GameMaker vs UPBGE

GameMaker is game-development software with visual scripting, multiplayer tools, and export options for mobile and consoles. Projects can use GML Code or GML Visual. Listed targets include GX.games, Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, HTML5, Android, iOS, tvOS, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. The free plan costs nothing and is limited to non-commercial use, without console exports. Professional is listed at $99.99 a month, with a commercial licence and desktop, web, and mobile exports; its billing note says one-time purchase. Enterprise is listed at $79.99 a month, billed monthly, and includes a commercial licence, console exports, and source code access. The pricing note says paid plans start at $79.99/mo. GameMaker’s source code model is listed as source available, and the maker is headquartered in Dundee, Scotland. The platform list also includes Linux, macOS, and Windows. Plan details distinguish non-commercial use from commercial licensing and specify export access, so intended use and target platforms are relevant when selecting a tier.

UPBGE is a free, open-source 3D game engine derived from the old Blender Game Engine and integrated with Blender. It supports real-time games, architectural presentations, robotics prototypes, physics simulations, and other interactive applications. Modeling and game functions remain in one Blender workflow, without importing or exporting assets between them. Projects can run in Blender’s viewport or as standalone executables. Logic Nodes provide visual programming with more than 300 nodes, alongside custom scripts and Logic Bricks. Python extends functionality, while GLSL supports custom shaders and post-processing. Rendering uses Blender’s EEVEE, with listed support for PBR shading, reflections, ambient occlusion, bloom, shadows, light probes, and volumetrics. Bullet supplies physics; Audaspace and OpenAL handle audio; Detour and Recast provide navigation. Runtime binaries export to Linux, macOS, and Windows. Compatibility is incomplete: Curves and Speakers are not rendered in-game. BGE games load and execute only partially, and UPBGE games may not run correctly in BGE. The project includes tutorials, examples, older releases, alpha builds, and a Discord community.