Starting today, GameMaker will be free to use for non-commercial, non-console projects, and the company is waiving its monthly indie/creator-tier subscription fee in favor of a one-time paid license fee of $99. Additionally, if you are currently enrolled in the Indie/Creator tier and wish to pay the licensing fee, any subscription fees you have paid will be deducted from the price. Verify the FAQ page for details.
Russell Kay, director of GameMaker, said the changes were a way for the company to express its gratitude to users, explaining that since 2021, GameMaker has seen its user base triple. Kay also had a subtle but effective pitch for GameMaker’s competitors.
“We’ve seen other platforms take awkward steps with their pricing and terms, so we thought, what if we did the opposite, something that could actually be good for developers?” Kay wrote in the ad.
Although customers currently enrolled in an enterprise-level subscription will see no changes to their plans, it appears GameMaker is counting on the pricing update to attract more people to the software.
“Our success is measured by the number of people who create games!” Kay wrote.
