GameMaker Studio Review: Still Worth It in 2026?
GameMaker (formerly GameMaker Studio 2) is free to learn and $99.99 once to sell, with no royalties. We review its 2026 pricing, GML and GML Visual, console export, real shipped games, and where it loses to Godot and Unity — so you know whether it still belongs in your toolkit.
GameMaker — originally GameMaker Studio 2, now just "GameMaker" — is still worth using in 2026 if you are making 2D games. It is free to learn, costs a one-time $99.99 to sell your game commercially, charges no royalties, and has shipped some of the most famous indie games of the past decade. It is the wrong choice if you need real 3D, or if your main goal is a studio résumé.
This review covers pricing, the GML and GML Visual systems, console export, real shipped games, and an honest comparison with Godot and Unity. By the end you will know whether GameMaker belongs in your 2026 toolkit.
Short answer
| If you are… | GameMaker in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Learning or prototyping 2D games | Free, no watermark — excellent |
| Selling a 2D game on PC, mobile, or web | $99.99 once, no royalties — excellent |
| Targeting PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch | Enterprise $79.99/month + platform approval — viable |
| Building a 3D game | Wrong tool — use Godot or Unity |
| Building a career in a studio | Weak — Unity or Unreal are better credentials |
What GameMaker actually is
GameMaker is a 2D-focused game engine with a long history. The Dutch computer scientist Mark Overmars started it at Utrecht University, releasing the first public version on November 15, 1999 under the name Animo — originally a 2D animation tool written in Delphi. YoYo Games later took over development, and in January 2021 the browser company Opera acquired YoYo Games for roughly $10 million.
Two recent moments matter most for anyone evaluating the engine today:
- November 2023: the pricing overhaul. GameMaker became free for non-commercial use on desktop, mobile, and web, and replaced its subscription with a one-time commercial license. GameMaker's own data reported a three-fold increase in active users afterward, and Game World Observer noted a 63% surge in new users aged 13–17 and a 49.6% rise in the 18–21 group — a clear sign the free tier is reaching the next generation of developers.
- 2026: the LTS model and GMRT. GameMaker now ships as Long Term Support releases. The current version is LTS 2026.0, which introduced the new GameMaker Runtime (GMRT) for better native performance. The previous LTS was 2022, so anyone on old tutorials is several major versions behind.
The naming itself trips people up. "GameMaker Studio 2" is the old name — the product is now just GameMaker. When a tutorial or forum post says GameMaker Studio 2, it means the same engine you download today.
Pricing breakdown
GameMaker's pricing is one of its strongest selling points in 2026.
| Plan | Price | What you get | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Full IDE, desktop / mobile / web export, asset bundles, no watermark | No (non-commercial only) |
| Professional | $99.99 one-time | Same exports as Free, but you may sell your game | Yes (PC, mobile, web) |
| Enterprise | $79.99/month | Adds console export (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) | Yes |
There are no royalties and no revenue share on any tier. Once you hold the Professional license, every dollar your game earns is yours. This is a deliberate contrast with engines that introduced runtime fees or revenue-based pricing — and it is the reason GameMaker is now competitive on cost with free engines for most solo developers.
The one cost to plan around is consoles. Enterprise is a subscription, not a one-time purchase, and you can only use console export after you register as an approved developer with Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. That approval is a separate, platform-controlled process — not something a license buys you.
What GameMaker does well
A dual-mode workflow: GML Visual and GML
GameMaker's defining feature is that it lets you work two ways, and switch between them freely:
- GML Visual — a drag-and-drop system where logic is built from action blocks. Beginners can ship a game without writing code.
- GML (GameMaker Language) — an imperative, dynamically typed scripting language, similar in feel to JavaScript and C.
The two are not separate silos. GML Visual actions map to GML, so you can start visually and read the equivalent code as you learn. For educators and self-taught developers, this is one of the smoothest on-ramps from no-code to real programming in any engine.
Purpose-built 2D tooling
Because GameMaker does not try to be a 3D engine, its 2D workflow has had over 25 years of refinement. The IDE includes editors for sprites, rooms (levels), objects, paths, timelines, and shaders (GLSL and HLSL). For pixel art, retro, and action 2D games, this focused toolset means less setup overhead than a general engine where 2D is a mode within a larger system.
A proven console pipeline
Few indie-focused engines have a console export path as established as GameMaker's. Combined with the Enterprise tier and platform approval, this is why many commercial 2D indies have shipped to Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox through GameMaker rather than rolling their own porting solution.
A track record of shipped, profitable games
The strongest argument for GameMaker is not a feature list — it is the games. Undertale has sold over 5 million copies. Hotline Miami, Nuclear Throne, Hyper Light Drifter, Katana ZERO, Forager, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Crashlands, and FAITH: The Unholy Trinity were all built in GameMaker, alongside Toby Fox's Deltarune. These are not student projects; they are some of the most recognized indie releases of the past decade.
One correction worth making, because it appears in many lists: Shovel Knight was not made in GameMaker. Yacht Club Games built it on their own C++ engine (DirectX on PC, OpenGL on Mac and Linux). If you see Shovel Knight cited as a GameMaker success, that list is wrong.
Where GameMaker falls short
It is not a 3D engine
This is the hard ceiling. GameMaker exposes some 3D capability through vertex buffers and matrices, but there is no 3D editor, no modern lighting, and no practical tooling for 3D environments. If your game design depends on 3D gameplay, no amount of workaround code turns GameMaker into the right tool. Use Godot or Unity instead.
GML does not transfer to other engines
GML only runs inside GameMaker. Every hour spent mastering it is an hour not spent on C#, GDScript, Python, or C++ — languages that open doors across the industry. If your goal is to ship your own 2D game, GML's game-specific simplicity is an advantage. If your goal is to get hired at a studio, it is a limitation.
A smaller ecosystem than Unity or Godot
GameMaker has an active community and the GX.games platform for publishing, but its ecosystem of tutorials, third-party plugins, and hiring demand is smaller than Unity's or Godot's. For most hobbyists and solo indies this never matters. It matters if you plan to hire a team or move into a studio, where Unity and Unreal dominate job listings.
Stability on large projects
Long-term users report that very large projects can hit stability issues, and that fixes for non-critical bugs can be slow. The LTS model (LTS 2026.0 being the current stable line) is partly a response to this — it prioritizes stability over new features. If you are starting a multi-year project, building on the current LTS rather than the monthly beta channel is the safer choice.
GameMaker vs Godot vs Unity
| Factor | GameMaker | Godot | Unity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free / $99.99 once / $79.99/mo console | Free, open-source | Free under $200K revenue; Pro ~$2,200/seat/yr |
| Royalties | None | None | None (Runtime Fee cancelled in 2024) |
| Best at | 2D pixel art, action, retro | 2D and 3D, open-source | 3D, mobile, large teams |
| 3D support | Minimal | Full | Full |
| Language | GML (+ GML Visual) | GDScript, C#, C++ | C# |
| Console export | Enterprise tier + approval | Via publishers / porting | Via platform approval |
| Career portability | Low | Medium | High |
| Community momentum | Steady | Fast-growing (39% of GMTK 2025 jam) | Large but contested |
For a full engine-by-engine breakdown, see our Godot vs Unity comparison for indie devs and our guide to the 7 best game engines for indie developers in 2026.
The community trend is worth weighing. At the GMTK Game Jam 2025 — the largest game jam on itch.io, with 9,724 entries — Godot held about 39% of entries and Unity about 41%, while GameMaker placed further back. Four years earlier Godot sat around 13%, so its growth is real. That said, jam share is not the same as commercial reach: GameMaker's shipped-games portfolio and console pipeline remain genuine differentiators for developers with concrete 2D goals.
Who should use GameMaker in 2026
GameMaker is the right call if you:
- Are building a 2D game — pixel art, platformer, action, RPG, or retro style
- Want the fastest path from idea to a playable, sellable 2D game
- Are a solo developer, student, or small team with a limited budget
- Value a one-time license and zero royalties over a subscription
Look elsewhere if you:
- Need real 3D — choose Godot (free) or Unity
- Are optimizing for a studio career — choose Unity or Unreal for transferable skills
- Want the largest open ecosystem and community — choose Godot or Unity
If GameMaker's limitations rule it out, our GameMaker alternatives roundup covers engines that solve specific gaps, and our Construct 3 review compares the other major no-code 2D option head to head.
Conclusion
GameMaker in 2026 is a mature, 2D-focused engine with a fair and predictable price: free to learn, $99.99 once to sell, no royalties, and a real console path for studios that need it. Its GML Visual and GML pairing is still one of the best on-ramps from no-code to programming, and its shipped-games record — Undertale, Hotline Miami, Katana ZERO, and many others — answers the question of whether it can power commercial releases.
It is not for 3D, and GML will not build your résumé the way C# or C++ will. But for a developer whose goal is to ship a 2D game rather than climb a studio ladder, GameMaker remains one of the most cost-effective and proven choices available. If you are unsure, download the free tier, build a prototype, and let the workflow decide.
For broader context on where 2D engines fit in a multiplatform release strategy, read our article on why single-platform games are losing their advantage.
Sources
- GameMaker pricing and license tiers — GameMaker / YoYo Games
- November 2023 pricing and terms change — GameMaker Help Centre
- LTS 2026.0 release and GMRT — GameMaker Blog
- GameMaker release notes (LTS 2026.0, IDE 16 / Runtime 23) — releases.gamemaker.io
- Opera acquires YoYo Games for ~$10 million (Jan 20, 2021) — Opera press release
- Playtech sells YoYo Games to Opera — GamesIndustry.biz
- GameMaker history: Mark Overmars, Animo, November 15, 1999 — Wikipedia: GameMaker
- GameMaker sees 63% surge in users aged 13–17 after free license — Game World Observer
- Undertale sales (over 5 million copies) — Wikipedia: Undertale
- Shovel Knight runs on a custom C++ engine (not GameMaker) — GameDev.net developer reply
- GMTK Game Jam 2025: 9,724 entries, Unity ~41%, Godot ~39% — GMTK official
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