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Open-source game engines: star history compared

Most starred

117k

godotengine/godot

Godot is the open-source success story of game development — years of patient growth, then a series of sharp accelerations every time a commercial engine gave developers a reason to look around. Bevy shows Rust's pull extending into games with an unusually steep curve for an engine still pre-1.0, while libGDX, Defold and O3DE each hold distinct niches. Engine choice is a decade-long commitment; growth trajectories are fair evidence.

Ranked by current GitHub stars · growth = stars gained in the trailing 90 days · data updated Sep 2026

Open-source game engines — star history
114k STARS14 YRgodotengine/godot114kbevyengine/bevy45klibgdx/libgdx30ko3de/o3de9.2kdefold/defold5.8k

godotengine/godot: 114,359 stars on September 16, 2026. bevyengine/bevy: 45,038 stars on September 16, 2026. libgdx/libgdx: 29,662 stars on September 16, 2026. o3de/o3de: 9,224 stars on September 13, 2026. defold/defold: 5,842 stars on September 11, 2026.

Star history for godotengine/godot
DateStars
February 8, 20141
April 7, 20141951
June 5, 20142265
August 2, 20142471
October 2, 20142683
December 4, 20142919
January 29, 20153784
March 27, 20154182
May 22, 20154528
July 20, 20154832
September 27, 20155111
November 24, 20155361
January 21, 20165587
March 19, 20166127
May 14, 20166451
July 9, 20166870
September 5, 20167350
October 31, 20167734
December 27, 20168128
February 21, 20178617
April 19, 20179115
June 14, 20179579
August 9, 201710119
October 5, 201711302
November 30, 201713177
January 26, 201814267
March 23, 201815812
May 20, 201816944
July 15, 201817723
September 10, 201818538
November 16, 201819791
January 12, 201920806
March 9, 201921907
May 5, 201924373
June 30, 201925592
August 26, 201926885
October 21, 201928083
December 16, 201929683
February 11, 202031229
April 7, 202032600
June 3, 202034543
July 29, 202036080
September 25, 202037471
November 20, 202039059
January 15, 202140369
March 13, 202141785
May 9, 202143378
July 7, 202144906
September 3, 202146844
November 5, 202148258
January 11, 202250468
March 9, 202252380
May 4, 202254364
June 30, 202256157
August 25, 202258538
October 21, 202260646
December 16, 202262414
February 11, 202364279
April 8, 202366921
June 3, 202368654
July 30, 202370289
September 24, 202381840
November 20, 202385420
January 15, 202487488
March 12, 202489779
May 7, 202492533
July 2, 202494933
August 28, 202497341
October 23, 2024100242
December 19, 2024102103
February 25, 2025104907
April 22, 2025107040
June 17, 2025108529
August 13, 2025109875
October 8, 2025111170
December 8, 2025111984
February 2, 2026113011
March 31, 2026113685
May 26, 2026114107
September 16, 2026114359
Star history for bevyengine/bevy
DateStars
August 10, 2020128
September 6, 20203545
October 3, 20204176
October 30, 20204463
November 25, 20205338
December 22, 20205992
January 18, 20216359
February 13, 20216631
March 12, 20217438
April 8, 20218012
May 14, 20219454
June 9, 20219781
July 6, 202110108
August 2, 202110473
August 31, 202111004
September 26, 202111333
October 30, 202111610
November 26, 202112086
December 22, 202112688
January 18, 202214011
February 14, 202214650
March 12, 202215066
April 8, 202215471
May 5, 202216371
May 31, 202217001
June 27, 202217497
July 24, 202217966
August 20, 202218749
September 15, 202219288
October 12, 202219814
November 13, 202220580
December 10, 202221548
January 5, 202321966
February 1, 202322499
February 28, 202323055
March 26, 202323770
April 22, 202324288
May 19, 202324774
June 14, 202325312
July 11, 202325778
August 7, 202326239
September 3, 202326728
September 29, 202327871
October 26, 202328878
November 22, 202329693
December 18, 202330180
January 14, 202430880
February 10, 202431678
March 7, 202432591
April 3, 202433285
May 5, 202433932
June 1, 202434456
June 27, 202434977
July 24, 202435965
August 20, 202436482
September 16, 202436970
October 12, 202437559
November 8, 202438081
December 5, 202438728
December 31, 202439259
January 27, 202539760
February 23, 202540202
March 21, 202540726
April 17, 202541249
May 14, 202541757
June 9, 202542137
July 6, 202542452
August 2, 202542717
August 29, 202543017
September 24, 202543656
October 31, 202543918
November 27, 202544070
December 24, 202544241
January 19, 202644467
February 15, 202644634
March 14, 202644749
April 9, 202644841
May 8, 202644921
June 9, 202644980
September 16, 202645038
Star history for libgdx/libgdx
DateStars
September 22, 20122
November 21, 2012206
January 21, 2013450
March 25, 2013746
May 27, 20131027
July 28, 20131314
September 28, 20131711
November 28, 20132171
January 27, 20142579
March 29, 20143209
June 10, 20143987
August 10, 20144572
October 11, 20145050
December 10, 20145525
February 9, 20156035
April 11, 20156592
June 10, 20157085
August 10, 20157489
October 10, 20157926
December 10, 20158363
February 9, 20168966
April 10, 20169507
June 10, 201610002
August 10, 201610553
October 9, 201611039
December 9, 201611662
February 8, 201712186
April 10, 201712802
June 9, 201713338
August 9, 201713948
October 21, 201714600
December 21, 201715125
February 19, 201815509
April 22, 201815923
June 22, 201816269
August 22, 201816604
October 21, 201816874
December 23, 201817217
February 22, 201917526
April 25, 201917862
June 24, 201918202
August 24, 201918552
October 24, 201918852
December 25, 201919192
February 25, 202019497
April 26, 202019980
June 26, 202020339
August 28, 202020651
October 27, 202020969
December 28, 202021314
March 12, 202121680
May 15, 202122005
July 15, 202122290
September 17, 202122628
November 28, 202122989
January 28, 202223349
March 30, 202223628
May 30, 202223937
July 30, 202224209
September 29, 202224554
November 28, 202224844
January 30, 202325151
April 1, 202325456
June 1, 202325788
August 1, 202326040
October 1, 202326352
December 1, 202326637
February 1, 202426917
April 4, 202427158
June 5, 202427450
August 18, 202427787
October 18, 202428113
December 18, 202428390
February 17, 202528714
April 21, 202528975
June 26, 202529182
September 4, 202529336
November 27, 202529469
February 18, 202629577
September 16, 202629662
Star history for o3de/o3de
DateStars
July 6, 2021457
July 25, 20213212
August 13, 20213399
September 5, 20213494
September 25, 20213576
October 17, 20213644
November 14, 20213715
December 3, 20213863
December 23, 20214261
January 12, 20224348
February 5, 20224449
February 25, 20224524
March 17, 20224581
April 6, 20224674
April 27, 20224751
May 16, 20224898
June 5, 20224991
June 24, 20225080
July 14, 20225155
August 2, 20225350
August 21, 20225429
September 10, 20225506
September 30, 20225584
October 21, 20225695
November 9, 20225809
November 29, 20225891
December 20, 20225962
January 9, 20236041
January 29, 20236119
February 18, 20236176
March 13, 20236254
April 3, 20236317
April 25, 20236372
May 16, 20236471
June 5, 20236534
June 28, 20236582
July 20, 20236643
August 9, 20236688
August 28, 20236732
September 17, 20236862
October 7, 20236980
October 27, 20237274
November 16, 20237348
December 6, 20237399
December 28, 20237456
January 17, 20247509
February 7, 20247576
February 28, 20247627
March 19, 20247671
April 10, 20247748
May 6, 20247809
May 27, 20247881
June 18, 20247937
July 9, 20247995
August 1, 20248047
August 23, 20248093
September 13, 20248146
October 6, 20248195
October 27, 20248306
November 21, 20248360
December 12, 20248411
January 1, 20258456
January 23, 20258510
February 13, 20258569
March 11, 20258629
April 1, 20258674
April 22, 20258722
May 18, 20258777
June 12, 20258814
July 6, 20258874
August 5, 20258911
August 29, 20258951
September 25, 20258983
October 23, 20259038
November 13, 20259078
December 6, 20259110
December 31, 20259143
February 9, 20269165
April 24, 20269192
September 13, 20269224
Star history for defold/defold
DateStars
May 19, 2020553
June 9, 2020972
July 1, 20201058
July 27, 20201119
August 20, 20201182
September 18, 20201233
October 12, 20201278
November 6, 20201324
December 8, 20201354
December 31, 20201450
February 7, 20211519
March 1, 20211584
March 25, 20211631
April 16, 20211678
May 16, 20211729
June 15, 20211767
July 16, 20211812
August 11, 20211852
September 13, 20211894
October 15, 20211937
November 19, 20211992
December 19, 20212036
January 13, 20222115
February 4, 20222149
March 8, 20222188
April 8, 20222227
May 7, 20222275
June 11, 20222310
July 7, 20222349
August 3, 20222403
September 9, 20222452
October 5, 20222490
November 4, 20222527
December 6, 20222559
January 6, 20232595
February 10, 20232630
March 15, 20232668
April 9, 20232719
May 9, 20232764
June 8, 20232816
July 11, 20232872
August 5, 20232930
August 31, 20232993
September 22, 20233336
October 14, 20233467
November 8, 20233524
December 4, 20233579
December 28, 20233655
January 19, 20243710
February 14, 20243766
March 15, 20243840
April 6, 20243912
April 29, 20243971
May 21, 20244027
June 12, 20244137
July 5, 20244205
July 30, 20244262
August 22, 20244315
September 18, 20244374
October 11, 20244513
November 2, 20244657
November 23, 20244731
December 19, 20244809
January 11, 20254866
February 5, 20254950
March 1, 20255002
March 23, 20255050
April 16, 20255113
May 8, 20255351
May 31, 20255405
July 1, 20255469
July 25, 20255540
August 23, 20255582
September 21, 20255632
October 26, 20255674
December 3, 20255712
January 4, 20265749
February 14, 20265782
April 5, 20265811
September 11, 20265842

How each series was read

  • godotengine/godot

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • bevyengine/bevy

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • libgdx/libgdx

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • o3de/o3de

    Historical star data · Covers through September 13, 2026

  • defold/defold

    Historical star data · Covers through September 11, 2026

Ranking

5 repositories

Open-source game engines ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1godotengine/godot117,230~1952014debt charts
2bevyengine/bevy48,195~582020debt charts
3libgdx/libgdx25,398~162012debt charts
4o3de/o3de9,686~52021debt charts
5defold/defold6,305~52020debt charts

Repository health compared

Live analysis · unavailable data stays labelled

Popularity is only one axis. Compare technical scale, maintenance cadence, ownership resilience and change pressure against the same completed analysis that sits behind each report.

Reach

Popularity and real-world adoption

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
GitHub starsCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Best result in this row: 117,23048,19525,3989,6866,305
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.Best result in this row: +195+58+16+5+5
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.No resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved package
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.13 years6.7 years14 years5.4 years14 years

Codebase

Size and technical center of gravity

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
Dominant languageLargest share of analyzed code lines at current HEAD.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Maintenance

Commit volume and recent operating cadence

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
Repository commitsFull repository commit total reported by the analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Ownership

How broadly maintenance responsibility is distributed

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
Bus factorFewest analyzed contributors carrying at least half the commits.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Change signals

Debt markers and fix pressure in frequently changed files

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
Fix-labelled share · frequently changed filesFix-labelled commits divided by commits across the analyzed high-frequency file set.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Head to head

open in the builder

Frequently asked

Which of these open-source game engines has the most GitHub stars?

godotengine/godot is the most-starred of the open-source game engines gitdebt compares, with 117,230 GitHub stars as of Sep 2026. It earned its first star in 2014.

Which of these open-source game engines is growing the fastest?

godotengine/godot added the most stars over the last 90 days of its cached history — about 195 new stars. 90-day figures are approximate for older repos, whose history is downsampled.

How is this comparison computed?

The table ranks public repository metadata by current total stars. Each curve is that repository's stored star series — read either from GitHub's stargazer list or rebuilt from historical star data — drawn on shared axes, with trailing 90-day growth estimated from it. The legend under the chart names each series' own source and coverage date. Repo-health charts come independently from each repository's commit history.

Related categories

all categories

Fastest-growing repos across all of gitdebt