List of open-source video games
This is a list of notable open-source video games. Open-source video games are assembled from and are themselves open-source software, including public domain games with public domain source code. This list also includes games in which the engine is open-source but other data (such as art and music) is under a more restrictive license.
Open engine and free data
[edit]The games in this table are developed under a free and open-source license with free content which allows reuse, modification and commercial redistribution of the whole game. Licenses can be public domain, GPL, BSD, Creative Commons, zlib, MIT, Artistic License or other (see the comparison of Free and open-source software and the Comparison of free and open-source software licenses).
Title | First release | Last release | Genre | Engine license | Content license | Dimensions | Other information | Programming language |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 A.D. | 2009 | 2022 | RTS | GPL-2.0-or-later | CC BY-SA 3.0 | 3D | Historical, cross-platform RTS, using an original engine named Pyrogenesis. Game source-code released July 10, 2009.[1] | C++, JavaScript, GLSL |
2048 | 2014 | 2014 | Puzzle | MIT | MIT | 2D | A sliding block puzzle game. | Ruby, JavaScript, HTML, CSS |
A Dark Room | 2013 | 2013 | Online text-based role-playing game | Mozilla Public License | Mozilla Public License | Text | In July 2013 the source code of the game was put on GitHub under MPL 2.0.[2] Became commercially successful after the source code release. | Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS |
Abuse | 1996 | 2011 | Run and gun | Public-domain software | Public domain | 2D | C, C++, newLISP, CMake, Common Lisp | |
Argentum Online | 1999 | 2018 | MMORPG | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | First open-source MMORPG developed in Argentina.[citation needed] | Visual Basic, VBA, JavaScript, C++, HTML |
Armagetron Advanced | 2001 | 2020 | Racing | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | A multiplayer 3D Tron lightcycle racing game. | C++ |
AstroMenace | 2007 | 2022 | Arcade | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later, CC BY-SA 4.0 | 3D | A top-scrolling space shooter. | C, C++ |
Ballerburg | 1987 | 2008 (ports) | Artillery game | Public-domain software | Public domain | 2D | Public-domain software on the authors website with source code.[3] Later ported to other systems such as Linux, MacOS, iOS, etc. | |
The Battle for Wesnoth | 2005 | 2024 | TBТ | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later, CC BY-SA 4.0 | 2D | Turn-based tactical strategy game with RPG elements. Includes a single-player campaign and skirmish modes as well as multiplayer. | C++, Lua, Python |
Biniax | 2005 | 2012 | Puzzle | zlib | zlib | 2D | ||
Bos Wars | 2004 | 2013 | RTS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | Isometric 2D | 2D real-time strategy game running on a modified version of the Stratagus engine. | |
BZFlag | 1997 | 2022 | Tank FPS | LGPL-2.1-only and MPL-2.0 | LGPL-2.1-only and MPL-2.0 | 3D | A first-person shooter 3D tank-based multiplayer online game. | |
C-Dogs SDL | 2002 | 2024 | Run and gun | Public-domain software (engine) / GPL-2.0-or-later (game code) | CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA | 2D | Overhead run-and-gun, with hotseat cooperative and deathmatch play for up to four players. | |
Cart Life | 2011 | 2017 | Simulation | Cart Life's Free License (permissive license) | Cart Life's Free License (permissive license), Freeware | 2D | In March 2014 the source code and game was made available by Richard Hofmeier for free online, saying he was finished supporting the game.[4][5] Winner of the IGF 2013 award.[6] Mirrored on GitHub.[7] | |
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead | 2013 | 2023 | RPG/Roguelike | CC BY-SA 3.0 | CC BY-SA 3.0 | 2D | A post-apocalyptic survival roguelike with open-ended gameplay. Financed by a successful crowdfunding campaign on kickstarter.com on 22 June 2013.[8] | |
Chromium B.S.U. | 2000 | 2016 | Arcade | Clarified Artistic | MIT | 2D | A fast-paced arcade-style top-scrolling space shooter. | |
Colobot | 2001 | 2021 | RTS, Educational | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 3D | Source code of the original game by EPSITEC SA was released in March 2012.[9][10] Since then, the game is maintained by the community as Colobot: Gold Edition.[11] | |
Colossal Cave Adventure | 1976 | 1995 | Text adventure | Public-domain software[12] | Public domain | Text | The original text adventure game by Crowther and Woods. | |
Core War | 1984 | 1984 | Programming game | Various (public domain, BSD, GPL)[13] | Various | Text | Original created by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney, and continued through the present day by the community. | |
Crossfire | 1992 | 2019 | MMORPG | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | Crossfire originally started as a Gauntlet clone[14] developed by Frank Tore Johansen at the University of Oslo, Norway.[15] | |
DDraceNetwork | 2013 | 2024 | Platformer | zlib | CC BY-SA 3.0 (except font) | 2D | 2D online multiplayer side-scrolling co-op platformer. | C++ |
Diamond Trust of London | 2012 | 2012 | TBS | Public-domain software | Public domain | 2D | Following a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, Diamond Trust of London was developed by Jason Rohrer and published by indiePub. On August 28, 2012, it was released for the Nintendo DS. The game has been placed in the public domain, hosted on SourceForge, like most of Rohrer's games.[16] | |
DRL | 2013 | 2016 | Roguelike | GPL-2.0-or-later | CC BY-SA 4.0 | 2.5D | Based on Doom and Doom II. | |
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup | 2006 | 2023 | Roguelike | GPL-2.0-or-later | CC0 | 2D | An open-source fork of the 1997 game Linley's Dungeon Crawl. | |
Endgame: Singularity | 2005 | 2020 | Science fiction/AI simulation game | GPL-2.0-or-later | CC BY-SA 3.0 | 2D | Written in Python by EMH, later continued by the community.[17] | |
Endless Sky | 2015[18] | 2024[18] | Space trading and combat simulator[19] | GPL-3[19] | Public domain, various CC licenses[19] | 2D | Inspired by the Escape Velocity series of games. Continuously updated.[19] | C++ |
Enigma | 2003 | 2021 | Puzzle | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | Oxyd clone. | |
Fish Fillets NG | 2004 | 2011 | Puzzle | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | Released commercially as Fish Fillets in 1998. Source released in 2002 under GPL-2.0-or-later. | |
FlightGear | 1997 | 2023 | Flight Sim | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | Microsoft Flight Simulator-inspired clone. | |
Freeciv | 1996 | 2023 | TBS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | Isometric 2D | Civilization II clone. | |
FreeCol | 2003 | 2023 | TBS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | Isometric 2D | Sid Meier's Colonization clone. | |
FreeDink | 2006 | 2019 | RPG | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | Dink Smallwood fork with non-free assets replaced with free ones | C++ |
Friday Night Funkin' | 2020 | 2021 | Rhythm | MIT License (engine) / Apache License 2.0 (game) | Apache License 2.0 (may be non-commercial[20]) | 2D | A bi-dimensional rhythm game, with gameplay reminiscent of Dance Dance Revolution and aesthetics reminiscent of early-to-mid-2000s browser games. | Haxe |
Frozen Bubble | 2002 | 2008 | Puzzle | GPL-2.0-only | GPL-2.0-only | 2D | Puzzle Bobble clone. | |
Gang Garrison 2 | 2008 | 2019 | Shooter | Proprietary (engine) / MPLv2 (game code) | MPLv2 | 2D | A retro "demake" of Team Fortress 2. The project was previously under GPLv3. | |
Glest | 2004 | 2008 | RTS | GPL-3.0-or-later | CC BY-SA 3.0 | 3D | 3D real-time strategy game with two factions, AI, and same-platform networking support. Development ceased in 2008. Two forks exist, named MegaGlest and Glest Advanced Engine. | |
Globulation 2 | 2008 | 2009 | RTS | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | In open beta as of 2019. | |
GLtron | 2003 | 2016 | Racing | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | Based on the light cycle portion of the film Tron. | |
GNOME Games | 1997 | 2021 | Various | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | A collection of games accompanying the rest of the GNOME desktop environment. | ||
GNU Chess | 1984 | 2021 | TBS | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | Chess-playing engine developed by the GNU Project. | |
GNU Go | 1999 | 2009 | TBS | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | Go-playing engine developed by the GNU Project. | |
Hunt the Wumpus | 1973 | 1981 | Survival horror/adventure/puzzle | Various (Public-domain software,[21] GPLv2,[22] MIT)[23] | Various (Public-domain software,[21] GPLv2,[22] MIT)[23] | 2D | Hunting a monster called Wumpus while moving through caves. | |
HyperRogue | 2011 | 2021 | Puzzle/Roguelike/Educational | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | Hyperbolic | Puzzle roguelike in the hyperbolic plane. | |
kiki the nano bot | 2003 | 2007 | Puzzle | Public-domain software | Public domain | 3D | Mixture of Sokoban and Kula World. | |
Lincity | 1999 | 2013 | City-building game | GPL-2.0-only | GPL-2.0-only | 2.5D | SimCity clone. | |
Liquid War | 1995 | 2015 | Maze games | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | 2D game in which you control particles and move them to defeat the opposing side. | |
Luanti (formerly Minetest) | 2010 | 2023 | Sandbox, Survival | zlib (engine) / LGPL-2.1-or-later[24] (game code) | LGPL-2.1-or-later[24] | 3D | A voxel engine for building games similar to Infiniminer and Minecraft. | |
Lugaru | 2005 | 2017 | Action/third-person shooter | GPL-2.0-or-later | CC BY-SA[25] | 3D | A game by Wolfire Games where the player is an anthropomorphic rabbit who seeks revenge when a group of enemy rabbits kill their family. | |
Maelstrom | 1992 | 2010 | Shoot 'em up | GPL-2.0-only | CC BY 3.0 | 2D | ||
Mari0 | 2012 | 2018 | Platformer | zlib License (engine) / MIT License (game code) | MIT | 2D | Remake of Super Mario Bros. with elements from Portal. | |
MegaGlest | 2010 | 2016 | RTS | GPL-3.0-or-later | CC BY-SA 3.0 | 3D | Cross-platform 3D real-time strategy game for up to eight players (can be AI-controlled) on seven factions. MegaGlest is a fork of Glest. | |
Mindustry | 2017 | 2023 | RTS, | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | 3D | The automation tower defense RTS, written in Java. | |
Moria | 1983 | 1999 | RPG/Roguelike | GPL-2.0-only[26][27] | GPL-2.0-only | 2D | Roguelike RPG based heavily on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. | |
NetHack | 1987 | 2023 | RPG/roguelike | NetHack GPL | NetHack GPL | Text | Single-player dungeon exploration game. | |
Netrek | 1988 | 2020[28] | Shoot 'em up | MIT | MIT | 2D | A successor to 1986's Xtrek, Netrek was first played in 1988. It was the third Internet game, the first Internet team game, and as of 2022 is the oldest Internet game still actively played. | |
Nexuiz | 2005 | 2009 | FPS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | Forked into Xonotic. | |
NoGravity | 1997 (?) | 2005 | Space shooter | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | Source code of the Wing Commander-inspired game released by realtech VR on February 16, 2005.[29] | |
One Hour One Life | 2018 | 2023 | Survival | Public domain | Public domain | 2D | Multiplayer co-op survival game. | |
Oolite | 2006 | 2020 | Space Sim | GPL-2.0-or-later | Dual-licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later and CC BY-NC-SA-3.0 | 3D | Elite clone. | |
OpenArena | 2005 | 2012 | FPS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | Quake III clone. | |
OpenCity | 2003 | 2008 | City-building game | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | SimCity clone. | |
OpenClonk | 2010 | 2018 | Action, Platform | ISC | CC BY | 2D | Successor of the Clonk shareware series. | |
OpenTTD | 2005 | 2023 | Business Sim | GPL-2-0-only | GPL-2-0-only, GPL-2-0-or-later, CC BY-SA 3.0, CDDL 1.1 | 2D | Open-source clone of Transport Tycoon Deluxe. | |
Passage | 2007 | 2007 | Side-scroller | Public-domain software | Public domain | 2D | In 2007 Rohrer released the game's source code and assets into the public domain,[30] while asking for donations (donationware) and selling the iOS version for $0.99.[31] | |
Pingus | 1998 | 2011 | Puzzle | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | Lemmings clone. | |
Pinball Construction Set | 1982 | 1983 | Pinball, game creation system | MIT | MIT | 2D | First construction set video game, and one of the initial Electronic Arts releases. | |
Pioneer | 2006 | 2023 | Space sim | GPL-3.0-only | CC BY-SA | 3D | Inspired by Frontier: Elite 2. | |
PokerTH | 2006 | 2017 | Card | AGPL-3.0-or-later | AGPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | Open-source virtual poker game. | |
Red Eclipse | 2011 | 2019 | FPS | zlib license | CC BY-SA | 3D | A fork of Cube 2: Sauerbraten, with improved graphics and a style of play that incorporates parkour movement. | |
Rigs of Rods | 2005 | 2022 | Vehicle sim | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 3D | Rigs of Rods was initially created as an off-road truck simulator, but has developed into a versatile physics sandbox. | |
Rocks'n'Diamonds | 1995 | 2018 | Puzzle | GPL-2.0-only | GPL-2.0-only | 2D | A scrolling tile-based computer puzzle game that can be described as a combined Boulder Dash, Supaplex, Emerald Mine, and Sokoban clone. | |
Ryzom | 2004 | 2024 | MMORPG | AGPL-3.0-or-later | CC BY-SA 3.0 | 3D | All textures and effects, 3D models, animations, characters and clothing (no music or sounds) are under CC BY-SA. | |
Scorched 3D | 2001 | 2014 | Artillery game | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | Clone of Scorched Earth. | |
Secret Maryo Chronicles | 2003 | 2014 | Platformer | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | 2D platformer inspired by the Super Mario series. | |
The Secret Chronicles of Dr. M. | 2017 | 2020 | Platformer | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | 2D platformer inspired by the Super Mario series. | |
Seven Kingdoms | 1997 | 2017 | RTS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | Source code released in 2009. | |
Shattered Pixel Dungeon | 2014 | 2024 | Rogue-Like game | GPL-3.0-or-later | Java | 2D | Rogue-Like game with procedurally generated levels and a storyline. | |
Simutrans | 1997 | 2022 | Business Sim | Artistic | Artistic | 2D | Similar to Transport Tycoon and its open-source clone OpenTTD. The player must build a profitable transportation system. | |
Sintel The Game | 2012 | 2012 | RPG | GPL | CC BY, GPL | 3D | A game based on the Blender Foundation movie Sintel. | |
Soldat | 2002 | 2020 | Action | MIT license | CC BY 4.0[32] | 2D | On May 26, 2020, the source code of Soldat was released under MIT license on GitHub.[33] | |
Sopwith | 1984 | 2014 | Shoot 'em up | GPL | GPL | 2D | The C and x86 assembly source code to Sopwith was released in 2000,[34] at first under a non-commercial use license, but later under the GNU GPL at the request of fans.[35] | |
Speed Dreams | 2010 | 2023 | Sim racing | GPL-2.0-or-later | FAL | 3D | Forked from TORCS in late 2008. | |
StepMania | 2001 | 2018 | Rhythm game | MIT[36] | MIT | 2D, 3D | A DDR clone, the player must hit buttons or keys in time with the music. | |
StuntRally | 2010 | 2024 | Racing | GPL-3.0-or-later | C++ | 3D | Racing game similar to Trackmania. | |
SuperTux | 2003 | 2021 | Platformer | GPL-3.0-or-later | Various | 2D | 2D platformer inspired by the Super Mario series. | |
SuperTuxKart | 2006 | 2022 | Racing | GPL-3.0-or-later | Various | 3D | Arcade racing game similar to Mario Kart. | |
Taisei | 2017 | 2024 | Shooter | MIT License | CC BY-SA 4.0 / CC0-1.0 | 2D | A Manic shooter inspired by the Tōhō series. | C |
Teeworlds | 2007 | 2020 | Platformer | zlib | CC BY-SA 3.0 (except font) | 2D | 2D online multiplayer side-scrolling shooter. | |
Tenés Empanadas Graciela | 1996 | 2021 | TBS | GPL-2-0-only | GPL-2-0-only | 2D | Based on the boardgame Risk. | |
The Castle Doctrine | 2014 | 2014 | MMO | Public-domain software | Public domain | 2D | A game by Jason Rohrer, developed on a SourceForge[37] repository and sold on Steam for $15.99. | |
The Powder Toy | 2010 | 2023 | Sandbox game | GPL-3.0-only | GPL-3.0-only | 2D | Falling-sand game. | |
Tremulous | 2006 | 2009 | FPS | GPLv2 | CC BY-SA 2.5[38] | 3D | Alien vs. human base-building, defending, and attacking the opposing team. | |
TripleA | 2002 | 2020 | TBS | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | A turn-based strategy game inspired by the board game Axis & Allies. Development is ongoing. | |
Tux Racer | 2000 | 2009 | Racing | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | A downhill slalom racing game featuring Tux, the Linux mascot. | |
Tux, of Math Command | 2001 | 2011 | Educational game | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 2D | ||
UFO: Alien Invasion | 2006 | 2016 | TBТ | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later, CC BY-SA 3.0 | 3D | Inspired by the XCOM series but with 3D combat on the surface of the Earth. | |
UltraStar Deluxe | 2007 | 2020 | Music | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | SingStar clone. | |
Unknown Horizons | 2008 | 2019 | City-building game | GPL-x2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later, CC BY-SA 3.0, OFLv1 | Isometric 2D | Genre-mix of city-building game and real-time strategy game, inspired by the Anno series. | |
Unvanquished | 2012 | 2023 | FPS | BSD 3-clause, GPLv3+ | CC BY-SA 2.5 | 3D | Team-based first-person shooter with strong real-time strategy elements, derived from the Tremulous project. | |
Vega Strike | 2008 | 2022 | Space sim | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | Wing Commander: Privateer clone and space simulator engine. | |
Veloren | 2018 | 2024 | Adventure, RPG | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later | 3D, Voxel | Open-world, open-source multiplayer voxel RPG. | Rust |
Warzone 2100 | 1999 | 2023 | RTS, RTT | GPL-2.0-or-later[39] | GPL-2.0-or-later, CC0, other open source[40] | 3D | Post-apocalyptic cross-platform real-time strategy game. | |
Widelands | 2002 | 2022 | RTS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | Widelands is a real-time strategy clone of The Settlers II. | |
WorldForge | 1998 | 2014 | MMORPG | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | An open-source framework for massively multiplayer online role-playing games. | |
Worms? | 1983 | 1983 | Software toy | MIT | MIT | 2D | An interactive version of Paterson's worms, and one of the initial Electronic Arts releases. | |
Xconq | 1987 | 2005 | TBS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 4X strategy game engine. | ||
X-Moto | 2005 | 2023 | Platformer | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | Elasto Mania clone. | |
Xonotic | 2010 | 2023 | FPS | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3D | A fork and direct successor of Nexuiz. Binary files for Linux and Windows are under GPLv3+. | |
XPilot | 1992 | 2010 | Arcade | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | 2D | A multiplayer Asteroids-like game. | |
Yo Frankie! | 2008 | 2009 | Action-adventure | GPL-2.0-or-later, LGPLv2.1 | CC BY 3.0 | 3D |
Open-source games with non-free data
[edit]Only the game engines in this table are developed under an open-source license, which means that the reuse and modification of only the code is permitted. As some of the games' content created by the developers (sound, graphics, video and other artwork) is proprietary or restricted in use, the whole games are non-free and restricted in reuse (depending on the content license). The motivation of developers to keep own game content non-free while they open the source code may be the protection of the game as sellable commercial product. It could also be the prevention of a commercialization of a free product in future, e.g. when distributed under a non-commercial license like CC NC. By replacing the non-free content with free content, these games could also become completely free. In practice, many projects include a mixture of free and non-free own content.
Title | First release | Last release | Genre | Engine license | Content license | Dimensions | Other information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Angband | 1990 | 2016 | Roguelike | GPLv2 | GPLv2, Proprietary[41] | Text | |
AssaultCube | 2006 | 2022 | FPS | zlib | Freeware | 3D | Based on Cube. A lightweight online FPS (45-50 MB package), with a built-in map maker and capable of being played with a 56k connection. |
C-evo | 1999 | 2013 | TBТ, 4X | Public-domain software | Proprietary | 2D | Inspired by Sid Meier's Civilization |
Alien Arena | 2004 | 2011 | FPS | GPL | Proprietary[42] | 3D | Based on ID Software open-source engine. |
Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain | 2024 | 2024 | Platformer | MIT license | Proprietary | 3D | A open-source game made for the six anniversary of Celeste.[43] |
Cube | 2002 | 2005 | FPS | zlib | Proprietary | 3D | Deathmatch style multiplayer gameplay with map editing. |
Cube 2: Sauerbraten | 2004 | 2020 | FPS | zlib | Various non-free and some free licenses | 3D | Deathmatch style multiplayer gameplay with map editing. |
Doom | 1993 | 1997 | FPS | GPL | Shareware | 2.5D | Game engine source code was released on December 23, 1997. |
Frets on Fire | 2006 | 2008 | Music | GPL | GPL, Proprietary | 3D | Guitar Hero clone. |
Frogatto & Friends | 2010 | 2013 | Platformer | zlib license | Proprietary[44] | 2D | Initially for Windows, Linux, and Mac; hold and toss enemies, swim, talk; scripting language included. |
Gravity Bone | 2008 | 2009 | Platformer | GPLv2 | Freeware | 3D | Brendon Chung built this game on base of the Quake II engine and released therefore the game's source code in 2008. In 2015 ported to Linux and the OpenPandora handheld.[45] |
H-Craft Championship | 2007 | 2015 | Racing | zlib[46] | Free for personal use[47] | 3D | Sci-fi racer for Linux, Windows and Android which is using the Irrlicht engine. |
Hammerfight | 2009 | 2011 | physics based combat | zlib[48] | commercial | 2D | For the third Humble Indie Bundle[49][50] Ryan C. Gordon ported the underlying game engine, "Haaf's Game Engine", to Linux and Mac OS X, and released source code under the zlib license.[51][52] |
Katawa Shoujo | 2012 | 2012 | Visual Novel | MIT license (most of game and engine beside some scripts[53]) | CC BY-NC-ND | 2D | A visual novel. |
Narcissu | 2005 | 2005 | Visual novel | GPL | Freeware/PFSL[54] | 2D | Is a free visual novel by the dōjin group stage-nana, telling the story of a terminally ill young man and woman. The English version was made with the ONScripter engine.[55] |
osu! | 2007 | 2023 | Rhythm game | MIT license | CC BY-NC 4.0 | 2D | Open-source clone of several games, including Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, Taiko no Tatsujin and beatmania IIDX. On August 28, 2016, an Open-source re-write of the osu! client was announced (code named osu!lazer). It was released under the MIT License on GitHub, assets under CC BY-NC.[56][57] Aims is to make osu!, written in C# with the .NET Framework, available to more platforms and transparent.[58] The closed-source stable osu client is still used by the majority of the playerbase, however it is feature locked[59] and the developers aim to deprecate it once osu!lazer gains user acceptance. |
Overgrowth | 2008 | 2017 | Action | Apache License 2.0 | Proprietary | 3D | Source code released on 2022, April 22. |
PlaneShift | 2001 | 2016 | MMORPG | GPL | Proprietary | 3D | Free to play MMORPG. |
OpenJK | 2003 | 2020 | Third-person shooter | GPLv2 | Proprietary | 3D | Source code was released as GPLv2 by Raven Software and Activision following the dissolution of Lucas Arts in 2013. |
Steel Storm: Episode I | 2010 | 2010 | Action | GPLv2[60] | CC BY-NC-SA 3.0[61] | Based on DarkPlaces. An indie top-down arcade shooter with single-player, deathmatch, and co-op. | |
Smokin' Guns | 2009 | 2012 | FPS | GPLv2 | Proprietary | 3D | Western-themed first-person shooter using the ioquake3 engine. |
Tales of Maj'Eyal | 2012 | 2016 | RPG/Roguelike | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later, Proprietary[62] | 2D | Developed open-source from the beginning with the own T4E engine,[63] while the assets are kept proprietary for commercialization on Steam and gog.com. |
The Dark Mod | 2009 | 2023 | Stealth game | GPL-3.0-or-later | CC BY-NC-SA | 3D | First person stealth game in the style of the Thief games (1 and 2) using a modified Id Tech 4 engine |
The Last Eichhof | 1993 | 2014 | Shoot-'em-up | "Do whatever your want" license (public domain)[64] | Freeware | 2D | Shoot-'em-up game released for DOS in 1993 by Swiss development group Alpha Helix. Source code released in 1995. |
The Ur-Quan Masters | 2002 | 2021 | Action-adventure | GPL-2.0-or-later | CC BY-NC-SA-2.5 | 2D | Source port of Star Control II. |
The White Chamber | 2005 | 2006 / 2013 | Adventure | MIT license (Wintermute Engine) / CC BY-NC-SA (game code) | CC BY-NC-SA / Freeware | 2D | The White Chamber and its Wintermute source code have been released under CC BY-NC-SA Creative Commons license.[65] That means anyone is free to share and modify the game as long Studio Trophis is credited, it is not for commercial gain and that the result is made available under a similar license. 2013 the Wintermute engines source code was released under MIT. |
TORCS | 1997 | 2016 | Racing | GPL | Free Art License, Proprietary | 3D | Some car models are non-free, but there is a DFSG-compliant version which does not include them. |
Urban Terror | 2000 | 2018 | FPS | GPL | Proprietary | 3D | Multiplayer tactical shooter based on the id tech 3 engine.[66] |
VDrift | 2005 | 2012 | Racing | GPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0-or-later, Proprietary | 3D | Some datas are non-free, for example the "SV" car model, under a CC BY-NC-SA license. |
Warsow | 2005 | 2017 | FPS | GPL-2.0-or-later | CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-ND 4.0 | 3D | A fast-paced arena FPS with movement tricks. |
World of Padman | 2007 | 2008 | FPS | GPL | Proprietary | Originally a Quake III modification. Became stand-alone in 2007, now runs on ioquake3. | |
Zero-K | 2010 | 2023 | RTS | GPL-2.0-or-later | various, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0[67] (sound) | 3D | A multi-platform real time strategy game inspired by Total Annihilation, powered by the Spring game engine. Released 2018 on Steam.[68] |
Open-source remakes with non-free data from the proprietary original
[edit]The video game remakes in this table were developed under an open-source license which allows usually the reuse, modification and commercial redistribution of the code. The required game content (artwork, data, etc.) is taken from a proprietary and non-opened commercial game, so that the whole game is non-free. See also the Game engine recreation page.
Title | First release | Last release | Genre | Engine license | Content license | Dimensions | Other information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arx Libertatis | 2012 | 2022 | RPG, Immersive sim | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary. While Arx Fatalis is open-source, the textures and other assets are proprietary content. | 3D | Engine remake of Arx Fatalis. |
Daggerfall Unity | ?[69] | 2022 | RPG | Proprietary (engine) /MIT License (game code) | Proprietary. It uses proprietary content from Daggerfall. | 3D | Engine remake of The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall |
OpenAge | ?[70] | 2023 | RTS | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary. It uses proprietary content from Age of Empires II | 2D | Engine remake for the classic games in the Age of Empires franchise, in particular Age of Empires II. |
OpenLoco | 2018[71] | 2024 | Simulation | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary. It uses proprietary content from Chris Sawyer's Locomotion | 2D | Engine remake of Locomotion |
OpenMW | 2008 | 2022 | RPG | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary / CC BY SA (OpenMW Example Suit) | 3D | Engine remake of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. |
OpenRA | 2009 | 2023 | RTS | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary. It uses proprietary content from the freeware releases of the classic games.[72] | 2D | Engine remake for the classic games in the Command & Conquer franchise, in particular Red Alert. |
OpenRW | 2019 | 2020 | Action-adventure | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary. The media of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. | 3D | Engine remake of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. |
OpenRCT2 | 2014[73] | 2023 | Simulation | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary. It uses proprietary content from Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 and if chosen the expansion packs as well. | 2D | Engine remake of Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 |
OpenXcom | 2009[74] | 2020 | TBТ | GPL-3.0-or-later | Proprietary. It uses proprietary content from the X-COM: UFO Defense or Terror from the Deep releases of the classic games, which the user needs to have a copy of.[75] | 2D | Engine remake for the classic games in the X-COM franchise, in particular X-COM: UFO Defense. |
Source-available games
[edit]Video games in this table are source-available, but are neither open-source software according to the OSI definition nor free software according to the Free Software Foundation. These games are released under a license with limited rights for the user, for example only the rights to read and modify the game's source for personal or educational purposes but no reuse rights beside the game's original context are granted. Typical licenses are the creative commons "non-commercial" licenses (e.g. CC BY-NC-SA), MAME like licenses or several shared source licenses.
Title | First release | Last release | Genre | Engine license | Content license | Dimensions | Other information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alien Swarm | 2010 | 2010 | Shooter game | Non-commercial usable and shareable[76] | Freeware | 3D | In 2010 Valve released this Source engine based game with source code, which started as a mod. |
Bugdom | 1999 | 2003 | Platformer | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | 3D | Released under a non-commercial license in 2020.[77] |
Hero Core | 2010 | 2013 | Shooter game | Non-commercial, attribution required | Freeware | 2D | Around 2013 Daniel Remar released the GameMaker source code of the game, together with the sources of his other games like Iji.[78] |
Flow | 2006 | 2009 | Life simulation | ? (educational purposes) | Freeware | 2D (layered) | Around 2009 the flash source code was made available for educational purposes by the developers.[79] |
Fortress Forever | 2007 | 2018 | FPS | Proprietary | 3D | Unofficial, open-source Source engine successor to Team Fortress Classic. | |
Half-Life[80] | 1998 | 2023[81] | FPS | Proprietary | ? | 3D | The source codes of the Half-Life video game are available, but the source codes of GoldSrc, the game engine of this video game, are not available. |
I Wanna Be the Guy | 2007 | 2011 | Platform game | Proprietary | Freeware | 2D | On November 9, 2011, the developer Michael "Kayin" O'Reilly released the source code of the game under an own software license (forbidding new content)[82][83] so that the game's community would be able to create fixes and patches.[84] |
Jump 'n Bump | 1998 | 1999 | Deathmatch Platformer | Emailware[85] | Emailware | 2D | 1998 freeware DOS platform video game, written in C and Assembly language by Brainchild Design. The source code was released in 1999, then source ported to several other operating systems and platforms via SDL. |
Larn | 1986 | 2016 | Roguelike | Non-commercial | Freeware | Text | |
Noctis | 2000[86] | 2003 | Platformer | WTOF Public License[87] | Freeware | 3D | Space exploration/flight simulation |
Notrium | 2003 | 2008 | Top-down shooter Survival game | custom FOSS license / GPLv3 | custom FOSS license / Freeware | 2D | Notrium's source code was released by the developer after 2003 under a custom software license and is developed as OpenNotrium on GitHub since then, with new code being GPLv3.[88] |
Prince of Persia | 1989 | 1989 | Cinematic platformer Action-adventure | Proprietary | Proprietary | 2D | On April 17, 2012, Jordan Mechner released the Apple II source code of the game on GitHub.[89] |
Progress Quest | 2002 | 2011 | Parody MMORPG | Proprietary | Freeware | 2D | On May 20, 2011, Eric Fredricksen released the source code of the game on bitbucket.[90][91] |
Racer | 2003 | 2011 (proprietary) | Sim racing | Proprietary | Proprietary, Freeware | Only source code of 0.5 version is available, all other releases are closed source. | |
Space Engineers | 2013 | 2018 | Sandbox, simulation | Distribution as mod allowed | Proprietary | 3D | |
Space Station 13 | 2003 | 2024 | RPG | Proprietary | GNU AGPLv3 / CC BY-NC-SA / Others (depends on server) | 2D | Many different servers exist each with a different codebase and different license. |
Spelunky | 2008 | 2009 | Platformer | Non-commercial[92] | Freeware | 2D | The source code of the 2008's Windows freeware version was published on December 25, 2009, under a software license permitting noncommercial distribution and modification.[92] Based on this source code the game community created a community patch which added support for Mac OS X.[93][94] The source code for the 2012 remake has not been made available. |
Visual Pinball | 2000 | 2019 | Pinball simulation editor and game | MAME like license | diverse | 3D | Many free custom tables and recreations of original machines available. The program is also able to operate with Visual PinMAME. |
VVVVVV | 2010 | 2020 | Platformer | Attribution required[95] | Proprietary | 2D | On the 10th anniversary of the game's release in January 2020, developer Terry Cavanagh made its source code publicly available on GitHub.[96] |
Proprietary developed games, later released under varying licenses
[edit]For games that were originally developed proprietary as commercial closed source product, see also Category:Commercial video games with freely available source code.
See also
[edit]- List of game engines
- List of open-source first-person shooters
- List of commercial video games with available source code
- List of commercial video games released as freeware
- List of freeware games
- Homebrew
- Linux gaming
References
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- ^ A Dark Room goes open source Archived 2015-09-07 at the Wayback Machine on doublespeakgames.com (July 3, 2013)
- ^ April 1987: Ballerburg - Zwei Spieler, zwei Burgen und ein Berg dazwischen... on eckhardkruse.net "Ich habe das Programm als Public Domain veröffentlicht" (in German)
- ^ Petitte, Omri (20 March 2014). "Cart Life exits Steam, goes open source". PC Gamer. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ cartlife_opensores.zip on the author's dropbox
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- ^ cartlife_src
- ^ "Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead - Dedicated Developer". Kickstarter. 22 June 2013.
- ^ (in Polish) Announcement on Polish Portal of Colobot Archived 2012-08-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Original Colobot source code release license
- ^ Colobot: Gold Edition README
- ^ Jerz, D.G. "Colossal Cave Adventure". Seton Hill University. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
- ^ corewar on SourceForge
- ^ ftp://ftp.ifi.uio.no/pub/crossfire/historic[permanent dead link ]
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- ^ Rohrer, Jason (2011-10-17). "DiamondTrust/ci/default/tree". SourceForge. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ singularity on github.com
- ^ a b "Releases · endless-sky/endless-sky". GitHub. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ a b c d Endless Sky, Endless Sky, 2023-10-23, retrieved 2023-10-24
- ^ Taylor, Cameron [@ninja_muffin99] (14 March 2021). "By default we made Friday Night Funkin, so we automatically get copyright protection. The game is open source, but that only covers like the actual code. The assets are in a state where we cool if people use it in fanstuff, but it gets iffy when people [are trying] to make money" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Ahl, David H.; Green, Burchenal, eds. (1978). The Best of Creative computing. Morristown, N.J. ISBN 0-916688-01-1. OCLC 2188876.
{{cite book}}
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- ^ a b "LICENSE.txt". GitHub. October 25, 2021.
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- ^ Clark, Dave (2000-10-29). "Sopwith Code Support". Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
- ^ Clark, Dave. "Sopwith – Source Code". Dave Clark's Home Page. Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
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- ^ CastleDoctrine on sourceforge.net
- ^ [tremulous] View of /trunk/COPYING
- ^ "Warzone2100/warzone2100". GitHub. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ^ "Warzone2100/warzone2100 - COPYING.NONGPL". GitHub. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ^ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/angband/angband/master/copying.txt Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine The sounds are licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license. Shockbolt's graphics are licensed under a non-free license.
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- ^ http://www.irrgheist.com/hcraftsource.htm You are not allowed to modify or distribute the media files or use them in your own games. But you can still download the media files and they are free for personal use.
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the Art Assets [...] are licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. The Engine [...] licensed under GNU GPL v2 license.
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