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Top 8 C++ game-engine-development Projects
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InfluxDB
InfluxDB – Built for High-Performance Time Series Workloads. InfluxDB 3 OSS is now GA. Transform, enrich, and act on time series data directly in the database. Automate critical tasks and eliminate the need to move data externally. Download now.
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LinaEngine
Lina Engine is an open-source , modular, tiny and fast C++ game engine, aimed to develop 3D desktop games.
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godot-fmod-integration
FMOD Studio middleware integration and scripting API bindings for the Godot game engine.
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Game-Engine-Development-Series
Game Engine Development Series - Learn to code a Game Engine in C++ from scratch
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dependency_injection_for_games
Code accompanying the Medium article "Dependency Injection for Games"
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Socrates
Socrates is a simple, single-file math library specifically made for game/game engine development (by FrodoAlaska)
The implementation code would effectively be copied into the translation unit and then compiled normally. I love these kind of libraries. They are usually easy to use, very easy to integrate, and a lightweight dependency overall. I even created a library or two in the same vain just for fun. But why am I talking about single-header libraries now? Besides the fact that most of my dependencies are single-header, I wanted to somewhat imitate the spirit of single-header libraries while avoiding the need to jumble all my code into one header file. While it is convenient to have all the code in one place and, once again, it would be very easy to integrate by other folks, but, seeing how I am already an unorganized person, I will refrain from the complexity that comes with such a design. Instead, I wanted to have separate translation units for every module, but keep the idea of a single-header file for the definitions. Let me explain.
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Nikola
A cross-platform framework for window creation, input handling, and rendering using OpenGL 4.5+ (by FrodoAlaska)
Currently, as I'm sure you can tell, the engine is still in its infant state. It can do a lot. Currently, it can open a window, accept input, render pixels, load models, and images, and render them even. But there is still a long way to go. For example, audio and fonts are still not fully implemented. While things like entities are not even a thing yet. However, if you are interested, I do have some interesting showcases on my website. You can also go to the engine's repo to check the code for yourself if you are interested.
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SaaSHub
SaaSHub - Software Alternatives and Reviews. SaaSHub helps you find the best software and product alternatives
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I can give many examples of APIs that have this exact problem... but I won't. Instead, I'll be making an example of myself. Long ago (like, maybe 4 months ago), I made an API called Gravel. It was supposed to be a game framework that abstracts away all of the window creation code, input handling, rendering with OpenGL, and so on. I thought I was the king. I was getting ready to become bald, wear glasses, and call myself Bill Jobs III. I thought the API was so good. I thought it was so good, in fact, that I decided to use it and create a game. The game was called The Problem Solver. The game was supposed to be simple. I made a 3D game from scratch before. Pfft. How hard can it be? Especially now that I have this amazing API that I created... I hope you can tell there's gonna be foreshadowing here.
NOTE:
The open source projects on this list are ordered by number of github stars.
The number of mentions indicates repo mentiontions in the last 12 Months or
since we started tracking (Dec 2020).
C++ game-engine-development discussion
C++ game-engine-development related posts
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Upbge is an open-source, 3D game engine forked from the old Blender Game Engine
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Should I focus on C# or Pygame?
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I made a resident evil parody game using UPBGE (blender game engine), and it's in second person
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is there any open source clone of gamemaker?
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Using FMod to implement to music in your game. Is possible in Godot?
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A note from our sponsor - InfluxDB
www.influxdata.com | 24 Jun 2025
Index
What are some of the best open-source game-engine-development projects in C++? This list will help you:
| # | Project | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | upbge | 1,587 |
| 2 | LinaEngine | 867 |
| 3 | godot-fmod-integration | 179 |
| 4 | Game-Engine-Development-Series | 78 |
| 5 | dependency_injection_for_games | 13 |
| 6 | Socrates | 3 |
| 7 | Nikola | 3 |
| 8 | Gravel | 0 |
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