Defold is a game engine and editor that combines Lua scripting, scene construction, hot reloading, profiling, and cross-platform builds, supporting developers who want to create and ship games through a compact integrated development workflow.
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Defold is available for ongoing use without a purchase or timed trial. Free game engine without engine royalties; custom source terms, platform fees, assets, and optional support remain separate. Its source is available under project-specific terms rather than a blanket permissive license.
Free software
$0ongoing software access
Free game engine without engine royalties; custom source terms, platform fees, assets, and optional support remain separate.
Defold is a useful option for developers building cross-platform games with Lua. Create a small playable scene and test the edit-build-run loop before integrating platform services or native extensions. Start with a small, representative task so you can check the results before extending the setup.
Profile a representative scene on target hardware and verify each platform's distribution requirements early in the project. Consider the practical trade-off: source license restricts engine commercialization.
A few things you might be wondering.
Is Defold free?
Defold is available for ongoing use without a purchase or timed trial. Free game engine without engine royalties; custom source terms, platform fees, assets, and optional support remain separate. Its source is available under project-specific terms rather than a blanket permissive license.
Is Defold open source under an unmodified Apache license?
No. It is source available under the Defold License, which restricts commercialization of the engine itself.
Does Defold charge royalties on games?
The project states that the engine has no licensing fees, royalties, or runtime fees.
Where can I check the latest prices?
Use the provider link on this page. Billing period, location, team size, promotions, taxes, and optional extras may affect the amount you pay.
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Are the user reviews moderated?
Yes. New reviews are submitted for moderation. We show published user reviews separately from the editorial overview and never assign a default user rating.
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