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. “Developers who currently own the Professional license will still be able to commercially distribute games made on the existing GMS2 runtime, and will additionally benefit from access to GMS2 runtime source code,” he wrote. “Regardless of runtime, developers will still need an Enterprise license and to be an approved developer to be able to export to consoles. There will be no changes to existing tier pricing.”
Any devs here partial to GameMaker? I’ve been faffing around with Twine recently, and wondering whether I dare experiment with something that supports Proper Graphics. Perhaps in a few years time, some other RPS writer will be casually roasting my efforts at GameMaking, the way I have just made fun of poor Graham. Poor Graham! *camps entrance to comments with rocket launcher*
