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Top 23 C++ open-source Projects
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I usually recommend the inexperienced do at least 1 project in godot:
https://godotengine.org/
Then port it to UE if they are interested in skill reuse for future projects:
https://www.unrealengine.com/
SDL has a lot of issues, and falls into "only if you must" category. Still better than .NET or Java in many ways, as spacial audio is easy in the mixer. =3
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cocos-engine
Cocos simplifies game creation and distribution with Cocos Creator, a free, open-source, cross-platform game engine. Empowering millions of developers to create high-performance, engaging 2D/3D games and instant web entertainment.
Project mention: From LayaAir to Cocos Creator: A Solo Dev's Engine Migration After iOS Builds Kept Crashing | dev.to | 2026-04-19Cocos Creator was the natural alternative:
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Project mention: Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-04-06
For anyone that was into Star Control check out Endless Sky:
https://endless-sky.github.io
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openmw
OpenMW is an open-source open-world RPG game engine that supports playing Morrowind. Main repo and issue tracker can be found here: https://gitlab.com/OpenMW/openmw/
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Project mention: Godot will no longer accept AI-authored code contributions | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-07-01
> If it's really better, people will join the fork.
That already happened. Redot is a major fork that's more community-driven and positive. They're also fine with AI use, as long as you review, understand, and take responsibility for everything you do with it. https://github.com/Redot-Engine/redot-engine
They're also building a brand new game engine from scratch! https://github.com/Redot-Engine/DraconicEngine
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Panda3D
Powerful, mature open-source cross-platform game engine for Python and C++, developed by Disney and CMU
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warzone2100
Command the forces of The Project in a battle to rebuild the world after mankind has been nearly destroyed by nuclear missiles. A 100% free and open source real-time strategy game for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD+
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Project mention: Can a Computer Science Student Be Taught to Design Hardware? | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-02-17
As a Software Engineer, i had long thought about learning (and possibly moving into) Hardware Chip Design and/or its ancillary support domains i.e. what you have listed.
I understand that learning FPGA programming (Verilog/VHDL/etc.) is a first-step in that journey. Is it still true? Have you looked at books like FPGAs for Software Programmers? - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-26408-0
For each of the domains you have listed, would you mind sharing books/tools/sites etc.?
For example, While researching the above long ago, i had come across the following;
C++ Modelling of SoC Systems Part 1: Processor Elements - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/c-modelling-soc-systems-part-...
C++ Modelling of SoC Systems Part 2 : Infrastructure - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/c-modelling-soc-systems-part-...
gem5 Simulator - https://www.gem5.org/
Verilator Simulator - https://www.veripool.org/verilator/
Maybe you can provide a step-by-step roadmap on how a software guy can move on to hardware chip design?
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HoverZoom: Chrome plugin sold by original dev, new update included spyware and ads.
As I said, I don't mind if the answer is "we are volunteers who love this", but I do ask that formal webpages presenting a product explains it's funding model. Their github (https://github.com/CelestiaProject/Celestia) is much better at this.
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Project mention: Video Encoding and Decoding with Vulkan Compute Shaders in FFmpeg | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-03-20
Yep! Almost finished implementing support in https://ossia.io which is going to become the first open-source real-time visuals software to support live scrubbing in 4K prores files on not that big of a GPU (tested on my laptop 3060) :)
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ITK
Insight Toolkit (ITK) -- Official Repository. ITK builds on a proven, spatially-oriented architecture for processing, segmentation, and registration of scientific images in two, three, or more dimensions.
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Project mention: CopperSpice – A Modern Cross-Platform C++ GUI Library | news.ycombinator.com | 2025-12-14
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elements
Open Source implementation of advanced blockchain features extending the Bitcoin protocol (by ElementsProject)
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Unvanquished
Unvanquished is a free and open source FPS/RTS hybrid game powered by the Daemon game engine. Historically based on Tremulous as a continuation with decades of work over it.
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spot_mini_mini
Dynamics and Domain Randomized Gait Modulation with Bezier Curves for Sim-to-Real Legged Locomotion.
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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++ open-source discussion
C++ open-source related posts
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From LayaAir to Cocos Creator: A Solo Dev's Engine Migration After iOS Builds Kept Crashing
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Godot 4.4 Added .uid Files Everywhere. Here's What They Actually Do.
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The 900,000 Game Problem: Why Most Indie Games Never Get Found
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El vibe coding funciona para apps web. En motores de juegos, se rompe.
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A note from our sponsor - SaaSHub
www.saashub.com | 18 Aug 2026
Index
What are some of the best open-source open-source projects in C++? This list will help you:
| # | Project | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Godot | 115,728 |
| 2 | cocos-engine | 9,743 |
| 3 | Mumble | 8,196 |
| 4 | endless-sky | 7,496 |
| 5 | openmw | 6,508 |
| 6 | redot-engine | 5,917 |
| 7 | Panda3D | 5,205 |
| 8 | GamePlay | 4,850 |
| 9 | webots | 4,560 |
| 10 | warzone2100 | 3,909 |
| 11 | gem5 | 2,754 |
| 12 | Celestia | 2,340 |
| 13 | score | 2,045 |
| 14 | OpenScan | 1,795 |
| 15 | ITK | 1,643 |
| 16 | copperspice | 1,323 |
| 17 | Beeftext | 1,280 |
| 18 | MxEngine | 1,228 |
| 19 | TerraForge3D | 1,174 |
| 20 | elements | 1,153 |
| 21 | Unvanquished | 1,119 |
| 22 | spot_mini_mini | 927 |
| 23 | luascript | 700 |
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