Filtered ranking
Best Game Engines for Windows in 2026
11 of the 12 game engines ranked on listme.name match: they officially support Windows. The order uses the same scores as the full ranking.
The ranking
- 1
Godot Engine
MIT license with no royalties, an editor for Windows, macOS and Linux, and export to Android and the web. Store builds of the editor leave out C#, so check that before choosing it.
Best for Free open-source 2D and 3D games with no royalties
WindowsmacOSLinuxFree and open sourceOpen source
- 2
Unity
Widest platform reach and a free Personal plan under the revenue threshold. Larger businesses pay a subscription, and the pricing page lists no per-game royalty.
Best for Cross-platform teams that can accept a subscription
WindowsmacOSLinuxFree plan, paid upgrades
- 3
Unreal Engine
Free under $1 million in revenue with source access and strong high-end 3D. Above that, a 5% royalty applies, unlike the royalty-free Godot and Defold licenses.
Best for High-end 3D games and real-time film work
WindowsmacOSLinuxFree plan, paid upgrades
- 4
Defold
Free forever with no runtime fees and a small footprint, but the source-available license bars selling modified editor or engine builds. Game logic is written in Lua, which narrows the choice.
Best for Small Lua-based games that ship to many platforms
WindowsmacOSLinuxFree
- 5
GameMaker
Free tier with tutorials and asset bundles, and a clear path for 2D beginners. Commercial release needs the paid Professional tier, and the editor runs only on Windows and macOS.
Best for Beginners making 2D games with a free tier
WindowsmacOSFree plan, paid upgrades
- 6
Cocos Creator
MIT-licensed engine with a wide target list, including WeChat and HarmonyOS. Editor downloads are listed for Windows and macOS only, and professional support costs extra.
Best for 2D and 3D games for WeChat and web platforms
WindowsmacOSFree and open sourceOpen source
- 7
Bevy
Free, MIT or Apache-2.0 licensed Rust engine with an entity component system and active development. The Rust requirement and changing APIs make it a choice for programmers only.
Best for Rust programmers building data-driven games
WindowsmacOSLinuxWebiOSAndroidFree and open sourceOpen source
- 8
MonoGame
Ms-PL licensed C# framework covering desktop, mobile and consoles from one codebase. Console access requires platform authorization, and it is a framework rather than an editor.
Best for C# developers targeting desktop, mobile and consoles
WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS, iPadOSFree and open sourceOpen source
- 9
O3DE
Apache 2.0 engine with modular Gems and documented Windows, Linux and macOS requirements. Setup needs Visual Studio and CMake, so it suits teams that can handle a heavier install.
Best for Teams wanting an Apache-licensed 3D engine
WindowsLinuxmacOSFree and open sourceOpen source
- 10
LÖVE
Free zlib/libpng framework for 2D games in Lua, running on desktop and mobile. It has no visual level editor, so it suits developers who want to write everything in code.
Best for Lua developers making 2D games and game jam entries
WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOSFree and open sourceOpen source
- 11
RPG Maker MZ
Paid tool for map-based role-playing games, with commercial publishing that needs no extra license. It is narrow outside RPGs and is sold for Windows and macOS only.
Best for Map-based role-playing games for non-programmers
WindowsmacOSPaid
At a glance
| Product | Score | Price | Platforms | Scripting language | 3D support | Workflow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Godot Engine | 94.0 | Free and open source | WindowsmacOSLinux | GDScript and C# | Yes | Editor and code |
 Unity | 92.5 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WindowsmacOSLinux | C# | Yes | Editor and code |
 Unreal Engine | 91.5 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WindowsmacOSLinux | C++ and Blueprints | Yes | Editor and code |
| Defold | 89.5 | Free | WindowsmacOSLinux | Lua | Yes | Editor and code |
 GameMaker | 88.0 | Free plan, paid upgrades | WindowsmacOS | GML | No | Editor and code |
 Cocos Creator | 86.5 | Free and open source | WindowsmacOS | TypeScript and JavaScript | Yes | Editor and code |
 Bevy | 85.5 | Free and open source | WindowsmacOSLinuxWebiOSAndroid | Rust | Yes | Code-first |
 MonoGame | 84.5 | Free and open source | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS, iPadOS | C# | Yes | Code-first |
 O3DE | 81.5 | Free and open source | WindowsLinuxmacOS | C++ and Python | Yes | Editor and code |
 LÖVE | 78.5 | Free and open source | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Lua | No | Code-first |
 RPG Maker MZ | 74.5 | Paid | WindowsmacOS | JavaScript plugins | No | Map editor |
