Did you know that the gaming industry, for the first time in history, surpassed that of the cinema? In 2016, game development companies made around US$1.4 billion, while film companies made around US$1.4 billion. According to Newzoo, mobile games should move US$ 93 billion still in 2023!

It is not just a game to play alone or with friends, but rather a market that is constantly growing. In Brazil, games generated around R$4.9 billion in the same period, making them the largest consumer in Latin America.

How about taking advantage of this moment and turning your ideas into reality? With these 10 apps, you can create your own games and, who knows, monetize your creations!

Check out the list, get to work and, of course, have fun!

Unity

Image: unity.com

Not everyone knows, but 7 out of 10 mobile games use Unity, one of the most famous engines in the world. It is no wonder that the software is so widely used: it uses several tools that simplify creation, as well as mechanisms to access certain pertinent information about players – which is especially important for online games, which require constant balancing. 

Using Frame Debugger, developers will be able to get accurate metrics to improve cross-device compatibility. Additionally, game assets can be purchased through the Unity Asset Store.

Unity Gaming Services allows you to analyze your game statistics without having to modify your code. This is a great way to avoid unnecessary bugs and save development time!

One thing that is quite common in mobile games is ads: Unity allows you to improve your earnings with ads without any major complications – and this is an important difference between this engine and its main competitors.

You can download the app for free, but there is also the option to subscribe to Unity Pro, which unlocks several features that are not available in the trial version.

Unreal Engine

Image: Unreal Engine

Anyone who loves video games has certainly seen the name “Unreal Engine” several times in many major titles: it turns out that This is the most popular PC game engine in the world., but is also compatible with mobile devices!

Create highly immersive games, whether 2D or 3D, using one of the most widely used tools on all platforms. Although its interface is quite intuitive, there is extensive documentation on the internet regarding all of its features. 

Many courses even teach their students advanced work with Unreal Engine. It might be a great idea to take some of them so you don't miss out on any functionality!

Farlight 84 is a third-person battle royale shooter built on Unreal Engine 4. It's compatible with both smartphones and PCs – and players on both platforms can duel against each other.

Unreal Engine should definitely be on your radar when choosing the perfect platform for your games!

RPG Maker

Image: GamerBraves

The name itself says it all: this engine is dedicated to developers who are passionate about Classic RPGs, with voxel art graphics.

To make it work on Android, you need to have some prior knowledge: however, this video (in English) can help a lot throughout the process!

Due to its popularity, developers can purchase thousands of assets through its official website, such as sounds, special effects, characters, scenery textures, water effects, etc. 

RPG Maker has a very busy forum, through which other programmers exchange valuable information that can be reused in your own project. 

You can try the application for free for 30 days; after that period, you must purchase it through Steam or Komodo Plaza. 

GameMaker Stugod

Image: Edivaldo's Blog

It is a very simple 2D mobile game development platform, capable of creating games not only for smartphones, but also for PCs and consoles.

Through its visual editor, games can be created without prior programming knowledge. However, creators can use the GML programming language to create more complex titles. 

This is one of the simplest options for creating your own games if you are a beginner in the world of programming. In the Tutorials tab, you will be able to create your first game in no time!

Furthermore, it has a great advantage over the others: it is completely free, in all its versions. Therefore, if you want to create something simpler and don't want to compromise your budget, trying GameMaker Studio can be an excellent option!

Godot

Image: DIO

Godot is a more complex open-source game creation platform: through it, it is possible to create all sorts of multiplatform titles.

One of the highlights of Godot is its “block” (also called “node”) creation. Through them, developers will be able to create more complex and easily reusable scenes. In addition, certain behaviors can be pre-programmed in this way to make the gameplay more unique and engaging. 

Define “scriptable” objects called “resources” to describe characters, entities, and data structures in your game. Use your custom objects directly in the editor by assigning them to nodes. Resources come with a high-level API for storing and reading them, and they support all Godot flavors, including other resources.

The programming language used by the platform is called GDScript. It is inspired by Python and its creators claim that it is quite easy to learn, even if you have no prior programming knowledge.

Now it's your turn to choose!

There are so many incredible options, right? While some are simpler and more classic, others allow you to create more robust mobile games, with beautiful and realistic graphics. 

Choosing the right engine depends mainly on two factors: your technical knowledge and your idea. What kind of mobile game do you want to produce? What markets do you want to reach? Is there an initial budget you want to dedicate, or do you want to start for free to understand how things work?

Regardless of the answers to the above questions, happy gaming!