10 Best Game Making Software For Beginners in 2024

Use the best game making software for beginners and create all kinds of 2D and 3D games with minimum effort. Such programs offer pre-designed user input, physics, lighting, rendering, and collision allowing you to concentrate on the creative part.

You may use this software even if you don’t have advanced programming skills or coding background.

Top 10 Game Making Software For Beginners

  1. Unity - Collaboration feature
  2. GameMaker Studio 2 - Custom scripting language
  3. Gamesalad - For 2D casual games
  4. Construct 3 - Familiar interface
  5. AppsGeyser - Code-free game creation
  6. Buildbox - With ready-made templates
  7. Unreal Engine - Great for AAA games
  8. Stencyl - Learn code without hassle
  9. Godot - Open source software
  10. GameGuru - 20 game templates

Compiling the list of the best game making software for beginners, I considered such aspects as the availability of full game templates and visual scripting, drag-and-drop interface, and platform support. Moreover, some programs allow learning the basics of coding and are suitable for creating games of particular genres. Test several options from this review and choose the one that you like most.

1. Unity - Our Choice

Collaboration feature
  • Powerful cross-platform tools
  • Visual scripting
  • Easy collaboration
  • None

Verdict: Unity game making software for beginners is the ideal platform to begin learning the basics of 3D animation, video games and graphics creation. It allows users to create complex multi-player user interfaces through the use of assets. Unity giving you a feel for the different concepts that are involved in creating high quality games.

The main advantage of using Unity is that there is no need to pay any sort of licensing fee for the software, nor does it require that you download any additional graphics or scripts. The engine allows for easy creation of realistic and complex 3D scenes, which are essential for creating games that can attract players.

unity interface

2. GameMaker Studio 2

Custom scripting language
  • Simple 2D engine
  • Stunning visual effects
  • Supports 3D
  • Costs extra to export

Verdict: Game Maker Studio allows you to easily make your own personal games and share them with others. It allows users to create complicated 3D games right from their home computer. Once you have made your game and sent it to Game Maker, it will analyze the game design using advanced graphics and algorithms to detect similarities to existing games. Then it will try to emulate the game using its code.

Unlike most game creation programs, Game Maker Studio allows users to edit or modify their game's code during the creation process. The best part of Game Maker Studio is that making your own game is completely free, so you won't be worried about spending money in order to start making your own cool games.

gamemaker studio 2 interface

3. Gamesalad

For 2D casual games
  • A drag and drop interface
  • You can submit own creations
  • Publishes to multiple platforms
  • Limited features

Verdict: Gamesalad is one of the most user friendly game creation packages for the Windows operating system. It is also available to be downloaded onto a number of different mobile devices.

The primary focus of the Gamesalad game making software for beginners is to teach you everything that you need to know about creating amazing apps. These courses make it easy for you to understand how to select graphics, music, sounds, and other types of content that you will be able to use to design games. You will learn how to use text boxes and labels in order to create your own unique games without having to worry about learning coding or programming. But if all these features aren't enough, use one of these Eagle tools for a designer to realize all your ideas.

gamesalad game making software for beginners interface

4. Construct 3

Familiar interface
  • Similar to Microsoft products interface
  • Publish to HTML5
  • Many tutorials
  • Limited free version
construct 3 game making software for beginners logo
Construct 3

Verdict: Construct 3 is a program that makes it easy to create your first level game in as little as 5 minutes. This software makes it easy to create a realistic game world with simple drag and drop tools.

The best part about this game making software is that it comes with full instructions that even a beginner can follow. You can also download the source code to the software so that you can customize the levels and the game experience as much as you want. If you want to create animations for 2D and 3D games you'll need to try video game animation software.

construct 3 game making software for beginners interface

5. AppsGeyser

Code-free game creation
  • Includes leaderboard
  • Social media integration
  • Push notifications
  • Outdated UI
  • Ads timer control in premium only
appsgeyser logo
AppsGeyser

Verdict: It seems that AppsGeyser would be the best solution for all game freaks who might want to create their own free applications without having any coding knowledge and scarcity of a good budget.

With those features, like Leaderboard increasing competitiveness, Social Media integration sharing your progress, Settings customizable, Push Notifications re-engaging, AppsGeyser is letting users create engaging games easily. I'm not trying to say that I'm like the world's best developer or whatever but AppsGeyser has me feeling like a real game dev.

Well, I've actually published a few simple card games (cribbage and solitaire), and they're gaining downloads! Sure, they may not be the next Fortnite yet but the feel of accomplishment is real and learning curve gentle enough so as to keep me from throwing my laptop outside the window.

appsgeyser game making software

6. Buildbox

With ready-made templates
  • Comes with game templates
  • Multiplatform publishing
  • Offers pre animated assets
  • Expensive
buildbox game making software for beginners logo
Buildbox

Verdict: The Buildbox game creation program comes in two different versions. The "Starter" version is aimed at beginners and intermediate users. It includes all of the basic features you'd expect to find in a good video games making program. The "Intermediate" version of the program contains additional tools and features.

Although it doesn't have as many advanced features as other similar software, it does have plenty of basic ones, which make it a great starter package for just about any level of builder. For example, if you need to cut or enhance videos, I recommend to use video editing software. Kids can play with it and learn how to make their first video games without having to worry about the complexities of programming, and adults can use it to brush up on skills they've already acquired.

buildbox game making software for beginners interface

7. Unreal Engine

Great for AAA games
  • Templates for 2D and 3D games
  • With lighting effects
  • Outstanding next-gen graphics
  • Not really robust marketplace
unreal engine game making software for beginners logo
Unreal Engine

Verdict: Unreal Engine allows you to make your own professional grade games with the highest quality visuals and sounds that you can get. With this an open source project you will get access to the most cutting-edge technology that is available.

With this free game making software you can make use of physically-fractured meshes, destructible scenery, and player interaction with the game's user interface. You can create your own game universe using procedural generation and scripting. If you want to take your game to the next level, you will need to invest in some tutorials.

unreal engine game making software for beginners interface

8. Stencyl

Learn code without hassle
  • Good for simple games
  • Support user’s graphics
  • Powerful editing and designing tools
  • Very limited
stencyl game making software for beginners logo
Stencyl

Verdict: This is a type of program that helps you to create simple but exciting computer games in just three steps. After choosing the color scheme, the next step is to choose the objects that will form the various parts of the game according to your choice. The objects that can be used for making games in Stencyl are cubes, beads, lines, dots, shapes and many more. Finally, the last step is to choose the style and the theme for your game and that's it.

This game making software for beginners has a user friendly interface which is easy to understand. It has all the features one needs while making a game. Also Stencyl has a variety of templates that you can choose from according to your liking.

stencyl game making software for beginners interface

9. Godot

Open source software
  • Cross-platform
  • With 3D features
  • Has own coding language
  • Not for beginners
godot game making software for beginners logo
Godot

Verdict: This game making software for beginners can be downloaded free of charge to help you start creating your own computer and video games. Godot will let you easily make your own 3D rendered images, textures or games from scratch. The graphics are not too sophisticated and can be easily made by anyone who has some basic knowledge of computer and graphics.

Godot offers an interactive tutorial to guide you through the entire process. This will help you learn about all the basics of programming, such as how to create your own graphics, music or sounds. Godot game making software for beginners is not expensive and will only cost you about $30.

godot game making software for beginners interface

10. GameGuru

20 game templates
  • Supports multiplayer
  • Extensive asset library
  • With character creator
  • Only for Windows
gameguru game making software for beginners logo
GameGuru

Verdict: Verdict: With the help of the GameGuru game making software for beginners, anyone can create a simple but fun game in a matter of hours. It graphics are top notch, and software has a unique interface that really does make game creation fast and easy. You also can use it as a motion graphics software for making animated characters.

You'll find a huge library of educational videos, books and other resources for kids, teens and adults in this game making software. One of the coolest parts about using the GameGuru is that you'll find a large community of people who love video games and who like to share their thoughts on the games that they play.

gameguru game making software for beginners interface
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