GameMaker will let developers sell games built on its next-generation runtime, GMRT, without a paid licence. In a blog post on 23 October 2026, the 2D-focused engine said GMRT will be “free for commercial use starting January 1, 2027”: developers will be able to build and distribute GMRT games on desktop, mobile, web and GX Games without buying a Professional licence.
What the free terms cover
Today, GameMaker’s free tier is for non-commercial projects. Selling a game requires the one-time Professional licence, listed at $99.99 on GameMaker’s pricing page, or an Enterprise subscription. The announcement changes that rule for GMRT only:
- GMRT games: commercial distribution on desktop, mobile, web and GX Games without a Professional licence, from 1 January 2027.
- Source access now applies “across every tier”, building on GMRT source access announced earlier in 2026.
- Existing Professional owners can keep shipping commercial games on the current GMS2 runtime, and gain access to the GMS2 runtime source code.
- Consoles: exporting to consoles still requires an Enterprise licence and approval as a developer for the platform, “regardless of runtime”.
- Prices: the post says there are “no changes to existing tier pricing”.
Based on the post’s wording, games that stay on the older GMS2 runtime are not covered by the new free commercial terms. Only GMRT projects qualify.
The catch: GMRT is still in beta
GMRT is not yet the finished default. Head of GameMaker Russell Kay describes it as continuing “to roll out in beta across platforms”, and the post gives no version number or date for a stable release. For a team choosing an engine today, the free licence is a promise attached to a runtime that is still maturing. Anyone planning to rely on it should check feature parity with GMS2 for their target platforms before committing a production.
The post also does not state the licence terms that govern the source code. “Source access” is not the same as an open-source licence, and the blog does not say whether developers may modify and redistribute the runtime. That is worth confirming in GameMaker’s licence documents before building on it.
Hobbyists gain, console developers don’t
The move puts GameMaker closer to competitors that charge nothing up front for commercial PC and mobile releases. For hobbyists and students who started on the free tier, the $99.99 step to sell a first game disappears, at least for GMRT. Because the free terms apply only there, GameMaker appears to be using the change to move its user base onto the new runtime. Console developers see no change: Enterprise remains the gate to PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo platforms. Kay frames the change as part of GameMaker’s commitment to “making game development more accessible and flexible for every creator out there”.