Key Notes
- Commercial GMRT games will no longer require a Professional license on desktop, mobile, web or GX Games from January 1, 2027, removing an upfront cost for qualifying releases.
- Professional owners retain commercial rights for the older GMS2 runtime and gain its source access, while existing license tier prices remain unchanged.
- Console exports still require Enterprise licensing and platform-holder approval, and developers should check GMRT’s beta readiness before moving an existing project.
GameMaker will let developers sell games built with its next-generation GMRT runtime without buying a Professional license from January 1, 2027. The change covers desktop, mobile, web and GX Games, removing an upfront engine-licensing cost for creators targeting those platforms.
The team announced the policy alongside broader runtime source-code access. It is a change to commercial distribution rights for GMRT projects, with a defined start date: the new terms do not make every GameMaker export free immediately.
A Lower Entry Cost for Commercial Releases
GameMaker already offers its editor and noncommercial exports for free. Under the current model described in its licensing FAQ, selling games requires the $99.99 Professional license, paid once rather than as an ongoing subscription. That commercial license does not impose royalties or a share of a developer’s game revenue.
For a small team preparing its first paid PC or mobile game, the GMRT policy will therefore remove the license purchase from that release budget. It will also give hobbyists a path from a personal project to a commercial release without buying Professional, provided the project uses the new runtime and falls within the covered platforms.
The savings concern GameMaker’s own commercial permission. A free runtime license does not cover a studio’s wider production, marketing or distribution expenses, and it does not determine the terms imposed by the storefront where a game is sold. Developers will still need to budget for the rest of bringing a project to market.
Professional and Console Licenses Remain
The older GMS2 runtime is treated differently. Existing Professional owners will retain their commercial distribution rights for GMS2 projects and gain access to that runtime’s source code. GameMaker is keeping its existing tier prices, so the announcement does not abolish Professional or make commercial GMS2 releases free under the new GMRT policy.
Console exports remain outside the free commercial offer regardless of which runtime a developer chooses. They still require an Enterprise license and approval from the relevant platform holder. A team planning a PC launch followed by console versions will need to account for that separate licensing route.
We recently covered Defold’s addition of free Xbox development tools for approved creators. That provides a useful comparison: engine fees and platform access are separate requirements, and the commercial terms differ between engines. GameMaker’s announcement should not be read as matching Defold’s console offer.
GMRT Is the Longer-Term Direction
The commercial change fits the transition GameMaker outlined in its spring roadmap. The team designated GMS2 as feature complete and directed new feature requests toward GMRT, while planning critical fixes and platform SDK updates for the older runtime until at least the first quarter of 2028.
That leaves studios with different decisions depending on their project. An established game can remain on the supported legacy runtime, while a new project can consider GMRT’s developing capabilities and future commercial terms together. Switching technology solely to avoid a one-time license purchase may involve more work than the fee itself.
Runtime readiness also matters. Head of GameMaker Russell Kay described GMRT as continuing to roll out in beta across platforms. The release notes remain the place to check current platform coverage and limitations; the January licensing date is not a promise that every project will migrate without changes.
GMRT source access will be available across tiers, giving developers more scope to inspect and adapt the technology for their projects. That access and the free commercial exports are related benefits, but source availability alone should not be confused with unrestricted rights to redistribute the engine. For creators, the immediate planning point is clear: qualifying GMRT releases gain a cheaper route to market in 2027, while legacy and console requirements remain distinct.
