Video game engines are an essential building block to create open-world RPGs, MMOs, FPSs, and more. Every video game runs on some kind of game engine. Game engines are capable of outstanding worlds as we have seen in recent years. Engines are what give fans gorgeous graphics, stellar gameplay mechanics, and unique characters.
Unfortunately, not every game engine is created equally. Some game engines are created in-house while other developers purchase commercial licenses to use an engine. However, for this ranking, only the cream of the crop will be considered. The best game engines here are ranked by their potential, their portfolio, and the graphics of the games they have created. Of course, players can have their own opinions in this department, but it’s important to see how these engines stack up against each other from an objective standpoint regardless.
Updated on September 1, 2024, by Mehrdad Khayyat: As the gaming industry evolves and game development becomes more costly, some of the bigger studios start to work on their in-house engines to lower the outsourcing costs or cut the royalty payments for using third-party software like Unity or Unreal Engine.
This was a policy that peaked during the 7th and 8th generations of consoles, leading to the appearance of so many different game engines that were exclusive to certain studios. This, however, created a new problem for the development teams, as every new employee would have to take a training course to learn to work with the in-house engine, while third-party engines were easier to learn and freely available to indie developers.
19
Adventure Game Studio
Release: 1997
- Developer: Chris Jones
- License: Artistic License (Open-Source)
There was a time when freeware games made using Adventure Game Studio were all the rage. These titles continued the tradition of point-and-click adventure gaming, which had become a thing of the past for many. Many excellent story-driven titles were created using this engine, with notable video game personality Ben “Yahtzee” Crowshaw being one of the many aspiring developers who tried their hands with this malleable engine.
While some people may argue that this engine has lost its relevance in modern times, there are still some passionate devs who try to channel the good ol’ days of point-and-click gaming. Notable mentions include Kathy Rain, Gemini Rue, and Unavowed, three games that show that this engine still has a lot of legs to stand upon in the hands of a talented developer.
18
Ren’Py
Release: 2004
- Developer: Tom “PyTom” Rothamel
- License: MIT
Players who love visual novels are more than familiar with Ren’Py, an engine made with Python that lets players develop unique visual novels that feature heavy stories, great artwork, and relaxing gameplay as players go through these titles at their own pace and experience what the many games featuring this engine have to offer.
Of course, not all titles made using this engine are run-of-the-mill visual novels with linear stories and the like. Some games try to experiment the best they can given the limitations of this engine, with games like Doki Doki Literature Club showing how games can subvert expectations and take players on a wild ride for the ages that horrifies them to their very core.
17
GameMaker
Release: 1999
- Developer: YoYo Games
- License: Source-available commercial software with one-time fee
One of the most popular tools used to create most modern indie games (before Godot came and stole its thunder), GameMaker is responsible for some excellent video games that push this engine to its very limits. The barrier to entry when it comes to developing games using this engine isn’t all that high, meaning that developers can hone their skills and take their first step into video game development.
Some of the most notable games made using this engine include the beloved Undertale, Katana ZERO, Hyper Light Drifter, and Hotline Miami. All these games are in a class of their own and make it infinitely clear why both players and developers respect GameMaker and how it strives to make one’s entry in video game development as easy as possible.
16
Creation Engine
Release: 2011
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- License: Proprietary
While the reputation of the Creation Engine has taken a hit in recent times, no one can deny the fact that Bethesda’s new engine set the world on fire when Skyrim launched. The ease of modding with this engine coupled with the amazing quality of Skyrim led many people to believe that this engine was in a class of its own, although it only took a few years for the drawbacks of this engine to rear their head.
However, these issues can be ignored in the grand scheme of things, with the Creation Engine allowing players to enjoy some of the best open-world RPGs that players still can’t get enough of to this day. Fans can only hope that Bethesda regains the goodwill they enjoyed back when this engine made its debut, with the recent trajectory of the studio being anything but impressive.
15
Snowdrop
Release: 2013
- Developer: Massive Entertainment
- License: Proprietary
Debuted by Tom Clancy’s The Division, Snowdrop is a Ubisoft-owned engine that has been hosting most of the major projects by Massive Entertainment since 2013. The engine was created to help Massive Entertainment create better games for the eighth generation of consoles with better animations, lighting, and destruction features.
Since the release of The Division, Snowdrop has received updates over time. Massive Entertainment developed both Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars: Outlaws based on Snowdrop. However, the engine is not exclusive to the Malmo-based studio. Ubisoft San Francisco also used the same engine to develop its free-to-play shooter XDefiant.
14
Decima
Release: 2013
- Developer: Guerrilla Games
- License: Proprietary
One of the many great video game engines under Sony’s belt, Decima is a proprietary engine developed by Guerrilla Games that most players got to know about following the release of Horizon Zero Dawn, even if other games before this open-world adventure were developed using this engine. It’s a technical marvel that continues to remain relevant to this day.
The fact that veteran developer Kojima chose the Decima engine to develop Death Stranding is a testament to just how much stock developers put into this excellent engine. It’ll take a lot of time before this engine loses its luster, and the talent of the developers in Guerrilla Games is palpable for everyone to see.
13
Fox Engine
Release: 2013
- Developer: Kojima Productions
- License: Proprietary
Fox Engine is the proprietary game engine from Konami Digital Entertainment. Fox Engine has been used to make many of the modern Metal Gear and other projects such as P.T. The canceled Silent Hill game would have also run on this game engine.
While Metal Gear Solid 5 was a great example of how technically excellent this engine was, the tiff between Konami and Kojima caused this engine to be used for many mediocre games ever since. This is the primary reason many people don’t rate the Fox Engine despite it having a ton of promise — it has a relatively small portfolio and hasn’t realized its full potential, despite the graphics and technical excellence of this console being pretty brilliant in its own right.
12
Ubisoft Anvil
Release: 2007
- Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
- License: Proprietary
Ubisoft has a good history of making in-house engines, and Anvil is probably the best of them. Originally known as Scimitar, the engine was built from the ground up for Assassin’s Creed by Ubisoft Montreal. Later on, the French developer used the same engine for the first iteration of the Prince of Persia franchise as well.
The engine has received four upgrades so far and has been used for many other projects like Rainbow Six Siege, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, For Honor, Immortals Fenyx Rising, and more. Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake are the latest projects under development at Ubisoft Anvil.
11
Frostbite
Release: 2008
- Developer: DICE
- License: Proprietary
Electronic Arts has moved from other game engines to use the Frostbite engine for all its games. The only studio under the EA brand that does not use the Frostbite engine is Respawn Entertainment. Dice has used the Frostbite engine for most of the modern Battlefield games, with EA employing the services of this engine to develop titles like FIFA and Dragon Age: Inquisition as well.
Frostbite is visually striking, with the clear visuals being a standout feature of this particular game engine. That being said, even its most ardent defenders will have to agree that the load times for games running on this engine can be a tad too long for some people’s tastes, especially on outdated HDDs. The engine isn’t bug-free either… but Frostbite has shown more positives than negatives throughout its run, making it a good game engine that just needs to iron out its kinks.
10
Godot
Release: 2014
- Developer: Juan Linietsky and Ariel Manzur
- License: MIT License
Godot is the newest popular video game engine to hit the market, and it’s already making some serious waves, While the number of games released using this engine isn’t all that high, this portfolio is only bound to increase over time given how much developers love using this beginner-friendly engine.
With innovative games like Cruelty Squad and Cassette Beasts being developed on this engine and released to great critical and commercial fanfare, it’s easy to see why so many people see Godot as another bright and promising step for indie gaming. It’s not even been a decade since this engine launched, and the amount of buzz it has already generated is pretty exciting in its own right.
9
RPG Maker
Release: 1992
- Developer: Degica
- License: Proprietary
Most people would be surprised to see RPG Maker here, given how simplistic this video game engine is. However, unlike most high-budget video game engines out there, RPG Maker allows fledgling indie developers to make the most of this engine and develop some truly astounding games that showcase the wealth of creativity and brilliance that shine through, showing that large wads of cash and 100+ developer teams aren’t the only things required to craft a great game.
RPG Maker has been used to develop some truly amazing games that fans can’t stop raving about. Notable examples include Omori, Hylics, Lisa: The Painful, To the Moon, and Fear & Hunger, to name a few. Sure, there are times when the ease of access to this engine leads to the development of many generic, uninspiring games… but players willing to wade in these waters will find some amazing diamonds in the rough!
8
Unity
Release: 2005
- Developer: Unity Technologies
- License: Proprietary
Unity was considered to be one of the best game engines because of the availability indie developers have to it and the games it has been used for. Games like Outer Wilds, Inside, and Ori & The Will of the Wisps run on this engine. It has been used to make games since 2005 and has slowly gained traction among developers, with the software getting major props for being easy to develop for beginners who may not know that much about coding and developing video games.
Indie games stand out in a few different ways, with one of the major differences being just how artsy and engaging these video games are. Unity has allowed indie developers to create such outstanding pieces of art, with the sheer variety of games made in this engine being quite mind-blowing in its own right. However, their recent anti-consumer practices have placed the engine in a bad light, and developers will have to spend a lot of time regaining their hard-earned goodwill.
7
REDengine
Release: 2011
- Developer: CD Projekt Red
- License: Proprietary
It’s a shame that CD Projekt Red is abandoning REDengine and shifting its resources over to Unreal Engine 5 instead. After all, the in-house engine has helped in the creation of one of the finest-looking video games out there, Cyberpunk 2077.
The game may have suffered from a hasty launch, but the developers have successfully turned around the game’s reputation and shown what REDengine 2 is capable of. Hopefully, the switch to UE5 doesn’t end up causing problems for CD Projekt Red, and their next major release isn’t a broken mess too!
6
Havok
Release: 2000
- Developer: Havok
- License: Proprietary/Shareware
Havok is an Irish-based game engine owned by a company of the same name, with Microsoft as its parent company. Havok has been used to create games since 2000. In more than 20 years of its operations, the engine has produced critically acclaimed video games such as Black Ops 2, Assassin’s Creed 3, Uncharted 4, and more.
Havok is still being used today, which shows how much of a popular game engine it is. Developers are capable of building a wide range of game worlds. Its portfolio of games is one of the best on this list which makes it an exceptional game engine.
5
RAGE
Release: 2005
- Developer: Rockstar San Diego
- License: Proprietary
Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) has been the primary powerhouse for all the Rockstar’s beloved games since the seventh generation of consoles. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis was the first game developed by RAGE. It was released exclusively on Xbox 360 back in 2006 and then launched on Nintendo Wii in 2007. Since then, RAGE has become the main in-house engine for the upcoming projects of Rockstar, including Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series.
RAGE is not built from the ground up though. This is an engine based on Angel Game Engine created by Angel Studio, a game development team that was acquired by Take-Two Interactive back in 2002 and rebranded as Rockstar San Diego. The same team then started upgrading the engine over time and rebranding it to RAGE, which is still the studio’s main engine and is currently used for developing Grand Theft Auto 6.
4
CryEngine
Release: 2002
- Developer: Crytek
- License: Source-available commercial software with royalty model for commercial use
Cryengine and Frostbite are graphically equivalent, but CryEngine beats it in some areas. The Crysis series was known to be graphically demanding for PC. Crytek, the developer behind this groundbreaking game engine, has created a variety of games using this engine. From science-fiction shooters to Rome-torn streets, this game engine can do it all.
Amateur game developers can also download the engine for free. They are capable of downloading the engine and playing around with it as much as they like. It is only until commercial use is needed that developers need to pay. CryEngine is graphically demanding but the load times are surprisingly great for how complex its visuals are, proving that this engine was ahead of its time in every way.
3
id Tech
Release: 1993
- Developer: id Software
- License: Proprietary
id Software is one of the biggest names in the video game industry. Why wouldn’t they be — after all, the developer is responsible for creating one of the most legendary video games ever made that pioneered the first-person shooter genre and made it so relevant to this day! Their combat with 2016’s reboot of Doom was a much-welcome sight, letting players rip and tear their way through a horde of nightmarish demons.
id Tech 7 powered Doom Eternal, one of the most visually impressive games of the last decade. While this achievement should be lauded, the past iterations of the engine are more legendary if players take a solely objective viewpoint of the games that were developed on said platforms.
2
Unreal Engine
Release: 1995
- Developer: Epic Games
- License: Source-available commercial software with royalty model for commercial use
Unreal Engine made an appearance in 1998 and was designed for first-person shooters like Unreal. Following this title, the game engine has been used for a wide variety of genres and has continued to develop and deliver incredible games with mind-blowing graphics. This Epic Games proprietary engine is currently on its fifth iteration, with the visuals being so remarkable that many tech demons genuinely make it feel like these titles are emulating the visuals seen in real life, which is no mean feat.
Most recent games that have used Unreal Engine include Gears 5, The Outer Worlds, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. These three games alone received great recognition for their gameplay and graphics, and show just how groundbreaking and spectacular this game engine is.
1
Source
Release: 2004
- Developer: Valve
- License: Proprietary
Valve’s proprietary game engine, Source, has created a load of exceptional video games. From Half-Life to Counter-Strike, the Source engine has done a great job of keeping gamers happy. Of course, many recent games have used a modified version of this engine to great effect.
Respawn Entertainment created the Titanfall games with the Source engine. Of course, another popular game that uses this engine to great effect is Apex Legends, which is a genuinely astonishing fact given how brilliant the game looks even now. The artistic style in this popular hero shooter is incredible and goes to show that Valve captured lightning in a bottle by creating the greatest video game engine of all time.