Starting January 1, 2027, the GameMaker engine series, known for its use in titles like Undertale, Hotline Miami, and Spelunky, will become free for commercial use on PC, web, and mobile platforms. This change, announced by current developers YoYo Games, owned by Opera, means developers will no longer need a Professional license to publish monetized games created with the latest GameMaker tools on these platforms.
While PC, web, and mobile development will transition to a free model, a paid license will still be required for console releases. Developers seeking to export to consoles will need an Enterprise license and must be approved developers, with no changes to existing tier pricing expected.
GameMaker, a toolset with a history spanning approximately 26 years, was previously made free for non-commercial use in November 2023. The engine has been instrumental in the development of numerous indie titles from studios and creators such as Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter), Toby Fox (Undertale), Derek Yu (Spelunky), Vlambeer (Nuclear Throne), and Dennaton Games (Hotline Miami).
Community developer Ross Manthorpe detailed the upcoming shift on the official GameMaker site. He explained that developers who currently possess a Professional license will retain the ability to commercially distribute games made on the existing GMS2 runtime and will gain access to the GMS2 runtime source code. The latest incarnation, GameMaker Runtime, is also aiming to enhance the toolset's 3D capabilities, moving beyond its historical focus on 2D visuals and novice programmers.