head to head · open source
GDevelop vs NettyGameServer
GDevelop has 28,876 GitHub stars, 1,661 forks, 633 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NettyGameServer has 1,671 stars, 670 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. GDevelop leads on adoption by 1,628% (28,876 vs 1,671 stars). GDevelop is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; NettyGameServer is written in Java under GPL-3.0. GDevelop has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, NettyGameServer 40%. GDevelop was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (game, 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 | NettyGameServer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-14 | 2026-04-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 670 |
| 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 NettyGameServer if
- You want the NettyGameServer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and NettyGameServer 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 NettyGameServer
NettyGameServer 使用netty4.X实现的手机游戏服务器,支持tcp,udp,http,websocket链接,采用protobuf自定义协议栈进行网络通信,支持rpc远程调用,使用mybatis3支持db存储分库分表,支持异步mysql存储,db保存时同步更新reids缓存。 使用ExcelToCode工程，将excel数据生成java类和json数据字典,DictService直接读取json,减少数据字典部分代码。 使用game executor工程,增加游戏内的异步事件全局服务,支持事件sharding,均衡的异步执行事件逻辑 使用netty的proxy模式，增加网关代理转发 master spring boot 分支支持spring boot 增加cocos creator网络链接示例工程 Wiki/文档 源码工具链接 ExcelToCode 数据字典生成 GameShardingDb 游戏数据库 GameThreadPool 游戏常用线程池 game executor 游戏常用循环调度执行器 GameCodeGenerate 工具(包含新版本数据字典生成) redis game transaction 事务 贡献源码&合作&交流 作者qq 330258845 QQ群:310158485(已满) 513178622
read the full NettyGameServer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is GDevelop or NettyGameServer more popular?
GDevelop has 28,876 GitHub stars and NettyGameServer has 1,671. GDevelop has the larger community by that measure.
Are GDevelop and NettyGameServer free?
Both are open source. GDevelop has no licence declared in this registry, and NettyGameServer is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GDevelop and NettyGameServer?
GDevelop is written in JavaScript and NettyGameServer in Java. 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 NettyGameServer?
Choose GDevelop if you want the larger community (28,876 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose NettyGameServer if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.