Unity, Godot and Unreal: Which game engine fits?

In short: Unity, Godot and Unreal Engine are the best-known game engines; they differ in language, price, licence and suitability for 2D or 3D.

In more detail: A game engine supplies graphics, physics, input, audio and editor so that you can concentrate on the game instead of the technology. The choice depends on the project, prior knowledge and goal.

In Depth

Unity

Language: C#. Very common for mobile games, 2D and 3D, huge asset store, many tutorials. Licence: free tier up to a revenue limit, paid beyond; the pricing policy caused disputes in the past, so check current terms. Good for beginners with an interest in C#.

Godot

Languages: GDScript (Python-like), C#, C++. Open source (MIT licence), free and without fees, very light (small download size), excellent for 2D, 3D is improving. Scene-and-node system. Popular with indie developers and for quick prototypes. Smaller community than Unity but growing fast.

Unreal Engine

Languages: C++ and the visual Blueprints system. Top-end graphics for 3D AAA games (Nanite, Lumen), extensive tools. Licence: royalty (percentage of revenue above a limit). High hardware requirements, steeper learning curve. Good for realistic 3D games and film production.

Further options and decision aid

Bevy (Rust), Defold, GameMaker (2D), Construct (visual, browser), Phaser and PlayCanvas (web), Pygame (Python), LÖVE (Lua), RPG Maker. Rule of thumb: 2D and small → Godot or GameMaker; mobile and broad offering → Unity; photorealistic 3D → Unreal; browser game → Phaser or plain JavaScript/canvas. Always consider licence, export targets and learning effort.

See also: Game engine, Unity, Programming browser games, Open-source licences