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Several tools called game engines are available for game designers to easily code a game quickly without building from the ground up.

Open-source engines

These game engines / libraries are open-source or free software:

Freeware engines

These engines are available for free use, but without the source code being available under an open source license. Many of these engines are commercial products which have a free edition available for them:

• Adventure Game Studio – Mainly used to develop third-person pre-rendered adventure games, this engine is one of the most popular for developing amateur adventure games.
• Build engine – A first-person shooter engine used to power Duke Nukem 3D.
• dim3 – Freeware 3D javascript engine for the Mac (although finished games are cross platform).
• Game Maker Lite – Object-oriented game development software with a scripting language as well as a drag-and-drop interface.
• Jogre - (Java Online Gaming Real-time Engine) - Open sourced Java based multiplayer gaming engine.
• M.U.G.E.N – A 2D fighting game engine.
• Panda3D – (Releases prior to May 28, 2008) A relatively easy to use python-driven game engine made by Carnegie Mellon University. Disney uses it to produce some of their games.
• World Builder – A classic Mac OS game engine.
• Wintermute Engine – A runtime and development tools for creating 2D and 2.5D point'n'click adventure games.
• RGSS - A engine made by enterbrain to create RPG's using RPG Maker XP. RGSS2 was used for RPG Maker VX.

Commercial engines

• Gamestudio - A 2D and 3D game engine for beginners. Uses the Gamestudio development system and the lite-C programming language.
• AbyssalEngine - A rendering engine and toolset.
• Alamo - the engine used in Star Wars: Empire at War by Petroglyph Games.
• Aurora Engine – For Role-playing games.
• BigWorld - Server, client and development tools for the development of MMOG for games that run on Windows, Xbox 360, and PS3.
• Blade3D - A toolset for XNA based games that run on Windows and Xbox 360.
• BRender – A real-time 3D graphics engine for computer games, simulators and graphic tools.
• C4 Engine – A computer game engine created by Eric Lengyel.
• Coldstone game engine – An old game creation suite for Macintosh/Windows to create role-playing or adventure-style games.
• CryEngine, CryEngine 2, CryEngine 3 – The game engine used for the first-person shooter computer game Far Cry. CryEngine 2 is a new generation engine developed by Crytek to create the FPS game Crysis.
• Crystal Tools – Square Enix's proprietary seventh generation game engine.
• Dagor Engine 3 – A high-tech cross-platform game engine (3D, physics, game logic) with rich toolset for content development
• id Tech 4 – (Also known as Doom 3 engine) Used by the games Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey and Quake Wars. Will become Open Source at a later date.
• id Tech 5 - Currently in development by id Software as engine for their games, Doom 4 and Rage, and as a general purpose engine to be licensed.
• DX Studio – Engine and editing suite that allows creation of real-time games and simulations.
• Dunia Engine – Engine (heavily modified version of the CryEngine 2) made especially for Far Cry 2 by Ubisoft Montreal.
• Earth-4 Engine – The graphics engine used in Earth 2160
• Electron engine – Developed by Obsidian Entertainment for their game Neverwinter Nights 2, based on the Aurora engine.
• Elflight Engine – Cross-platform 3D streaming game engine designed from the ground up for use over the Web. Games can play in a web browser window, in a separate window or full-screen. Java and OpenGL based.
• Enigma Engine – A real-time tactics game engine, used in Blitzkrieg.
• Esperient Creator – A very powerful 3D modeler and engine, used world wide for training, simulation, architecture, and games. Built-in Scripting, C/C++, CScript, or Lisp, Shader Editor, import 50+ 3D formats.
• Euphoria – This is a biomechanical Ragdoll engine by NaturalMotion.
• FPS Creator - A game engine by The Game Creators. It lets the user create their own First Person Shooter without any knowledge of scripts.
• Freescape (1986) – Incentive Software; One of the first proprietary 3D game engines, used in Driller and 3D Construction Kit.
• Frostbite Engine – Game engine used for the next-gen title Battlefield: Bad Company.
• Gamebryo – Cross-platform game middleware for professional developers, notable for it's rappid development.
• Glacier, Glacier2 – Developed by IO Interactive and used for the Hitman series of games. Glacier2 is a new generation engine currently in development for upcoming games.
• GrimE - Used in LucasArts graphical adventure games starting with Grim Fandango.
• Hedgehog Engine - Created by the Sonic Team with the capability of rendering high quality graphics at high speed. It was first used in Sonic Unleashed.
• HeroEngine - 3D game engine by Simutronics for building MMOs in a live collaborative environment.
• IMUSE – Specifically designed to synchronize music with visual action.
• INSANE – Used in LucasArts games.
• Infinity Engine – Allows the creation of isometric computer role-playing games.
• Jade engine – Developed by Ubisoft, originally for Beyond Good & Evil.
• Jedi – A game engine developed by LucasArts for Star Wars: Dark Forces and Outlaws.
• Kaneva Game Platform – A MMOG engine for independent and professional game development.
• Kinetica - A game engine developed by Sony for PlayStation 2.
• Leadwerks Engine - Leadwerks Engine is a 3D engine for rendering, sound, and physics in real-time games and simulations.
• Lithtech Jupiter Ex – Developed by Monolith Productions to create the game F.E.A.R.
• LyN engine - Developed by Ubisoft, originally for Rabbids Go Home and Beyond Good & Evil 2.
• Medusa – A C++ 3D game engine developed by Palestar and used in the DarkSpace MMO. It features distributed world simulation, single tool version control and asset realisation, cross-platform compatibility and an integrated client/server network system.
• Monumental Technology Suite – A MMOG platform, including server and client technology and development / live management tools.
• Multimedia Fusion 2 – A 2D game development system.
• Multiverse Network – An MMOG platform, including server, client, and tools. (Free for development and use — revenue sharing upon commercial deployment).
• Odyssey Engine – Used to create three dimensional computer role-playing games, used in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Onyx Engine – Developed by Ubisoft
• PhyreEngine - A cross platform (PC & PS3) graphics engine from Sony Computer Entertainment.
• Quest3D A game engine and full real-time 3D development platform. Used in for instance AudioSurf.
• RAGE – A game engine created by Rockstar Games to power their upcoming video games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Implemented in Grand Theft Auto 4.
• RelentENGINE – A next-generation FPS engine supporting massive destroyable city environments and realistic vehicle control, makes extensive use of shader model 3.
• RenderWare – A 3D API and graphics rendering engine.
• Revolution3D – A 3D graphics engine developed by X-Dream Project.
• RPG Maker XP – A 2D engine to make top-down and isometric-style role-playing games for Windows.
• SAGE engine – Used to create real-time strategy games.
• SCUMM engine – Used in LucasArts graphical adventure games.
• Serious Engine – The engine by Croteam used in the epic Serious Sam: The First Encounter and The Second Encounter.
• Shark 3D – A middleware from Spinor for computer, video games and realtime 3D applications.
• ShiVa - A game engine with an authoring tool to produce 3d real time applications for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and iPhone.
• Silent Storm engine – A turn-based tactics/tactical RPG game engine, used in Silent Storm.
• Sith – A game engine developed by LucasArts for Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.
• Source engine – A game engine developed by Valve Software for Half-Life 2.The SDK comes with Half Life 2
• Torque Game Engine – A modified version of a 3D computer game engine originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 FPS Tribes 2.
• Torque Game Engine Advanced – A next-generation 3D game engine support modern GPU hardware and shaders.
• TOSHI – A fourth generation cross platform game engine designed by Blue Tongue Entertainment.
• Truevision3D – A 3D game engine using the DirectX API.
• Unigine – Cross-platform middleware engine.
• Unity – An open-ended 3D game/interactive software engine for web, Windows, Mac OS X, the iPhone, and Nintendo Wii .
• Unreal Engine – A game engines for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 .
• Vengeance engine – A video game engine based on the Unreal Engine 2/2.5
• Vicious Engine – Available for Microsoft Windows, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation Portable
• Virtools – A 3D engine combined with high-level development framework, used for game prototyping and rapid developments. Available for Windows, Macintosh, Xbox, PSP. Can publish standalone or for the 3DVia Web Player browser plugin.
• Visual3D.NET Game Engine - All-in-One 3D game engine and toolset, fully written in C#/.NET for Windows and Xbox360.
• WGAF – The game engine developed by Guild Software which powers their MMORPG Vendetta Online.
• X3Daemon – 3D Multiuser and Chat Network Server for Web3D Worlds (X3D/VRML) from 3DNPVEI.
• X-Ray Engine - A 3D engine developed by GSC Game World for their S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost project.
• XnGine – Developed by Bethesda Softworks, one of the first true 3D engines.
• Zillions of Games - used to develop games that happen on a grid, like chess

Games and the game engines they use

References

1. "QuakeCon Wrapup". LinuxGames. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
2. http://www.computerworld.dk/art/37193?a=related&i=38760&bottom

See also

• Game engine
• Physics engine
• First person shooter engine
• Game Middleware

• Video game engines
• Technology-related lists