head to head · open source
GDevelop vs orx
GDevelop has 28,876 GitHub stars, 1,661 forks, 633 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orx has 1,788 stars, 124 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. GDevelop leads on adoption by 1,515% (28,876 vs 1,788 stars). GDevelop is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; orx is written in C under Zlib. GDevelop has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, orx 7%. GDevelop was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (game-development, game-engine, gamedev), 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 | orx | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Custom / other | Zlib |
| Written in | JavaScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-14 | 2026-11-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 124 |
| 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 orx if
- You want the orx feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Zlib license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and orx 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 orx
A (HEAVILY) DATA DRIVEN 2D GAME ENGINE Orx (Version 1.17) ======================================== This engine is licensed under the very permissive zlib license (i.e. it's free for any commercial or non commercial use), see the LICENSE file for details. Email iarwain [at] orx project.org to contact the author or come chat with us on Discord if you have any questions, feedback or comments. Summary Orx is a heavily data driven, 2D oriented game engine, focused primarily on ease of use, performances and powerful features. (See below for a list of supported platforms.) This is a release candidate for orx v1.17. If…
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Frequently asked questions
Is GDevelop or orx more popular?
GDevelop has 28,876 GitHub stars and orx has 1,788. GDevelop has the larger community by that measure.
Are GDevelop and orx free?
Both are open source. GDevelop has no licence declared in this registry, and orx is licensed under Zlib. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GDevelop and orx?
GDevelop is written in JavaScript and orx 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 orx?
Choose GDevelop if you want the larger community (28,876 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose orx if its feature set, stack or Zlib licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.