head to head · open source
GDevelop vs KlayGE
GDevelop has 28,507 GitHub stars, 1,644 forks, 633 open issues and last shipped yesterday. KlayGE has 2,173 stars, 354 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. GDevelop leads on adoption by 1,212% (28,507 vs 2,173 stars). GDevelop is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; KlayGE is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. GDevelop has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, KlayGE 16%. GDevelop was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (game-engine), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| GDevelop | KlayGE | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-07-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 354 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick GDevelop if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick KlayGE if
- You want the KlayGE feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and KlayGE fits your workflow better
About GDevelop
GDevelop is a full featured, no code, open source game development software. You can build 2D, 3D and multiplayer games for mobile (iOS, Android), desktop and the web. GDevelop is designed to be fast and incredibly intuitive: make games using an easy to understand yet powerful event based system and modular behaviors. Create with AI that assists or builds alongside you. Getting started Are you interested in contributing to GDevelop for the first time? Take a look at the list of good first issues , good first contributions or the "🏐 not too hard" cards on the Roadmap. Games made with GDevelop Find GDevelop games…
read the full GDevelop overview →
About KlayGE
KlayGE KlayGE is a cross platform open source game engine with plugin based architecture. It's started since 2003. The explicit goal of KlayGE is: to arm your engine with cutting edge technology. It provides a framework to make game development, testing, porting as simple as possible. Getting started Before compiling KlayGE, Python 3.6+ and CMake 3.16+ must be installed first. Then you can run Build.py to build the whole code base. For details, please see Installation. Platforms KlayGE can be developed on those platforms, with no limitation. Windows desktop macOS Linux KlayGE can be deployed and run on those…
read the full KlayGE overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is GDevelop or KlayGE more popular?
GDevelop has 28,507 GitHub stars and KlayGE has 2,173. GDevelop has the larger community by that measure.
Are GDevelop and KlayGE free?
Both are open source. GDevelop has no licence declared in this registry, and KlayGE is licensed under GPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GDevelop and KlayGE?
GDevelop is written in JavaScript and KlayGE in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, GDevelop or KlayGE?
Choose GDevelop if you want the larger community (28,507 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose KlayGE if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.