CONNECT WITH US
Gaming

Gaming

The GameMaker engine series behind Undertale, Hotline Miami and Spelunky is going free for commercial use on PC

Rock Paper Shotgun logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
The GameMaker engine series behind Undertale, Hotline Miami and Spelunky is going free for commercial use on PC

Here's some upbeat news to end the day on (unless one of the other awful people working here posts something diabolical, once I'm done) - you'll soon be able to publish games created using the latest GameMaker tools for free on PC alongside web and mobile.

Hitherto, game developers have needed a Professional license to sell or monetise GameMaker creations. That changes on 1st January 2027. You'll still need a paid license if you plan to release a GameMaker game on console, but pish posh, those things are going extinct anyway.

In case you're unfamiliar, GameMaker is a series of game creation tools that dates back around 26 years. Current developers YoYo Games – who are now owned by browser company Opera - announced that they would make the tools free for non-commercial use on PC in November 2023, bringing a rare grimace of affection to former RPS archchancellor Graham Smith's time-poisoned visage. I can only imagine his happily beaming mug right now.

GameMaker has been used by such indie noteworthies as Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter), Toby Fox (Undertale), Derek Yu (Spelunky), Vlambeer (Nuclear Throne), and Dennaton Games (Hotline Miami). And also by Graham, apparently, though I'm not sure what he was using it for. It's historically been aimed more at novice programmers (see also: Graham), with a focus on 2D visuals, though the latest incarnation, GameMaker Runtime, aims to beef up the toolset's 3D capabilities.

Community dev Ross Manthorpe detailed the change in a post on the official site , explaining the implications for people who currently have a Pro license.


Source link
Related Topics:Gaming

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.