head to head · open source
Pumpkin vs forgottenserver
Pumpkin has 11,360 GitHub stars, 821 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped today. forgottenserver has 1,841 stars, 1,142 forks, 226 open issues and last shipped today. Pumpkin leads on adoption by 517% (11,360 vs 1,841 stars). Pumpkin is written in Rust under GPL-3.0; forgottenserver is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Pumpkin has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, forgottenserver 62%. forgottenserver was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (game-server, server), 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
| Pumpkin | forgottenserver | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 11K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 821 | ⑂ 1.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Pumpkin if
- You weight community size — 11K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick forgottenserver if
- You want the forgottenserver 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 forgottenserver fits your workflow better
About Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a Minecraft server implementation written entirely in Rust that aims to let anyone host fast and efficient Java and Bedrock Edition servers, and it is built for server operators and plugin developers who want vanilla compatible gameplay without the official Java server.
read the full Pumpkin overview →
About forgottenserver
The Forgotten Server is a free and open source MMORPG server emulator written in C++ that lets a team run its own OpenTibia compatible game world and connect players to it with a compatible client.
read the full forgottenserver overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pumpkin or forgottenserver more popular?
Pumpkin has 11,360 GitHub stars and forgottenserver has 1,841. Pumpkin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Pumpkin and forgottenserver free?
Both are open source. Pumpkin is licensed under GPL-3.0 and forgottenserver under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Pumpkin and forgottenserver?
Pumpkin is written in Rust and forgottenserver 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, Pumpkin or forgottenserver?
Choose Pumpkin if you want the larger community (11,360 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose forgottenserver if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.