameMaker Studio logo GameMaker Studio

Making top 2D games with the GameMaker: Studio game engine is easy. No code or programming required
  • GDevelop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23
  • GameMaker Studio Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-21

GDevelop features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    GDevelop provides a drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible for beginners who don't have prior coding experience.
  • Cross-Platform Export
    Games created with GDevelop can be exported to multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and the web.
  • Free and Open Source
    GDevelop is completely free and its source code is open for anyone to modify and improve.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The platform provides a wide range of tutorials, examples, and thorough documentation, making it easier for developers to learn and utilize the tool.
  • Vibrant Community
    An active community forum and resources are available, providing support and opportunities for collaboration.
  • No-Code Solution
    GDevelop allows game creation without any coding, making it highly suitable for rapid prototyping and educational purposes.

Possible disadvantages of GDevelop

  • Performance Limitations
    The engine may struggle with performance issues for more complex games, especially those with high-end graphics and intensive computations.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    While suitable for 2D game development, GDevelop lacks advanced features found in other engines, potentially limiting more experienced developers.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Usage
    Although easy for beginners, mastering the platform for more complex projects can have a steep learning curve.
  • Limited Integration
    Integration with third-party tools and services is not as extensive as in some other, more established game development engines.
  • Project Collaboration
    Collaborative features are relatively basic, potentially making it less ideal for larger, team-based projects.
  • 2D Only
    GDevelop focuses exclusively on 2D game development, which can be a downside for those looking to develop 3D games.

GameMaker Studio features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    GameMaker Studio provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface alongside its scripting language, GML, making it accessible for beginners and efficient for experienced developers.
  • Cross-Platform Export
    It supports exporting to multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and more, which simplifies the process of reaching broader audiences.
  • Robust Documentation and Community
    GameMaker Studio offers extensive documentation and has a large community, which is helpful for troubleshooting, learning, and accessing a wide array of tutorials and resources.
  • Powerful Built-In Features
    The engine has a range of built-in features like physics and pathfinding, which can help speed up game development.
  • Active Development and Updates
    GameMaker Studio is actively maintained with regular updates, ensuring compatibility with the latest platforms and adding new features.

Possible disadvantages of GameMaker Studio

  • Performance Limitations
    While suitable for 2D games, GameMaker Studio may struggle with performance and optimization for more complex or demanding projects.
  • Pricing Model
    It has a tiered pricing model, which might be costly for some developers who need to access all export options or advanced features.
  • 2D Focus
    The engine is primarily designed for 2D games, which might not be ideal for developers looking to create 3D games.
  • Limited Third-Party Integrations
    Compared to some other game engines, GameMaker Studio may have fewer integrations with third-party tools and services.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While beginner-friendly, utilizing more advanced functionalities can require a deeper understanding of GML and the engine's complex systems.

Analysis of GDevelop

Overall verdict

  • Yes, GDevelop is generally considered a good option for game development, especially for beginners.

Why this product is good

  • GDevelop is an open-source game development platform that provides an easy-to-use interface and a variety of features that allow for the creation of both 2D and 3D games without needing extensive programming knowledge. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, a robust set of pre-built behaviors, and extensive documentation and tutorials, making it accessible to new developers. Additionally, being free and supported by a community of developers, it constantly evolves with updates and new features.

Recommended for

  • Beginners who want to learn game development without extensive coding.
  • Independent developers looking for a free, open-source tool.
  • Educators teaching game development due to its user-friendly interface and ease of use.
  • Developers interested in rapid prototyping of game ideas.

GDevelop videos

GDevelop 5 -- Ultimate Beginner Game Engine?

More videos:

  • Review - Clickteam Fusion 2.5 Vs GDevelop 5 - (Game Engine REVIEW 2019 )
  • Review - Clickteam Fusion 2.5 Vs GDevelop 5 - (Game Engine REVIEW 2020 )
  • Tutorial - Beginner Multiplayer Tutorial

GameMaker Studio videos

A Closer Look At GameMaker Studio 2

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GDevelop and GameMaker Studio)
Game Development
84 84%
16% 16
Game Engine
85 85%
15% 15
3D Game Engine
83 83%
17% 17
Gaming
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GDevelop and GameMaker Studio

GDevelop Reviews

16 Scratch Alternatives
Beginners who don’t have any programming skills but still want to create some games can quickly access one of the best platforms based on the open source network to help them develop games named the GDevelop. This platform lets users release their creative skills to quickly build games, such as puzzles, shoot-em-ups, strategy, racing, adventure, and more. It can even permit...
20 Best Scratch Alternatives 2023
GDevelop is described as a “free and easy game-making app.” It’s similar to Scratch in that it’s a no-code platform; it doesn’t require using programming languages. GDevelop is also free and open source.
Trending 10 BEST Video Game Design & Development Software 2021
Open-source free software, GDevelop allows developers to make games without programming skills. It allows you to create objects for games such as sprites, text objects, video objects, and custom shapes.
Best Game Engines for Linux in 2021
Construct 3 is free with limits. After that, you have to sign up for a monthly subscription. If you can not afford to pay for it, you can use GDevelop, an alternative to Construct 3 for Linux.
Source: kerneltips.com
Trending 7 Best Game Development Software 2021
GDevelop is the best game making software for beginners & professionals. GDevelop provides you easy and simplistic interface, which most developers like in GDevelop.
Source: vilesolid.com

GameMaker Studio Reviews

Game Engines: A Comparative Analysis
GameMaker Studio, a versatile engine, has carved a niche for itself by specializing in 2D game development. Known for its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, GameMaker Studio is favored by beginners and indie developers for its rapid prototyping capabilities and affordable pricing.
Source: medium.com
Best Game Engines for 2023 – Which Should You Use?
This popular video game engine created in 2017 is the newest version of GameMaker Studio, which has been around since 1999 through many iterations and names. GameMaker is widely supported across multiple platforms, even including the Nintendo Switch. It is also a very friendly choice for those who have no experience with coding, as it primarily uses a drag-and-drop visual...
Trending 10 BEST Video Game Design & Development Software 2021
Gamefroot is a great resource for making simple 2D games very quickly for free. GameMaker Studio has a very loyal fan base spanning two decades for several good reasons. You can expect awesome tools for 2D games and a responsive community to answer your issues.
Trending 7 Best Game Development Software 2021
The one frustration in GameMaker Studio 2 is, you cannot embed any videos within the games. If we leave this issue, then GameMaker Studio 2 is one of the most suitable game development software.
Source: vilesolid.com
The Top 10 Video Game Engines
GameMaker Studio 2 is an engine from Yoyo Games. It’s the second iteration of GameMaker Studio and comes with an import feature so your previous projects with the first one can be up and running in no time.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GDevelop should be more popular than GameMaker Studio. It has been mentiond 78 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GDevelop mentions (78)

  • No-Code Game Development: Using AI to Build Your First Game
    GDevelop combines open-source flexibility with powerful no-code features. Their recent AI plugins provide remarkable capabilities:. - Source: dev.to / 23 days ago
  • Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?
    Humble Bundle has a Godot bundle is available for the next day or so. That might be a good one to look at if you're ok with leaning into code a bit (gdscript is very very similar to python). https://www.humblebundle.com/software/learn-godot-43-complete-course-bundle-software Also check out the RPG Maker bundle. That's pretty point-and-click. You can have something basic up and running in a couple minutes... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Exploring Raylib and Open Source
    I selected this library as I normally use much higher-level tools to develop games such as p5.js, or GDevelop. Both these tools are amazing in their own right; however, I want to learn how these processes operate on a much lower level. These tools take care of a lot of issues for you ranging from asset to memory management. Raylib is still cross-platform but does not handle these tasks for the programmer which I... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Unity’s New Pricing: A Wake-Up Call on the Importance of Open Source in Gaming
    It's not as monolithic as you'd think. There are lots of engines out there but their communities aren't very vocal compared to Unity, Unreal, and especially Godot's community. Take a look at: https://itch.io/game-development/engines/most-projects And https://www.gamedeveloper.com/blogs/the-generous-space-of-alternative-game-engines-a-curation- If you look at both of these you'll see just how many engines there are... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Favorite Game Engine?
    I'm not really a game maker, but would like to give a shout out to the fabulous https://gdevelop.io/ It has everything you need, is free and its VISUAL PROGRAMMING is fab... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

GameMaker Studio mentions (37)

  • Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?
    Game maker studio might fit the bill: https://gamemaker.io/en. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    I am no game developer but have over the past few years played around with GameMaker and their studio software[0]. I would imagine it to be one of the easiest ways to get started with making a 2D game. Then there is also the option of not jumping directly into the coding bit, and rather cultivate in your son the ability to do on paper designs first. This is a skill that would probably benefit him later in life as... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    My introduction to programming was when I was 10 with GameMaker. I found that the same company has a product with the same name that seems to be the spiritual succesor of it[0]. I allowed me to start with very simple no-code and move on to incrementaly add codes nipets here and there. Eventually I went crazy and tried to make a game fully with code, avoiding all the tools the engine gave me, just as an experiment... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What programming language do the Battle Network games use?
    If you're looking for a tool that's fairly simple for a beginner, but has the flexibility to also offer more advanced features as you learns more, and has plenty of tutorials and learning resources available for a novice programmer starting out: it's worth noting that GameMaker has recently (i.e. 2 weeks ago) been made completely free for non-commercial users. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Having trouble logging in through GameMaker after the new update?
    Go to https://gamemaker.io/en, and accept the new TOS. You won't be able to log in through the software until you do. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GDevelop and GameMaker Studio, you can also consider the following products

Godot Engine - Feature-packed 2D and 3D open source game engine.

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

Unreal Engine - Unreal Engine 4 is a suite of integrated tools for game developers to design and build games, simulations, and visualizations.

RPG Maker - Make your own PC game with RPG Maker. Our easy to use tools are simple enough for a child, and powerful enough for a developer. Try it free today!

Scratch - Scratch is the programming language & online community where young people create stories, games, & animations.

Stencyl - Make iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android, Flash, Windows & Mac games without code using Stencyl.