You may have heard of the latest Unity fiasco of the new download fees targeted at (successful) developers. Unity plans to charge for every app download (including re-installs) that uses the Unity Engine. Although this only targets a lower threshold of games (and even Unity has retracted on some of the original plans since), it still may impact some of Android’s best games. There is also the worry that developers may even find a way to make you think twice before downloading a title to benchmark your new gaming phone.

Despite the somewhat shaky conviction behind Unity’s upcoming plans, it doesn’t change the fact that the initial announcement is still perceived as a breach of trust from the community. And not to mention, it leaves a sour taste for new upcoming developers and indie companies that want to pursue this platform. So, to prevent your head from spinning while keeping track of whether Unity plans to go forward with these changes, we’ve analyzed some of the best alternatives to Unity with today’s roundup.

1 Godot Engine

The Godot Engine tops our recommendations if you’re looking for a steady, open-source (entirely free-to-use) gaming engine that closely resembles Unity. Re-Logic is even preparing to endorse and fund Godot Engine and FNAF in response to (the initial announcement of) Unity’s upcoming runtime fee policy. The most important part about the switch is that any knowledge you learned (C# language) can translate well to Godot since both engines support the same language. Just be aware that Unity has over 18 years of development time under its belt. In comparison, Godot Engine has only nine years with fewer resources (put in over the years), so don’t expect to just re-use your Unity scripts on Godot — the engine still requires time to learn and needs more growth to enable AAA games to run fully. Nonetheless, the Godot Engine has the potential to make great titles in 2D and 3D, so as a new developer looking to learn, you may want to give Godot Engine a shot.

Godot Engine

2 Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine has become one of the most popular engines to date; it’s one of the top-of-the-line gaming engines that produces high graphical fidelity and realism for many games. In fact, many mobile games (Injustice 2, Life is Strange) that look incredible are likely using the Unreal Engine. It’s a number one choice that often goes head-to-head with Unity due to its great performance and impressive graphics that even low-end and mid-range devices can handle. The only downside of picking up Unreal Engine as a new developer or hobbyist is that it uses C++, which tends to be a trickier programming language for a beginner. As for licensing fees, it is completely free to use, and you only have to start paying royalty (5% to Epic) after reaching the 1 million revenue threshold.

Unreal Engine

3 LibGDX

LibGDX uses a Java-based game framework coupled with the OpenGL API. If you’re interested in HTML/JavaScript (browser-based games) or apps for Android and iOS, consider dipping into LibGDX. Some notable examples that used LibGDX that you’ve may already encountered include Shattered Pixel Dungeons and Slay the Spire. It also uses the Apache 2.0 license, a permissive free software license that allows commercial use with little restrictions (so you can go wild on using and modifying the code without worrying about hidden fees) in play.

Being a framework versus an engine might come with some caveats, such as needing to be an experienced coder to handle the flexibility and the generality of working with a framework (since you’re designing at the lower level). Working with a framework will offer a lot of flexibility, and you generally build an engine off of a framework to code and execute a game. But since you’re working with a collection of libraries on which your code will be based, you will require some background knowledge, making it not always the best choice for (beginning) self-learners. And if 3D is your end goal, then you may prefer getting your feet wet with Unreal instead. However, picking up LibGDX when learning advanced programming is worth it.

LibGDX

4 FNA

FNA is the other open-source engine that Re-Logic plans to sponsor (the developers of Terreria, one of the best sandbox games on Android). Essentially, FNA is the open-source reimplementation of the Microsoft XNA (of 4.0 Refresh) Framework developed by Ethan Lee. Originally, MonoGame was the primary open-source reimplementation for XNA (after XNA was retired), and FNA was a branch of MonoGame. The only downside of FNA is that it doesn’t have the tools to create new games from the ground up; it is primarily used for porting to help preserve XNA-compatible games. Some well-known games using FNA include Streets of Rage 4 and Rogue Legacy.

FNA

5 Solar2D

Solar2D (formerly Corona SDK) is an open-source engine incorporating Lua programming, a programming language often considered lightweight and easy to pick up for beginners. When you’re considering making a 2D mobile app, Solar2D becomes a top choice. And for indie developers worried about getting hit with nasty royalty fees down the line (such as if your game happens to blow up), Solar2D mostly operates on a donation basis to keep its tools up and running. And if your app requires using ads for monetization, it even has plugin support to keep expanding on its core features. Solar2D has lots to offer.

Solar2D

6 Open 3D Engine

Now, if you’re looking for an engine that focuses on 3D, Open 3D Engine is a stellar choice (even if it is a bit finicky). You will notice that Open 3D Engine is essentially the successor to Amazon Lumberyard (however, Open 3D Engine is managed by the Linux Foundation). But this time, it is open-sourced and equipped with the Apache 2.0 license. Learning on this platform may pose challenges due to how demanding 3D games are (to get up and running), and you will likely want some background in C++ and Python to feel adequately comfortable with this platform. Overall, Open 3D Engine is still a project that rose from the ashes of Amazon Lumberyard, a game engine that Amazon had dumped a lot of resources into. Just because Amazon could never crack the code of gaming, it doesn’t mean someone else can’t.

Open 3D Engine

Journey into game development

Every journey has a starting point. And sometimes, that requires improving your knowledge of the fundamentals. If you’re unsure which programming language is worth learning, consider consulting a handy coding app to scout your options. And if you decide to keep it simple with game creation, Roblox also offers plenty of resources for young and new learners to get going.