The Tool Desk
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Godot is the lowest-friction option for teams that want an MIT-licensed engine with no engine fee. GameMaker can be economical for a commercially released project whose targets fit its Professional plan, while console exports require Enterprise. Unity offers a free Personal tier within its revenue-and-funding limit and a clearly documented Pro path for console publishing, but its Pro subscription is a substantial recurring cost. None is a universal winner.
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Which game engine should I use for my indie game?
Use this order of decisions:
- Lock the required platforms. A console launch changes licensing, developer access, SDK, porting, and testing requirements.
- Match the team’s existing skills. Familiarity with an engine and its scripting workflow usually matters more than a theoretical feature checklist.
- Calculate the plan cost. Separate one-time licenses from recurring subscriptions and from costs that depend on revenue or funding.
- Build and export a vertical slice. Test the game’s riskiest mechanic on the intended platform before producing content at scale.
The practical choice is the engine that lets your team finish this particular game with acceptable platform and commercial risk. The source material does not establish a reliable three-way ranking for performance, productivity, asset ecosystems, accessibility, multiplayer, or sales, so treat those as project-specific tests rather than settled facts.
Start with your non-negotiable release platform
Desktop, mobile, and web
Godot’s 4.4 FAQ lists Windows, macOS, Linux/BSD, Android, iOS, and web as export targets. That makes it a candidate when your first release is on desktop, mobile, or the browser, subject to checking the documentation for the exact Godot version you will ship.
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GameMaker’s Professional plan lists GX Games, Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, HTML5, Android, iOS, and tvOS. Unity’s cited pricing page identifies its Personal and Pro plans but does not, in the material available here, provide a complete platform-by-platform export matrix. Confirm the exact target, store requirements, and supported SDK versions in the editor before production.
Consoles
Console plans need an early feasibility check. Godot’s documentation says the core team cannot provide an open-source console export because console manufacturers’ licensing terms prevent it. A Godot project therefore needs a separate route, such as an approved porting arrangement, and you should establish that route before building around console-specific features.
Unity’s 2026 pricing page lists publishing to game consoles and Apple Vision Pro as a Pro feature. GameMaker lists Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch exports under Enterprise. These statements describe plan availability, not a guarantee that your team has platform-holder approval, development hardware, SDK access, certification support, or a successful port.
| Target | Godot | Unity | GameMaker | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows, macOS, Linux/BSD | Listed in Godot 4.4 documentation | Not stated in the cited pricing source | Windows, macOS, Ubuntu listed under Professional | Build pipeline, graphics APIs, installer, store requirements |
| Android and iOS | Listed in Godot 4.4 documentation | Not stated in the cited pricing source | Listed under Professional | Signing, device testing, store SDK versions, input and performance on your devices |
| Web | Listed in Godot 4.4 documentation | Not stated in the cited pricing source | HTML5 listed under Professional | Browser memory limits, loading time, audio, save data, and advertising or portal requirements |
| Xbox, PlayStation, Switch | Open-source console export not provided by the core team | Console publishing listed as a Pro feature | Listed under Enterprise | Platform-holder approval, SDK access, hardware, porting, certification, and plan terms |
| Apple Vision Pro | Not stated | Listed as a Pro publishing feature | Not stated | Device access, input model, store rules, and a supported plugin path |
Do not postpone this check until the game is content-complete. A platform-specific rendering, input, save, or certification problem can make an engine change vastly more expensive than a one-week prototype.
Compare the current commercial terms
Record the terms that apply when your project is actually commercial. Prices and eligibility can change, and regional checkout prices may differ from the figures below.
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| Engine | Current published commercial terms | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Godot | Free and open source under the permissive MIT license | You own and choose the license for your game content. If you redistribute Godot’s engine binary, include the required copyright notice and license statement. |
| Unity Personal | Free in 2026 for customers with up to USD $200,000 in revenue and funding | Unity says Pro is required above USD $200,000. Confirm how your organization calculates revenue and funding under the current terms. |
| Unity Pro | USD $2,310 per seat per year, prepaid, or USD $210 per seat per month on the cited 2026 pricing page | Regional prices, taxes, seat counts, and checkout terms can vary. The page lists console publishing as a Pro feature. |
| GameMaker Professional | USD $99.99 one-time purchase for commercial publishing on the Professional targets listed by GameMaker | Regional pricing applies. The vendor says non-commercial use is free and commercial use requires Professional. |
| GameMaker Enterprise | USD $79.99 per month or USD $799.99 per year | Regional equivalents apply. Enterprise is the plan listed for Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch exports. |
Godot states that it is “free and open source software released under the permissive MIT license (also named Expat license)” on its license page. Read the notice obligations before distributing a build, even though there is no engine royalty or seat charge.
Unity says it canceled the Runtime Fee on September 12, 2024, effective immediately, and that the fee will not apply to games made with Unity 6 or any other Unity version. Older articles that calculate a per-install Unity fee are therefore obsolete for current planning. Review the current Unity pricing and plan terms for eligibility and changes.
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Match the engine to your team’s skills
Godot and language familiarity
Godot’s 4.4 FAQ lists GDScript, C#, and C++ as officially supported languages. It recommends GDScript for people starting with Godot or game development. The same documentation describes C# support as relatively new and unavailable for web in that version.
That does not make one language universally better. If your team already maintains C# or C++ systems, test the exact integrations and build targets you need. If nobody has engine experience, compare how quickly the team can implement the riskiest mechanic, debug it, run tests, and produce a release build—not how quickly a tutorial can be completed.
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Unity and GameMaker workflow fit
The sources used for this guide do not establish a complete, current comparison of Unity’s and GameMaker’s languages, 2D or 3D tooling, asset ecosystems, multiplayer features, accessibility support, or performance. Do not choose on an assumed ranking. Instead, list the systems your game needs—save data, controller input, online services, shaders, animation, localization, mod support, or a particular middleware package—and verify each one in a throwaway project.
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Team continuity matters
Write down who will maintain the project after the prototype phase. A familiar workflow can reduce handoff risk, code-review friction, and onboarding time, but those are your team’s observations to measure. Keep the project’s dependency list short enough that a missing plugin or abandoned integration does not become a release blocker.
Prototype the risky part before committing
A small vertical slice is more useful than a broad tutorial project. It should exercise the mechanic most likely to invalidate your design and the platform on which you intend to ship.
- Define the test. Write one sentence such as “Two players use the core ability simultaneously while the camera scrolls and the game saves progress.” Include the target resolution, input devices, network assumptions, or other constraints that could expose a problem.
- Choose the hardest system, not the easiest scene. If the game depends on procedural generation, physics interactions, animation blending, online synchronization, touch controls, or a browser build, put that system in the slice.
- Implement the smallest playable loop. Include input, failure and restart, a basic UI, audio if timing depends on it, and a save or settings path if the final game will need one.
- Use production-like assets and data formats. Placeholder art is fine, but test the file types, import settings, compression, localization structure, and content pipeline you expect to keep.
- Export to the intended platform. Do not treat an editor preview as proof. Install the build on the actual phone, browser target, desktop operating system, or approved development hardware available to your team.
- Record observations. Measure setup time, iteration friction, build failures, missing integrations, debugging difficulty, package size, and device-specific issues. These are team measurements, not a universal benchmark.
- Make a go/no-go decision. Keep the engine if the unresolved problems are understood and affordable. Switch while the project contains little content if the slice reveals a platform or workflow blocker.
What choosing each engine commits you to
Godot: open licensing and broad non-console exports
Godot is attractive when avoiding engine fees and vendor lock-in is a priority. The MIT license permits commercial use, while the notice requirement applies when you redistribute the engine binary. The 4.4 documentation covers desktop, Android, iOS, and web exports and names GDScript, C#, and C++.
The main planning caveat is consoles: the open-source core does not supply a console export because of console-maker licensing. If a console release is part of the business plan, identify an approved technical and commercial path first. Also check the version-specific language limitations; the cited 4.4 FAQ says C# is unavailable for web in that documentation version.
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Unity: a threshold-based free tier and a paid console path
Unity Personal is listed as free in 2026 for customers with up to USD $200,000 in revenue and funding. Pro is required above that threshold, and the cited page lists Pro at USD $2,310 per seat per year prepaid or USD $210 per seat per month. Console publishing and Apple Vision Pro publishing are identified as Pro features.
Budget the number of seats and the duration of development rather than treating Pro as a one-time purchase. The Runtime Fee is not part of the current model: Unity says it was canceled on September 12, 2024 and will not apply to games made with Unity 6 or any other Unity version. Recheck plan eligibility before release if your funding or revenue changes.
GameMaker: a low one-time Professional price, with Enterprise for listed consoles
GameMaker allows non-commercial use for free. Its current Help Centre says commercial use requires Professional, and the upgrade page lists a USD $99.99 one-time Professional purchase. Professional covers the vendor’s listed GX Games, Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, HTML5, Android, iOS, and tvOS targets.
For Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch, GameMaker lists Enterprise instead. The published price is USD $79.99 monthly or USD $799.99 yearly, with regional equivalents. Treat that as the engine-plan cost only: platform-holder access, SDKs, development hardware, porting, and certification remain separate questions.
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- Platform access: developer registrations, approval, SDK agreements, and restricted hardware.
- Porting: external specialists or internal engineering time for console, mobile, or browser-specific work.
- Testing: physical devices, operating-system versions, controllers, accessibility checks, localization, and certification fixes.
- Services: multiplayer back ends, analytics, crash reporting, authentication, storage, payment systems, and content delivery.
- Content and middleware: art, audio, fonts, plugins, licenses, and replacement plans if a dependency stops being maintained.
- People and time: the largest cost for most small teams is production time lost to rework or a late engine change.
Put each item in the project budget with an owner and a date for verification. A low engine fee does not make an unsupported export inexpensive, and a paid plan does not guarantee that a platform build will pass certification.
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When each choice is a sensible starting point
A solo or tiny team making a desktop, mobile, or web game
Compare Godot and GameMaker first if avoiding recurring engine charges is important. Godot’s MIT terms remove an engine fee, while GameMaker’s Professional license is a one-time commercial purchase for its listed non-console targets. Build the same risky slice in whichever workflow the team can maintain, and verify the final export rather than inferring suitability from the editor.
A project likely to cross Unity’s revenue or funding threshold
Model Unity Pro before production, using the number of seats and months you expect to need it. The 2026 threshold is USD $200,000 in revenue and funding; above it, Unity says Pro is required. Include the Pro price in the funding plan and confirm the current terms when the project’s status changes.
A game with a firm console requirement
Start with platform feasibility, not engine preference. Unity’s cited page places console publishing in Pro; GameMaker places Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch exports in Enterprise; Godot’s core documentation does not provide an open-source console export. Ask each prospective route how your team obtains approval, SDK access, hardware, porting support, and certification assistance, then prototype on the real target.
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A team choosing between familiar code and a new workflow
Use the team’s existing experience as a risk signal, not as a claim about learning speed. A familiar language may shorten the path to a working slice, while a new engine may still be worthwhile if it removes a platform or licensing blocker. Keep both options alive until the same acceptance test passes.
A decision worksheet you can complete before production
- List every launch platform and mark which are mandatory, preferred, or postponed.
- For each mandatory platform, record the engine plan, developer-account requirements, SDK route, hardware needs, and who will handle porting.
- Write the team’s current experience with each candidate’s editor, scripting language, source control, build system, and required middleware.
- Calculate the engine bill for the expected development period, labeling each amount as free, one-time, monthly, annual, threshold-dependent, or regional.
- Define the vertical-slice acceptance test and the date by which each candidate must produce an installable build.
- Record failures and workarounds in a shared decision log. Include switching costs such as imported content, scripts, plugins, platform-specific code, and retraining.
- Choose the engine only after the mandatory platform and risky mechanic both pass, or explicitly remove the blocked platform from the release plan.
Revisit the worksheet when your revenue, funding, team size, target platform, or engine version changes. Plan terms and export support are not permanent; the official pages linked above are the appropriate places to verify current conditions.
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