Armory3D vs Defold

Armory3D is a free, open-source 3D game engine that works as a Blender add-on and external SDK. It targets games for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android and the web, with visual scripting and Haxe available for game logic. Its scriptable renderer supports deferred and forward paths, and developers can create custom render paths. The engine includes a UI library and editor, physics based on Bullet for rigid and soft body simulation, and an option to use Oimo. Navigation meshes support real-time pathing for objects marked as actors. Effects and animation include emitter and hair particles with GPU instancing, GPU skinning, bones, keyframes, shape keys and tilesheets. Listed lighting features include voxel-based ambient occlusion, lightmapping, area lights, reflection probes and IES textures. The setup guide asks users to install Blender 4.5.x LTS and says Blender 3.3 LTS and earlier are unsupported. The repository identifies the license as zlib/libpng and permits commercial use subject to its stated restrictions. The privacy policy says Armory software does not collect, market or sell user data.

Defold is a game engine for building cross-platform 2D and 3D games. Its toolchain combines an editor, runtime, scripting workflow, build pipeline, and deployment flow. Game logic is written in Lua; native extensions can use C, C++, Objective-C, Java, or JavaScript. Visual editors, a debugger, profiler, particle effects, animation, and integrated 2D and 3D physics are included. Target platforms listed are Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, HTML5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. Integrations include Firebase Analytics, AdMob, in-app purchases, push notifications, Google Play services, Nakama, and PlayFab. The Asset Portal offers reusable components and extensions. Live Update can provide additional game content after the initial download, with customizable content verification. Source code for the engine, editor, and build tools is available on GitHub under a developer-friendly license derived from Apache 2.0. Defold costs nothing, with no licensing fees, royalties, or runtime fees. Community help is available through a forum, and technical support contracts are available if needed.