---
title: "Game engines: Which are most popular?"
description: "Compare the game engines developers use to build video games. Share of Search among GameMaker, Unreal Engine, GDevelop, Godot, Construct, RPG Maker, Unity, LÖVE, CRYENGINE, Defold, Cocos and Phaser, the game engines Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/game-engines"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Game engines: Which are most popular?

Compare the game engines developers use to build video games. Share of Search among GameMaker, Unreal Engine, GDevelop, Godot, Construct, RPG Maker, Unity, LÖVE, CRYENGINE, Defold, Cocos and Phaser, the game engines Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Game engines
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 12
- **Month measured**: Oct 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: GameMaker, 21%

## Which brand is most popular in search among game engines worldwide?

- In October 2026, GameMaker was the most searched among game engines worldwide, with an estimated 270K branded searches, 21% of all searches for the 12 tracked by the Brandwave Brand Demand Index.
- Unreal Engine is in 2nd place, 1.9 percentage points behind at 19.1%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, GameMaker’s share of searches among game engines worldwide decreased from 24.4% to 21%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Unreal Engine’s share of searches among game engines worldwide increased from 18.2% to 19.1%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, GDevelop’s share of searches among game engines worldwide increased from 12.2% to 15.6%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Godot’s share of searches among game engines worldwide increased from 9.1% to 15%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Construct’s share of searches among game engines worldwide decreased from 14.9% to 12.8%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Unity’s share of searches among game engines worldwide decreased from 8.7% to 4.9%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, CRYENGINE’s share of searches among game engines worldwide decreased from 1.6% to 0.94%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, GameMaker’s share of searches among game engines worldwide peaked at 26.4% in December 2025 and was lowest at 19.7% in September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Unreal Engine’s share of searches among game engines worldwide peaked at 22.8% in June 2026 and was lowest at 17.3% in March 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, GDevelop’s share of searches among game engines worldwide peaked at 15.6% in October 2026 and was lowest at 10.8% in December 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Construct’s share of searches among game engines worldwide peaked at 14.9% in November 2025 and was lowest at 7% in July 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, RPG Maker’s share of searches among game engines worldwide peaked at 8.3% in February 2026 and was lowest at 6.6% in September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Unity’s share of searches among game engines worldwide peaked at 14.5% in July 2026 and was lowest at 4.9% in October 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, GDevelop rose from 4th to 3rd among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Godot rose from 5th to 4th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Construct fell from 3rd to 5th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, RPG Maker rose from 7th to 6th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Unity fell from 6th to 7th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, LÖVE rose from 9th to 8th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, CRYENGINE fell from 8th to 9th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Defold rose from 12th to 10th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Cocos fell from 10th to 11th among game engines worldwide.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Phaser fell from 11th to 12th among game engines worldwide.

## Top game engines in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Godot and Unity appeared every time. Godot was recommended most often, coming first in four out of five answers. Unity was second, and Unreal Engine was third. LÖVE, which ranked eighth in searches, was not mentioned at all.

Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options.

| Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Godot | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 |
| Unity | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 |
| Unreal Engine | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| GameMaker | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| GDevelop | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Phaser | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Construct | 7th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Defold | 8th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| RPG Maker | 9th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| LÖVE | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| CRYENGINE | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Cocos | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about game engines

- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best game engine for beginners?": 1. Godot, 2. Unity, 3. Unreal Engine, 4. GDevelop
- Asked ChatGPT "Which game engine should I use for a 2D game?": 1. Godot, 2. Unity, 3. GameMaker, 4. Construct
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best game engines?": 1. Godot, 2. Unreal Engine, 3. Unity, 4. GameMaker, 5. Construct, 6. Phaser, 7. RPG Maker
- Searched Google, AI Overview "game engine": 1. Unity, 2. Unreal Engine, 3. Godot, 4. GameMaker
- Searched Google, AI Overview "free game engine": 1. Godot, 2. GDevelop, 3. Phaser, 4. Defold, 5. Unity, 6. Unreal Engine, 7. GameMaker

Not named in any answer: LÖVE, CRYENGINE and Cocos.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 27, 2026.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [GameMaker vs Unreal Engine: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/gamemaker-vs-unreal-engine): 21% against 19.1% Share of Search.
- [GameMaker vs GDevelop: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/gamemaker-vs-gdevelop): 21% against 15.6% Share of Search.
- [GameMaker vs Godot: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/gamemaker-vs-godot): 21% against 15% Share of Search.
- [GameMaker vs Construct: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/construct-vs-gamemaker): 21% against 12.8% Share of Search.
- [Unreal Engine vs GDevelop: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/gdevelop-vs-unreal-engine): 19.1% against 15.6% Share of Search.
- [Unreal Engine vs Godot: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/godot-vs-unreal-engine): 19.1% against 15% Share of Search.
- [Unreal Engine vs Construct: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/construct-vs-unreal-engine): 19.1% against 12.8% Share of Search.
- [GDevelop vs Godot: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/gdevelop-vs-godot): 15.6% against 15% Share of Search.
- [GDevelop vs Construct: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/construct-vs-gdevelop): 15.6% against 12.8% Share of Search.
- [Godot vs Construct: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/construct-vs-godot): 15% against 12.8% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for game engines worldwide in October 2026?

- In October 2026, Godot gained share of searches among game engines worldwide, from 12.9% to 15%.
- In October 2026, GameMaker gained share of searches among game engines worldwide, from 19.7% to 21%.
- In October 2026, Unreal Engine gained share of searches among game engines worldwide, from 18% to 19.1%.
- In October 2026, GDevelop gained share of searches among game engines worldwide, from 14.7% to 15.6%.
- In October 2026, Construct gained share of searches among game engines worldwide, from 12% to 12.8%.
- In October 2026, Unity lost share of searches among game engines worldwide, from 11.5% to 4.9%.
- In October 2026, LÖVE rose from 10th to 8th among game engines worldwide.
- In October 2026, RPG Maker rose from 7th to 6th among game engines worldwide.

## Which game engines do people search for most?

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | GameMaker | 21% | 270K | 0.0% | GameMaker |
| 2 | Unreal Engine | 19.1% | 246K | 0.0% | Epic Games |
| 3 | GDevelop | 15.6% | 201K | 0.0% | GDevelop |
| 4 | Godot | 15% | 194K | +9.9% | Godot Foundation |
| 5 | Construct | 12.8% | 165K | 0.0% | Scirra |
| 6 | RPG Maker | 7% | 90.5K | 0.0% | RPG Maker |
| 7 | Unity | 4.9% | 62.7K | -60.1% | Unity Technologies |
| 8 | LÖVE | 1.1% | 14.8K | 0.0% | LÖVE |
| 9 | CRYENGINE | 0.94% | 12.1K | -18.2% | Crytek |
| 10 | Defold | 0.94% | 12.1K | -18.2% | Defold |
| 11 | Cocos | 0.85% | 11K | 0.0% | Cocos |
| 12 | Phaser | 0.64% | 8.3K | -3.5% | Phaser Studio |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nov 2025 | GameMaker | 330K | 24.4% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 18.2% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Construct | 201K | 14.9% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | GDevelop | 165K | 12.2% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Godot | 123K | 9.1% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Unity | 118K | 8.7% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 6.7% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | CRYENGINE | 22.2K | 1.6% | 8 |
| Nov 2025 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.3% | 9 |
| Nov 2025 | Cocos | 16.5K | 1.2% | 10 |
| Nov 2025 | Phaser | 11.8K | 0.87% | 11 |
| Nov 2025 | Defold | 9.9K | 0.73% | 12 |
| Dec 2025 | GameMaker | 330K | 26.4% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 19.7% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Construct | 135K | 10.8% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | GDevelop | 135K | 10.8% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Godot | 123K | 9.8% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Unity | 113K | 9% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 7.2% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | CRYENGINE | 22.2K | 1.8% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.4% | 9 |
| Dec 2025 | Cocos | 15.3K | 1.2% | 10 |
| Dec 2025 | Phaser | 11.7K | 0.94% | 11 |
| Dec 2025 | Defold | 9.9K | 0.79% | 12 |
| Jan 2026 | GameMaker | 330K | 24.5% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Unreal Engine | 301K | 22.4% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | GDevelop | 165K | 12.3% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Construct | 135K | 10% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Godot | 123K | 9.1% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | RPG Maker | 110K | 8.2% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | Unity | 101K | 7.5% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | CRYENGINE | 22.2K | 1.6% | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.3% | 9 |
| Jan 2026 | Cocos | 15.3K | 1.1% | 10 |
| Jan 2026 | Phaser | 13.6K | 1% | 11 |
| Jan 2026 | Defold | 12.1K | 0.9% | 12 |
| Feb 2026 | GameMaker | 330K | 24.9% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 18.6% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Construct | 165K | 12.5% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | GDevelop | 165K | 12.5% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Godot | 123K | 9.3% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Unity | 113K | 8.5% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | RPG Maker | 110K | 8.3% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | CRYENGINE | 18.1K | 1.4% | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.4% | 9 |
| Feb 2026 | Cocos | 15.3K | 1.2% | 10 |
| Feb 2026 | Phaser | 11.7K | 0.88% | 11 |
| Feb 2026 | Defold | 9.9K | 0.75% | 12 |
| Mar 2026 | GameMaker | 330K | 23.2% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 17.3% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Construct | 201K | 14.1% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | GDevelop | 201K | 14.1% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Godot | 136K | 9.5% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Unity | 118K | 8.3% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | RPG Maker | 110K | 7.7% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | CRYENGINE | 18.1K | 1.3% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.3% | 9 |
| Mar 2026 | Cocos | 17.5K | 1.2% | 10 |
| Mar 2026 | Phaser | 14K | 0.98% | 11 |
| Mar 2026 | Defold | 12.1K | 0.85% | 12 |
| Apr 2026 | GameMaker | 330K | 24.7% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 18.4% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | GDevelop | 201K | 15% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Construct | 165K | 12.3% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Godot | 132K | 9.9% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Unity | 96.2K | 7.2% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 6.8% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | CRYENGINE | 18.1K | 1.4% | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.4% | 9 |
| Apr 2026 | Cocos | 16.5K | 1.2% | 10 |
| Apr 2026 | Defold | 12.1K | 0.9% | 11 |
| Apr 2026 | Phaser | 11.8K | 0.88% | 12 |
| May 2026 | GameMaker | 330K | 23.6% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 17.6% | 2 |
| May 2026 | GDevelop | 201K | 14.4% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Construct | 165K | 11.8% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Godot | 155K | 11.1% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Unity | 113K | 8.1% | 6 |
| May 2026 | RPG Maker | 110K | 7.9% | 7 |
| May 2026 | CRYENGINE | 18.1K | 1.3% | 8 |
| May 2026 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.3% | 9 |
| May 2026 | Defold | 14.8K | 1.1% | 10 |
| May 2026 | Cocos | 14.3K | 1% | 11 |
| May 2026 | Phaser | 12K | 0.86% | 12 |
| Jun 2026 | Unreal Engine | 301K | 22.8% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | GameMaker | 270K | 20.4% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | GDevelop | 165K | 12.5% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Godot | 159K | 12% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Construct | 135K | 10.2% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Unity | 132K | 10% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 6.8% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.4% | 8 |
| Jun 2026 | CRYENGINE | 14.8K | 1.1% | 9 |
| Jun 2026 | Cocos | 14.3K | 1.1% | 10 |
| Jun 2026 | Defold | 12.1K | 0.91% | 11 |
| Jun 2026 | Phaser | 10.2K | 0.77% | 12 |
| Jul 2026 | GameMaker | 270K | 20.9% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 19.1% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Unity | 187K | 14.5% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Godot | 178K | 13.8% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | GDevelop | 165K | 12.8% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Construct | 90.5K | 7% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 7% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | CRYENGINE | 14.8K | 1.1% | 8 |
| Jul 2026 | LÖVE | 14.8K | 1.1% | 9 |
| Jul 2026 | Cocos | 13.5K | 1% | 10 |
| Jul 2026 | Phaser | 10.2K | 0.79% | 11 |
| Jul 2026 | Defold | 9.9K | 0.77% | 12 |
| Aug 2026 | GameMaker | 270K | 20.3% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 18.5% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | GDevelop | 201K | 15.1% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Godot | 189K | 14.2% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Unity | 157K | 11.8% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Construct | 110K | 8.3% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 6.8% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | LÖVE | 18.1K | 1.4% | 8 |
| Aug 2026 | CRYENGINE | 14.8K | 1.1% | 9 |
| Aug 2026 | Cocos | 12.8K | 0.96% | 10 |
| Aug 2026 | Defold | 9.9K | 0.75% | 11 |
| Aug 2026 | Phaser | 8.6K | 0.65% | 12 |
| Sep 2026 | GameMaker | 270K | 19.7% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 18% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | GDevelop | 201K | 14.7% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Godot | 176K | 12.9% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Construct | 165K | 12% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Unity | 157K | 11.5% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 6.6% | 7 |
| Sep 2026 | CRYENGINE | 14.8K | 1.1% | 8 |
| Sep 2026 | Defold | 14.8K | 1.1% | 9 |
| Sep 2026 | LÖVE | 14.8K | 1.1% | 10 |
| Sep 2026 | Cocos | 11K | 0.8% | 11 |
| Sep 2026 | Phaser | 8.6K | 0.63% | 12 |
| Oct 2026 | GameMaker | 270K | 21% | 1 |
| Oct 2026 | Unreal Engine | 246K | 19.1% | 2 |
| Oct 2026 | GDevelop | 201K | 15.6% | 3 |
| Oct 2026 | Godot | 194K | 15% | 4 |
| Oct 2026 | Construct | 165K | 12.8% | 5 |
| Oct 2026 | RPG Maker | 90.5K | 7% | 6 |
| Oct 2026 | Unity | 62.7K | 4.9% | 7 |
| Oct 2026 | LÖVE | 14.8K | 1.1% | 8 |
| Oct 2026 | CRYENGINE | 12.1K | 0.94% | 9 |
| Oct 2026 | Defold | 12.1K | 0.94% | 10 |
| Oct 2026 | Cocos | 11K | 0.85% | 11 |
| Oct 2026 | Phaser | 8.3K | 0.64% | 12 |

## How are branded searches counted for game engines?

- **Cocos**: Measured on the search terms “cocos creator” and “cocos2d”, summed into one figure.
- **Construct**: Measured on the search term “construct 3”.
- **CRYENGINE**: Measured on the search term “cryengine”.
- **Defold**: Measured on the search term “defold”.
- **GameMaker**: Measured on the search terms “game maker studio” and “gamemaker”, summed into one figure.
- **GDevelop**: Measured on the search term “gdevelop”.
- **Godot**: Measured on the search terms “godot 4”, “godot engine” and “godot game engine”, summed into one figure.
- **LÖVE**: Measured on the search term “love2d”.
- **Phaser**: Measured on the search terms “phaser game engine”, “phaser js” and “phaser.io”, summed into one figure.
- **RPG Maker**: Measured on the search term “rpg maker”.
- **Unity**: Measured on the search terms “unity engine” and “unity game engine”, summed into one figure.
- **Unreal Engine**: Measured on the search term “unreal engine”.

- [Cocos](/demand/global-en/brands/cocos)
- [Construct](/demand/global-en/brands/construct)
- [CRYENGINE](/demand/global-en/brands/cryengine)
- [Defold](/demand/global-en/brands/defold)
- [GameMaker](/demand/global-en/brands/gamemaker)
- [GDevelop](/demand/global-en/brands/gdevelop)
- [Godot](/demand/global-en/brands/godot)
- [LÖVE](/demand/global-en/brands/love2d)
- [Phaser](/demand/global-en/brands/phaser)
- [RPG Maker](/demand/global-en/brands/rpg-maker)
- [Unity](/demand/global-en/brands/unity-engine)
- [Unreal Engine](/demand/global-en/brands/unreal-engine)

## Methodology

- [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among game engines worldwide?

In October 2026, GameMaker was the most searched among game engines worldwide, with an estimated 270K branded searches, 21% of all searches for the 12 tracked by the Brandwave Brand Demand Index. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Game engines: Which are most popular?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/game-engines

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/game-engines. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.