Game Development Software
Ongoing coverage on Game Development Software.
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Steam killed its 'RPGMaker' user tag yesterday, and impacted devs are unexpectedly happy about it
Valve has removed the 'RPGMaker' user tag from Steam, a move that has surprisingly been met with approval by many developers who used the tool. While some players are upset about losing a way to find games made with RPG Maker, developers believe the tag's broadness often led to low-quality games overshadowing good ones, and its removal may help their titles gain more visibility.
Unity launches suite of AI tools to help creators accelerate game development
Unity has launched a suite of AI tools in open beta, designed to accelerate game development for creators using Unity 6 or above. The Agentic Assistant helps developers understand their work and use Unity's tools effectively, with features for planning, expert guidance, and asset generation. Unity Pro, Enterprise, and Industry subscribers receive these features automatically, while Personal Edition users can access them via a free trial or a monthly subscription.
Epic and Disney launch largest IP toolset to date, allowing devs to create Star Wars games in Fortnite
Epic Games and The Walt Disney Company have launched a comprehensive Star Wars toolset for Fortnite, enabling creators to build their own Star Wars-themed games within the platform. The tools include characters, vehicles, and gameplay features, with new lightsaber and force power customization options available in Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Developers must adhere to brand guidelines and share engagement payouts with Disney to publish their creations.
GTA Online launches Community Mission Series promoting its new Rockstar Mission Creator
Grand Theft Auto Online has launched its new Community Mission Series, which will highlight player-created missions made with the new Rockstar Mission Creator. This feature allows players to design and share their own unique adventures within the game world.
Avalanche Indie Game Dev Platform Grotto Releases Runtime SDK
Grotto, operating on the Avalanche platform, has released its Runtime SDK to simplify backend development for indie game creators. The SDK integrates features like cloud saves, leaderboards, and player identity management into a single script, allowing developers to focus more on gameplay. An open-source skills repository has also been launched on GitHub to encourage community contributions.
Garry's Mod's "spiritual successor" s&box finally makes a profit after five years in development
Facepunch, the developer of Rust and Garry's Mod, announced that its upcoming game development tool, s&box, has become profitable for the first time in its five-year development cycle. The Source 2 engine-based tool, considered a spiritual successor to Garry's Mod, generated $1.1 million in gross income in April 2026, resulting in a profit of $298,400 after accounting for ongoing costs. S&box is also the foundation for several other Steam titles and is set to release worldwide on April 28.
Battlefield 6's transformative new creation tool makes Portal much more powerful: "no more compromises"
Battlefield 6 is introducing a new Portal Gadget with the upcoming Hunter/Prey update, significantly enhancing its creation tools for user-generated content. This update, part of Season 2, also brings improvements to the core multiplayer progression system and team communication features, including spotting reliability. Battlefield Studios is also evaluating feedback from recent battle royale solo tests.
Garry's Mod creator partners with Valve in deal that ensures games made in his sandbox gem's new successor can be sold royalty-free on Steam: "It's just waiting for us now"
Valve and Garry Newman have partnered to allow creations made in S&box, the successor to Garry's Mod, to be sold royalty-free on Steam. This deal ensures creators using the Source 2 engine-based tool will receive full returns, similar to using Unity. S&box is set to launch publicly in April, with some games already listed on Steam.
In its first major visual overhaul ever, RPG Maker will soon let you make games in the style of Octopath Traveler
RPG Maker is receiving its first major visual overhaul, introducing a new style inspired by Octopath Traveler. While specific release details are unknown, the update aims to enhance the visual capabilities of games created with the tool. This change is expected to allow developers to create more detailed and visually appealing projects without significantly altering the asset creation process.
New RPG Maker Entry Announced with HD-2D Style Visual Shift
Gotcha Gotcha Games has announced RPG Maker WITH, a new iteration of the game development software. This installment introduces an HD-2D visual style and marks the first console RPG Maker title to allow online sharing of projects and custom assets. It will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.