Android Game Development Top Frameworks

Android is a popular mobile device OS and has a strong presence in the gaming community. The Google Play store recently overtook Apple's App Store in terms of revenue , and there are a huge number of games that can be played on Android devices. If you're interested in developing for this platform, I've put together a list of some top frameworks for creating your own games .

1) LibGDX :

LibGDX  is one of the most established open source game development libraries available today. It allows you to build 2D or 3D games using Java, C++, or Scala. The engine supports Mac, Linux, Windows desktop & mobile, HTML5 web applications via GWT, Android & iOS apps through RoboVM.

2) Corona :

Corona is a powerful cross-platform development tool for building mobile apps, 2D games and other interactive programs. You can use Lua or 'coronat + XML' to create your projects, which are then built for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire & NOOK.

3) Unreal Engine 4 :

Unreal Engine  4 is the latest version of the popular UE3 engine that has powered over 110 commercial games . It comes with a high level Blueprint Visual Scripting system that allows you to quickly put together prototypes without having to touch code. The engine also features impressive physics technology based on Nvidia's PhysX engine . On top of this it can deploy games to, Linux & Mac desktop & mobile, iOS & Android devices, web browser, PS4 , XBox One and Oculus Rift.

4) Unity3D :

Unity is one of the most popular game engines for mobile devices thanks to its highly polished user interface . It's designed to be approachable by those with no programming knowledge whilst still being powerful enough for advanced developers to work with. With the addition of experimental support for Windows 8 Metro apps it now covers all major platforms . Developers have used it to create games like Half Life 2 , Deus Ex , The Sims 3 , Angry Birds , Slenderman and many more.

5) Stencyl : 

Stencyl is a streamlined development environment that aims to provide artists without technical backgrounds an easy way into game creation. It's particularly good for quick prototyping and has a clean, colorful interface that is easy to navigate. Once you're ready to publish your game, Stencyl can deploy across iOS, Android & Windows platforms with no code required .

6) Libgdx :

LibGDX  is an open source game development engine written in Java. It is capable of targeting the web (as Javascript), PC/Windows, Mac OS X , Linux, iOS and Android. The most notable games made with it are Five Nights at Freddy's 2 , Rymdkapsel , Out There Somewhere , Broken Bottle and Armored Commander .

7) Unreal Engine:

Unreal Engine 4  is one of the most powerful and popular game development tools available today. In addition to Android, it can target a wide range of other platforms, including Linux and Mac OS X . The tool is very user friendly and well supported by a large community. It's used in the creation of many AAA games , such as Overwatch , Mass Effect: Andromeda , Batman: Arkham Knight, XCOM 2 , EVE Online and several others .

8) Chipmunk :

Chipmunk  is a free & fast 2D physics library that's been widely adopted in the indie scene due to its lightweight design and ease of use. It works with Objective-C or Swift on iOS & Mac, Java/Android & Windows/Linux on PCs. If you're looking for something similar but with a 3D focus, take a look at Bullet Physics .

9) Cocos2d-x :

Cocos2d-x  is a free 2D game engine that can be used to create games across iOS, Android & Windows Phone. It runs on C++ and creates apps using JavaScript for scripting. The tool has been used in many interesting projects, including Angry Birds , Plants vs Zombies and Cut the Rope .

10) Marmalade SDK :

Marmalade  is a cross-platform mobile & desktop engine that allows you to take C++/C# code and get it running on iOS, Android, Tizen , Windows Phone, BlackBerry 10 & more. It also includes full social integration for leaderboards, achievements and in-app purchases. New releases include support for Google's Cardboard VR tool for creating virtual reality games .

11) Panda3D :

Panda3D  is an open source game engine written using C++ with Python bindings. It comes with 3D graphics APIs such as OpenGL or DirectX along with physics libraries like Bullet Physics . It's capable of targeting Windows, Linux & MacOSX through OpenGL/SDL/OpenGLES. Many 3D indie games like Spiral Knights and Desktop Dungeons were developed with Panda3D .

12) Wayward :

Wayward  is a 2D action RPG written in HTML5 & JavaScript using the Canvas element. It's widely acclaimed for its open source nature, allowing anyone to contribute and even modify game assets such as graphics. It can be played on any modern browser without installing anything and also supports Steam Workshop for modding purposes. Its main developer is currently working on an upcoming sequel called Tides of Numenera .

13) Defold Engine:

The Defold Game Engine is an easy-to-use development tool that can produce cross-platform mobile games for Android, iOS, Windows & Mac OS X. It's been used in the creation of many games like 'My Singing Monsters' , 'Clash of Clans' and the original Angry Birds .

14) Cocos2d-JS :

Cocos2d-JS  is a JavaScript port of Cocos2D. It allows you to create 2D or 3D games that can be played on various platforms including web browsers, mobile devices and even desktop PCs. Games made with it include Monster Master, Don't Starve and Thimbleweed Park .

15) Crafty:

Crafty  is an open source HTML5 game engine that includes animation tools, tilemaps, particle effects and more. The tool is well documented and has a large community of users, resulting in many tutorials available online. It's used to create games like ARISING , Rogue Dash & Rise of the Mushroom Kingdom .

Conclusion

Android Game development is a complex process that involves a wide range of tools and frameworks. The list we've provided should give you a good starting point for finding the right toolset for your project. If you need help deciding which one to use, our team of experts are here to assist you. We have experience with many different game engines and can help get your project off the ground quickly and easily. Thanks for reading!