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Open-source game engines: star history compared

Most starred

120k

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 Nov 2026

Open-source game engines — star history
120k STARS14 YR 3 MOgodotengine/godot120kbevyengine/bevy50klibgdx/libgdx26ko3de/o3de9.9kdefold/defold6.5k

godotengine/godot: 120,116 stars on November 14, 2026. bevyengine/bevy: 49,739 stars on November 13, 2026. libgdx/libgdx: 25,526 stars on November 13, 2026. o3de/o3de: 9,883 stars on November 13, 2026. defold/defold: 6,462 stars on November 12, 2026.

Star history for godotengine/godot
DateStars
February 8, 20141
April 7, 20141548
June 9, 20141784
August 15, 20141951
October 26, 20142133
December 25, 20142632
February 22, 20153036
April 22, 20153321
June 20, 20153591
August 22, 20153787
November 2, 20154000
January 1, 20164200
March 1, 20164563
April 30, 20164867
June 27, 20165174
August 25, 20165530
October 21, 20165818
December 18, 20166125
February 14, 20176508
April 13, 20176870
June 9, 20177241
August 7, 20177667
October 4, 20178589
December 1, 201710154
January 28, 201811032
March 26, 201812527
May 23, 201813364
July 20, 201814072
September 16, 201814796
November 12, 201815792
January 21, 201916959
March 19, 201918312
May 16, 201919965
July 13, 201920911
September 9, 201921980
November 6, 201923335
January 2, 202024443
February 29, 202025751
April 27, 202027142
June 24, 202028592
August 20, 202029838
October 17, 202030998
December 14, 202032299
February 10, 202133563
April 8, 202134906
June 5, 202135966
August 2, 202137567
September 29, 202139354
November 26, 202140702
January 22, 202242497
April 2, 202244465
May 29, 202246002
July 26, 202247990
September 22, 202250218
November 19, 202251977
January 15, 202353551
March 14, 202355955
May 11, 202357898
July 8, 202359320
September 4, 202360805
October 31, 202373124
December 28, 202375306
February 24, 202477354
April 22, 202479581
June 18, 202482286
August 15, 202484409
October 12, 202487142
December 9, 202489020
February 4, 202591017
April 3, 202593429
June 12, 202595788
August 8, 202597674
October 5, 202599999
December 2, 2025102087
January 29, 2026104661
March 27, 2026107402
May 24, 2026110231
July 21, 2026113714
September 17, 2026116849
November 14, 2026120116
Star history for bevyengine/bevy
DateStars
May 28, 20201
September 1, 20203095
September 30, 20203737
October 29, 20203986
November 26, 20204734
December 25, 20205338
January 23, 20215625
February 21, 20216292
March 21, 20216660
April 19, 20217907
May 23, 20218346
June 21, 20218637
July 20, 20218934
August 18, 20219430
September 15, 20219774
October 14, 202110281
November 12, 202110720
December 11, 202111241
January 8, 202211827
February 6, 202212952
March 7, 202213430
April 4, 202213816
May 3, 202214628
June 1, 202215267
June 30, 202215791
July 28, 202216269
August 26, 202217008
September 24, 202217563
October 22, 202218050
November 20, 202219034
December 25, 202219651
January 22, 202320137
February 20, 202320653
March 21, 202321421
April 19, 202321986
May 17, 202322410
June 15, 202323024
July 14, 202323499
August 11, 202323926
September 9, 202324388
October 8, 202325698
November 6, 202326708
December 4, 202327338
January 2, 202427917
January 31, 202428747
February 28, 202429623
March 28, 202430365
April 26, 202430932
May 25, 202431492
June 22, 202431980
July 27, 202433039
August 25, 202433551
September 22, 202434008
October 21, 202434610
November 19, 202435090
December 17, 202435780
January 15, 202536344
February 13, 202536806
March 14, 202537365
April 11, 202537872
May 10, 202538466
June 8, 202539005
July 6, 202539475
August 4, 202539931
September 2, 202540803
October 1, 202541571
October 29, 202542060
November 27, 202542480
December 26, 202542970
January 24, 202643610
February 27, 202644180
March 28, 202644739
April 25, 202645222
May 24, 202645788
June 22, 202646399
July 21, 202646949
August 18, 202647442
September 16, 202648034
October 15, 202648950
November 13, 202649739
Star history for libgdx/libgdx
DateStars
August 10, 2012460
January 22, 2013545
April 11, 2013756
June 15, 2013976
August 20, 20131220
October 22, 20131564
December 24, 20131912
February 25, 20142343
April 30, 20142852
July 2, 20143282
September 16, 20143744
November 18, 20144140
January 20, 20154509
March 24, 20154928
May 26, 20155337
July 30, 20155665
October 1, 20155995
December 3, 20156339
February 4, 20166800
April 7, 20167248
June 8, 20167618
August 10, 20168074
October 12, 20168478
December 14, 20168962
February 15, 20179382
April 19, 20179892
June 21, 201710337
August 23, 201710799
October 25, 201711253
December 27, 201711668
March 13, 201812054
May 15, 201812420
July 17, 201812727
September 19, 201812996
November 22, 201813287
January 24, 201913580
March 29, 201913877
June 1, 201914177
August 3, 201914458
October 5, 201914734
December 6, 201915022
February 9, 202015274
April 12, 202015628
June 14, 202015934
August 17, 202016196
October 19, 202016468
December 21, 202016748
February 23, 202117008
April 29, 202117298
July 2, 202117569
September 16, 202117899
November 18, 202118241
January 20, 202218565
March 25, 202218826
May 28, 202219108
July 30, 202219362
October 2, 202219672
December 6, 202219960
February 10, 202320242
April 14, 202320549
June 16, 202320829
August 20, 202321085
October 23, 202321401
December 29, 202321665
March 1, 202421918
May 8, 202422171
July 12, 202422388
September 16, 202422602
November 18, 202422860
January 20, 202523159
April 9, 202523459
June 11, 202523698
August 16, 202523910
October 21, 202524121
December 24, 202524366
February 25, 202624598
April 30, 202624862
July 6, 202625082
September 8, 202625304
November 13, 202625526
Star history for o3de/o3de
DateStars
April 12, 20211
July 20, 20212795
August 12, 20213024
September 4, 20213127
September 28, 20213219
October 20, 20213298
November 14, 20213375
December 8, 20213765
December 31, 20213868
January 25, 20223948
February 22, 20224055
March 18, 20224125
April 9, 20224215
May 2, 20224301
May 25, 20224453
June 17, 20224541
July 11, 20224614
August 2, 20224816
August 25, 20224910
September 20, 20224994
October 14, 20225069
November 5, 20225223
November 28, 20225321
December 22, 20225397
January 15, 20235488
February 7, 20235564
March 2, 20235636
March 27, 20235710
April 24, 20235775
May 20, 20235884
June 20, 20235959
July 15, 20236015
August 7, 20236063
August 30, 20236114
September 22, 20236276
October 16, 20236416
November 9, 20236673
December 4, 20236735
December 30, 20236791
January 22, 20246850
February 17, 20246924
March 13, 20246985
April 6, 20247063
May 3, 20247119
May 28, 20247194
June 23, 20247253
July 19, 20247319
August 12, 20247372
September 7, 20247432
October 4, 20247491
November 4, 20247620
November 30, 20247678
December 24, 20247736
January 19, 20257795
February 10, 20257851
March 11, 20257922
April 5, 20257984
May 3, 20258049
May 28, 20258114
June 20, 20258184
July 16, 20258255
August 14, 20258308
September 6, 20258350
September 29, 20258404
October 24, 20258530
November 16, 20258631
December 9, 20258705
January 6, 20268773
February 1, 20268817
March 3, 20268870
April 4, 20268952
May 1, 20269003
May 28, 20269119
June 20, 20269356
July 14, 20269457
August 9, 20269533
September 2, 20269614
September 26, 20269680
October 21, 20269753
November 13, 20269883
Star history for defold/defold
DateStars
April 20, 20151
June 10, 2020851
July 6, 2020937
August 6, 2020994
September 2, 20201040
October 7, 20201088
November 9, 20201140
December 22, 20201181
January 29, 20211283
February 25, 20211348
March 29, 20211403
April 29, 20211464
June 2, 20211517
July 16, 20211559
August 15, 20211599
September 23, 20211650
October 24, 20211691
November 19, 20211747
December 28, 20211794
January 24, 20221861
February 26, 20221901
April 8, 20221936
May 11, 20221979
June 14, 20222016
July 21, 20222066
August 25, 20222115
October 2, 20222164
November 9, 20222203
December 18, 20222241
January 22, 20232283
March 11, 20232324
April 11, 20232376
May 15, 20232428
June 15, 20232487
July 21, 20232550
August 18, 20232613
September 19, 20232900
October 14, 20233077
November 9, 20233134
December 6, 20233187
December 30, 20233260
January 25, 20243321
February 22, 20243375
March 20, 20243448
April 17, 20243514
May 14, 20243577
June 9, 20243691
July 5, 20243773
July 31, 20243830
August 28, 20243889
October 1, 20243989
October 25, 20244156
November 22, 20244274
December 17, 20244348
January 12, 20254414
February 6, 20254494
March 6, 20254556
April 2, 20254622
April 30, 20254871
May 25, 20254945
June 23, 20255008
July 17, 20255142
August 13, 20255210
September 8, 20255265
October 7, 20255342
November 1, 20255407
November 26, 20255466
December 26, 20255541
January 19, 20265611
February 16, 20265672
March 19, 20265770
April 17, 20265838
May 14, 20265936
June 8, 20266032
July 3, 20266102
August 1, 20266172
August 27, 20266235
September 22, 20266284
October 17, 20266379
November 12, 20266462

How each series was read

  • godotengine/godot

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • bevyengine/bevy

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • libgdx/libgdx

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • o3de/o3de

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • defold/defold

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

Ranking

5 repositories

Open-source game engines ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1godotengine/godot120,123~5.2k2014debt charts
2bevyengine/bevy49,743~2.4k2020debt charts
3libgdx/libgdx25,526~3252012debt charts
4o3de/o3de9,883~3352021debt charts
5defold/defold6,463~2692015debt 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: 120,12349,74325,5269,8836,463
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.Best result in this row: +5,166+2,388+325+335+269
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.13 years6.8 years14 years5.6 years15 years

Codebase

Size and technical center of gravity

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
Dominant languageLargest share of analyzed code lines at current HEAD.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

Maintenance

Commit volume and recent operating cadence

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
Repository commitsFull repository commit total reported by the analysis.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

Ownership

How broadly maintenance responsibility is distributed

Signalgodotengine/godotbevyengine/bevylibgdx/libgdxo3de/o3dedefold/defold
Bus factorFewest analyzed contributors carrying at least half the commits.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

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.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

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 120,123 GitHub stars as of Nov 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 5,166 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 from GitHub's own star history, or from an older stargazer-list or historical-data read until gitdebt reads it again — 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