PixiJS
Game Engines & FrameworksFast 2D WebGL rendering engine for browser games
Replaces Adobe Animate runtime
Best Free Game Engines & Frameworks for self-hosting
The 28 best Free game engines & frameworks you can self-host, ranked by community traction.
Phaser
Game Engines & FrameworksFast HTML5 game framework for browser games you host yourself
Replaces Construct, GameMaker
OpenRA
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source remake of classic RTS games
Replaces Command & Conquer, Red Alert
PlayCanvas Engine
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source WebGL game engine for 3D browser games
Replaces Unity WebGL
OpenAge Note - Age of Empires engine
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source engine reimplementation of Age of Empires II
Replaces Age of Empires II original engine
Retroarch Web Player
Game Engines & FrameworksEmulate videogames system and play videogames through your web browser
Minetest Server Note Mineclone2 alt
Game Engines & FrameworksDedicated server software for hosting Minetest game worlds
Replaces Minecraft server
RomM
Game Engines & FrameworksSelf-hosted ROM manager and retro game library
Replaces Playnite, LaunchBox
TrinityCore
Game Engines & FrameworksMMORPG server emulator for World of Warcraft
Replaces official WoW servers
Cocos Engine
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source cross-platform 2D and 3D game engine
Replaces Unity
DevilutionX
Game Engines & FrameworksModernized Diablo engine with cross-platform multiplayer
Replaces Diablo original
OpenMW
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source engine reimplementation for Morrowind
Replaces Morrowind original engine
melonJS
Game Engines & FrameworksLightweight HTML5 game engine for browser games
Replaces GameMaker, Construct
86Box
Game Engines & FrameworksEmulator of classic x86 PCs for retro gaming and software
Replaces PCem
EmulatorJS
Game Engines & FrameworksSelf-hosted in-browser retro game emulator
Replaces RetroArch web
Spring RTS Engine Note - Beyond All Reason server
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source engine for hosting real-time strategy game servers
Replaces Total Annihilation
Excalibur
Game Engines & FrameworksTypeScript-first 2D game engine for the web
Replaces GameMaker, Construct
Retrom
Game Engines & FrameworksSelf-hosted game library server with launcher clients
Replaces Playnite, Steam library
KAPLAY
Game Engines & FrameworksFun JavaScript library for making browser games fast
Replaces Phaser
Crafty Controller Note - mcrcon alt RconCli
Game Engines & FrameworksLightweight RCON client for remote game server administration
Replaces In-game server console
Gaseous Server
Game Engines & FrameworksSelf-hosted ROM library and metadata server
Replaces LaunchBox
Sapphire Server
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source server emulator for Final Fantasy XIV
Replaces official FFXIV servers
Aleph One
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source engine for the Marathon trilogy with multiplayer
Replaces Marathon original
Solarus
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source 2D action-RPG game engine
Replaces RPG Maker
CMaNGOS
Game Engines & FrameworksContinued MaNGOS World of Warcraft server emulator
Replaces official WoW servers
Ryzom Core
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source MMORPG engine and game framework
Replaces World of Warcraft
ct.js
Game Engines & FrameworksFree 2D game editor with a visual interface and code
Replaces GameMaker Studio
Chronoshift Note - Red Alert alt OpenRA-resources
Game Engines & FrameworksOpen-source reimplementation of Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Replaces Command & Conquer: Red Alert original
No apps match these filters.
Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged Free within the game engines & frameworks category. Compare them on the individual app pages for setup difficulty and resource requirements.