The Best Game Engines: Research from Game-Ace Specialists — Game-Ace

For years, game engines have been simplifying the lives of game developers, providing them with pre-made solutions to turn their vision into reality. Since their first appearance in the 1980s, when the term “game engine” wasn’t even around, these frameworks have gone through an impressive journey.

Nowadays, we have game engines for any taste and purpose. However, this triggers a struggle that can be described as a paradox of choice: the huge number of options shut out our brains, stopping us from making any decision. So, if you feel lost looking for the best gaming engine, Game-Ace, a custom game development company, has your back. Our GameDev specialists prepared an overview of the best game engines for different types of projects. Scroll down to learn what engine will be the perfect match for your game!

What Is the Best Game Engine?

The selection of a game engine is a critical strategic decision for any game development studio, akin to a chess grandmaster choosing an opening move. It sets the stage for the project’s development trajectory and significantly impacts the technical execution and the final product’s quality.

So, what is the best gaming engine? We can’t give you a definite answer to this question, as it is time to dispel the myth of a universal best video game engine. There is the most used game engine, and there is the simplest engine in usage, but there is no game engine that will work as a magic wand for everyone. We suggest that game studios focus on identifying which engine aligns impeccably with the project’s specific requirements and the studio’s expertise.

Game engines are as varied as the genres and platforms of the games they help create. For instance, a studio aiming to craft a narrative-driven 2D platformer might find an engine like Unity — a veritable Swiss Army knife in the game development toolkit — a perfect choice, thanks to its versatility and rich asset store. On the other hand, a team working on a graphically intensive 3D MMORPG might lean towards Unreal Engine, with its high-fidelity rendering capabilities reminiscent of blockbuster titles like Fortnite and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The mobile gaming market is another domain where the engine choice can dictate the project outcome. Engines like Cocos2d-x, with its light footprint and agility, can be the wind beneath the wings of a Flappy Bird-esque viral sensation. Meanwhile, for pixel art aficionados looking to create the next Stardew Valley, an engine that specializes in retro aesthetics and tilesets, such as Godot, might be the secret sauce to pixel perfection.

Ultimately, the best game development engine is a contextual accolade. It is the one that best serves the game’s vision, leverages the studio’s strengths, and meets the audience’s expectations. The key lies in meticulous evaluation, foresight, and an in-depth understanding of each engine’s nuances and potential.

The Main Criteria to Evaluate a Game Engine

So, instead of looking for the best game engine in the market, you made a wise decision to select an engine that will fit your needs the best. How should you analyze the characteristics of each solution? Let us share our criteria. If you have a clear vision of your future game, you can easily determine your requirements for every criterion.

Performance and Scalability

• Low: Struggles with complex scenes or large numbers of assets; limited scalability for high-demand projects.
• Medium: Handles moderate complexity well; scalable with some limitations or requiring additional optimization.
• High: Excellently manages complex and asset-heavy projects; highly scalable with minimal additional effort.

Platform Support

• Limited: Supports only one or a few platforms; may require significant work to port to other platforms.
• Moderate: Supports major platforms with additional development; good for most standard releases.
• Extensive: Offers out-of-the-box support for various platforms, including emerging technologies.

Graphics and Rendering Capabilities

• Basic: Suitable for simple or stylized graphics; limited support for advanced rendering techniques.
• Advanced: Supports a wide range of graphical features and can produce high-quality visuals.
• Cutting-edge: At the forefront of graphics technology, enabling photorealistic visuals and advanced effects.

Ease of Use and Learning Curve

• Steep: Requires significant learning time; best suited for experienced developers or those with specific needs.
• Moderate: Balances complexity with intuitiveness; has a learning curve that is manageable with resources.
• User-friendly: Intuitive interface and workflow; abundant learning resources and community support for beginners.

Community and Support

• Emerging: Growing community; limited resources and support but has potential.
• Established: Solid community with a good range of resources; active support channels.
• Thriving: Large, active community; extensive resources and professional support readily available.

Cost Structure

• Fixed: One-time purchase or subscription with clear limits; may be cost-prohibitive for some studios.
• Flexible: Various pricing tiers or plans can accommodate a range of budgets and scales.
• Revenue-share: No upfront cost; payment scaled to the success of the project, beneficial for bootstrapped studios.

Asset Store and Plugins

• Basic: Limited selection; may require more in-house development for additional tools and assets.
• Diverse: Good variety of assets and plugins; covers many common development needs.
• Extensive: Wide array of high-quality assets and plugins; significantly reduces development time and effort.

Customization and Extensibility

• Closed: Little to no access to source code; limited customization options.
• Moderate: Some access to customization and plugins requires technical expertise to utilize fully.
• Open: Full access to source code; highly customizable and extensible for various needs.

By applying this scale to each criterion, you can systematically assess and compare game engines, leading to a more informed and strategic selection that aligns with your project needs and goals.

Different Types of Game Engines

Now that you have the set of comprehensive criteria let’s contemplate the most popular options of top gaming engines for various types of video games.

Unity and Unreal Engine — Undoubted GameDev Leaders

As you might know, Unity and Unreal are the most famous and popular engines, as their versatility allows the creation of top gaming experiences in almost every possible category.

Our experience as a Unity game development studio shows that Unity excels in mobile game development, powering legendary games like Temple Run, Subway Surf, and Pokémon GO. In turn, as an Unreal Engine game development company, we want to emphasize that UE is a go-to choice for AAA projects with high-volume graphics, and projects like Fortnite, Bioshock Series, or Valorant are vivid proofs of this statement.

But the market has much more to offer than two, albeit first-class, engines.

The Best 2D Game Engines

1. Godot

Performance: Medium to High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Open (Free and Open Source)

Asset Store: Diverse

2. GameMaker Studio 2

Performance: High

Ease of Use: User-friendly

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Flexible

Asset Store: Diverse

3. Construct

Performance: Medium

Ease of Use: User-friendly

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Flexible

Asset Store: Basic to Diverse

The Best 3D Game Engines

1. CryEngine

Performance: High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Flexible

Asset Store: Moderate

2. Cocos3d

Performance: High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Growing

Cost Structure: Free

Asset Store: Limited

3. Amazon Lumberyard

Performance: High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Growing

Cost Structure: Free (with AWS costs for online services)

Asset Store: Emerging

The Best Mobile Game Engines

1. Cocos2d-x

Performance: High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Open (Free and Open Source)

Asset Store: Moderate

2. Solar2D (formerly Corona SDK)

Performance: High

Ease of Use: User-friendly

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Open (Free and Open Source)

Asset Store: Basic

The Best Game Engines for Pixel Games

1. GameMaker Studio 2

Performance: High

Ease of Use: User-friendly

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Flexible

Asset Store: Diverse

2. PICO-8

Performance: Medium

Ease of Use: User-friendly

Community and Support: Growing

Cost Structure: Fixed

Asset Store: N/A (Integrated development environment)

3. Godot

Performance: Medium to High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Open (Free and Open Source)

Asset Store: Diverse

The Best Cross-Platform Game Engines

1. Godot

Performance: Medium to High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Open (Free and Open Source)

Asset Store: Diverse

2. Solar2D (formerly Corona SDK)

Performance: High

Ease of Use: User-friendly

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Open (Free and Open Source)

Asset Store: Basic

3. Xamarin

Performance: Medium to High

Ease of Use: Moderate (requires C# knowledge)

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Flexible (Open Source with commercial options)

Asset Store: N/A (relies on third-party tools)

The Best VR/AR Game Engines

1. Vuforia Engine

Performance: Medium to High

Ease of Use: Moderate

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Flexible (Free with premium features)

Asset Store: N/A (focused on AR)

2. ARKit & ARCore (iOS / Android):

Performance: High

Ease of Use: Moderate to High

Community and Support: Established

Cost Structure: Free

Asset Store: N/A (platform-specific)

3. Amazon Sumerian

Performance: Medium

Ease of Use: User-friendly

Community and Support: Growing

Cost Structure: Pay-as-you-go (AWS usage)

Asset Store: Basic

Top Game Engines: A Detailed Comparison

Navigating through the myriad of game engines can be overwhelming. To help you gain a comprehensive understanding, we’ve compiled a detailed comparison of some top game engines.

Unity:

• Performance: High
• Ease of Use: User-friendly
• Community & Support: Thriving
• Cost Structure: Flexible (Free tier, subscription, and revenue-share for Pro)
• Asset Store/Marketplace: Extensive
• Platforms Supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, VR/AR, consoles, web
• VR/AR Support: Excellent
• 2D/3D Support: Excellent for both
• Learning Curve: Moderate
• Scripting Languages: C#, JavaScript (UnityScript)
• Notable Features: Cross-platform development, large asset store, strong community

Unreal Engine:

• Performance: High
• Ease of Use: Moderate
• Community & Support: Thriving
• Cost Structure: Revenue-share after a revenue threshold
• Asset Store/Marketplace: Extensive
• Platforms Supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, VR/AR, consoles
• VR/AR Support: Excellent
• 2D/3D Support: Primarily 3D with strong 2D capabilities
• Learning Curve: Steeper
• Scripting Languages: C++, Blueprints (visual scripting)
• Notable Features: High-fidelity graphics, advanced physics, Blueprints scripting

Godot:

• Performance: Medium to High
• Ease of Use: Moderate
• Community & Support: Established
• Cost Structure: Free and Open Source
• Asset Store/Marketplace: Diverse (Community-contributed)
• Platforms Supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, HTML5, consoles
• VR/AR Support: Good (with third-party plugins)
• 2D/3D Support: Excellent for both
• Learning Curve: Moderate
• Scripting Languages: GDScript, C#, VisualScript
• Notable Features: Open-source, flexible scene system, no licensing fees

Solar2D:

• Performance: High
• Ease of Use: User-friendly
• Community & Support: Established
• Cost Structure: Free and Open Source
• Asset Store/Marketplace: Basic (Community-contributed)
• Platforms Supported: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS
• VR/AR Support: Limited (via third-party plugins)
• 2D/3D Support: Primarily 2D
• Learning Curve: Easy
• Scripting Languages: Lua
• Notable Features: Rapid development cycle, live testing, strong mobile focus

Cocos2d-x:

• Performance: High
• Ease of Use: Moderate
• Community & Support: Established
• Cost Structure: Free and Open Source
• Asset Store/Marketplace: Moderate
• Platforms Supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
• VR/AR Support: Limited
• 2D/3D Support: Excellent for 2D
• Learning Curve: Moderate
• Scripting Languages: C++, Lua
• Notable Features: Lightweight, fast, suitable for mobile games

CryEngine:

• Performance: High
• Ease of Use: Steep
• Community & Support: Growing
• Cost Structure: Free tier, subscription
• Asset Store/Marketplace: Moderate
• Platforms Supported: Windows, consoles, VR
• VR/AR Support: Good
• 2D/3D Support: Excellent for 3D
• Learning Curve: Steep
• Scripting Languages: C++, Lua, Visual scripting
• Notable Features: Advanced graphics, realistic physics, full source code access

GameMaker Studio 2:

• Performance: High
• Ease of Use: User-friendly
• Community & Support: Established
• Cost Structure: Fixed, with a free trial
• Asset Store/Marketplace: Extensive
• Platforms Supported: Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, iOS, Android, HTML5, consoles
• VR/AR Support: Limited
• 2D/3D Support: Excellent for 2D
• Learning Curve: Easy
• Scripting Languages: GML (GameMaker Language)
• Notable Features: User-friendly, great for beginners, strong for 2D pixel games

Harness the Power of Game Engines with Game-Ace

There is no universal best game making engine. Each project, each game development team, and each vision will never be 100% similar to any other one, and this uniqueness is the thing that breathes life into each game. Therefore, game development studios could never find the best game development engine, but rather select the one that matches their project the best.

If you need help choosing the engine that will fit your game the best, or if you need help developing any elements of your game, Game-Ace is ready to contribute our expertise and experience to refining your project. Feel free to contact us, and we will get back to you shortly.

Originally published at https://game-ace.com.