The creators of the Defold engine have decided to remove the monthly fee for using the source code for console platforms. Now every registered developer can access it for free.
What happened?
Björn Ritzl, board member of the Defold Foundation, announced the changes on December 18. Developers will be able to access the engine’s source code with “console specific low-level integrations for things such as rendering, sound, controller input and file IO” without paying $200 per month.
Defold currently supports console development for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, but plans to add other platforms like PlayStation 5 and Xbox in the near future.
Ritzl noted that source code access is not required to build games for consoles, but the engine’s team can provide it upon request. This means that if you a registered console developer approved by Sony or Nintendo, you can get access to console-specific API integrations and the PS4/Switch-enabled source code of Defold (in case you need to make changes to the engine’s core).
What is the Defold engine?
- Originally created in 2008, Defold is a cross-platform engine that has long been owned by Candy Crush maker King. In 2016, it became available to third-party developers as a free-to-use solution for game creation and is currently being developed and supported by the Defold Foundation with the help of the open source enthusiasts.
- The Defold enigne currently allows developers to create and publish games for PC, iOS, Android, HTML5, Facebook, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. The team doesn’t charge any licensing costs, runtime fees, or royalties.
- Due to its original 2D-focused design, Defold is mainly used in mobile and web games, including Family Island, Monkey Mart, and Bring Me Cakes. However, the engine also has 3D features such as 3D mesh and custom shaders.
- In addition, Defold supports the Lua scripting language, physics tools, as well as visual, scene, and tilemap editors.