Software Alternatives & Startups

GDevelop VS UnknownHorizons

Compare GDevelop VS UnknownHorizons and see what are their differences

GDevelop

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

GDevelop Landing page
Rating
4.0 · 1 review
Pricing
Open source
UnknownHorizons

A 2D realtime strategy simulation with an emphasis on economy and city building. Expand your small settlement to a strong and wealthy colony, collect taxes and supply your inhabitants with valuable goods.

UnknownHorizons Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, GDevelop seems to be a lot more popular than UnknownHorizons. While we know about 78 links to GDevelop, we've tracked only 6 mentions of UnknownHorizons.

social mentions
78 vs 6
Game Development popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 57

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

GDevelop
UnknownHorizons
Website gdevelop.io unknown-horizons.org
Pricing
Open source
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

GDevelop 6 features
UnknownHorizons 4 features
  • 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

  • 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.
  • Open Source
    Unknown Horizons is an open-source project, which means it is free to use, modify, and distribute. This encourages community collaboration and allows users to contribute to the development of the game.
  • Cross-Platform
    The game is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, which makes it accessible to a wide range of users regardless of their operating system.
  • Community Driven
    With a focus on community input and involvement, the game benefits from diverse contributions and shared knowledge, leading to potentially rich gameplay and continuous improvements.
  • Educational Value
    As a city-building simulation game, Unknown Horizons can provide educational value by teaching players about resource management, economic systems, and strategic planning.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Graphics
    Compared to commercial games in the same genre, Unknown Horizons may have less advanced graphics, which could affect the visual appeal for some players.
  • Development Pace
    Being a community-driven open-source project can sometimes mean slower development progress and irregular updates compared to commercial games with professional development teams.
  • Learning Curve
    The game might have a steep learning curve for new players unfamiliar with city-building games, which could make it less approachable for casual gamers.
  • Potential Bugs
    As with many open-source projects, there might be a higher likelihood of encountering bugs or instability issues, especially in newer or less tested versions.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

GDevelop
UnknownHorizons

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.

No analysis of UnknownHorizons yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

GDevelop 4 videos + Add
UnknownHorizons 0 videos + Add

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

No UnknownHorizons videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
GDevelop
UnknownHorizons
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using GDevelop and UnknownHorizons. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

GDevelop 4.0 · 1 review
UnknownHorizons no reviews yet
  • Rated 4/5 by kio
    SaaSHub review
    · Jun 2025

    awesome, but contains some bugs like frezees or editor view crash

  • 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...

  • 20 Best Scratch Alternatives 2023
    rigorousthemes.com · Jul 2022

    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.

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We have no reviews of UnknownHorizons yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

GDevelop 78 mentions
UnknownHorizons 6 mentions
  • 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 / over 1 year 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).... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years 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.... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago

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  • Starting an open-source re-implementation of an old game
    In case you didn't know about it you might be interested in contributing to https://unknown-horizons.org/. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Alternative to Banished
    Unknown Horizons is inspired by the Anno series. Not exactly the same, but also a city builder with resource management. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Ask HN: Favourite Open Source Game?
    Not mentioned yet: Unknown Horizons https://unknown-horizons.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago

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Alternatives to GDevelop and UnknownHorizons

When comparing GDevelop and UnknownHorizons, you can also consider the following products.