GameMaker has been the engine behind some of indie gaming’s biggest success stories. Originally created by Mark Overmars, a Dutch computer science professor, in 1999 as a teaching tool, the software evolved into a full-featured 2D game development platform that’s launched dozens of hit titles.
YoYo Games acquired GameMaker in 2007 and developed it into a professional game engine. Opera (the browser company) then acquired YoYo Games in 2021 for $10 million, an amount that seems remarkably low given the engine’s cultural impact. The product is now developed under the GameMaker brand from offices in Dundee, Scotland.
The engine’s resume of notable games speaks for itself. Undertale (over 10 million copies), Hyper Light Drifter, Hotline Miami, Katana Zero, Nuclear Throne, Spelunky, Risk of Rain, and Nidhogg were all built with GameMaker. These titles collectively represent some of the most celebrated indie games of the past decade.
GameMaker uses its own scripting language called GML (GameMaker Language), which is designed to be accessible to beginners while powerful enough for complex games. The drag-and-drop visual programming system lets non-coders prototype gameplay quickly. The engine exports to Windows, macOS, Linux, HTML5, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
In 2022, GameMaker went free for non-commercial use, removing the price barrier that had been one of its main disadvantages compared to Unity and Godot. Commercial licenses are available for developers who want to sell their games.
While GameMaker is primarily a 2D engine (3D support is limited), this focus has made it one of the best tools available for pixel art games, top-down shooters, platformers, and other 2D genres. The engine’s sprite editor, tile system, and room editor are purpose-built for 2D workflows.
