YoYo Games, creator of the popular GameMaker engine, has switched up its pricing model and appears to be much more accessible as a result.
An official blog post written by GameMaker head Russell Kay writes that the engine "will be free for non-commercial purposes on all non-console platforms." The post also confirms that in place of its old subscription model, a new one-time fee will be introduced, acting as a commercial license "to meet the needs of hobbyist and indie developers."
This marks a change for the GameMaker engine in that while it's always been free to download, developers still had to pay a fee to be able to export their finished games. That's no longer the case, and those looking to put their games out there for free can do so at no cost.
The new one-time fee, as reported by VGC, will cost $100 (around £79) and enable developers to sell their games on PC, Mac, and mobile devices. GameMaker's Enterprise tier remains unchanged, costing $80 per month (or $800 annually) for developers who wish to sell their games on console, PC, and mobile.
The changes to GameMaker's pricing model have been received largely positively. On Twitter, developer Rami Ismail said the change "is incredible news for game developers - GameMaker remains the most potent 2D prototyping tool I've ever worked in, and to see it become free for non-commercial use is incredible."
If you're not familiar with GameMaker, then you may be familiar with some of the best indie games made with the engine. These include Forager, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, and Undertale as well as the Devolver Digital-published Katana Zero and Hotline Miami series.
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