An honest look side by side.
PixelCore is designed to improve on today’s engines everywhere a focused team can: price, learning, iteration speed, 2D, mobile and TV, and AI-ready tooling. Here’s how the plan stacks up, including where others still lead.
| Feature | PixelCore 1.0 | Unity | Unreal Engine | Godot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost and terms | ||||
| Royalties on your game | None, ever, written into the license | None; paid seats above a revenue threshold | 5% of lifetime gross above $1M per product | None |
| Price to use | Free, every platform included | Free tier, then per-seat subscriptions | Free to start; royalty applies to games | Free |
| Source code | Closed; native C++ plugin API; paid source license planned | Closed; source access on enterprise plans | Source-available under license | Open source (MIT) |
| Learning and workflow | ||||
| Learning inside the editor | Lessons with automatic checks, offline docs, self-explaining templates | Some in-editor tutorials; most learning online | Mostly online | Offline API reference; tutorials online |
| Beginner scripting | PixelScript: friendly, typed, inferred | C# | C++ or visual scripting | GDScript or C# |
| Visual scripting | Graph compiles to readable script and back | Visual scripting package | Mature node-based visual scripting | Not included since 4.0 |
| Script iteration | Hot reload, state kept (target under 300 ms) | Domain reload on change; configurable | C++ recompiles; visual scripts compile quickly | Fast script reload |
| Editor download | Target under 300 MB | Several GB with platform modules | Tens of GB | Roughly 100 MB |
| Scene files in Git | Readable text with a merge driver | Text (YAML) serialization | Binary assets | Readable text |
| 2D and 3D | ||||
| 2D and 3D together | Equals in one scene model; 2.5D built in | Both, with separate 2D packages | 3D-first; limited 2D tooling | Strong 2D; separate 2D and 3D node types |
| Pixel-art support | Pixel-art mode: integer scaling, snapped camera | Pixel-perfect camera package | Manual setup | Good built-in options |
| 3D visual ceiling | Great, tiered from phone to desktop; advanced GI and geometry after 1.0 | High, with a high-end pipeline | Industry-leading | Good and improving |
| Platforms | ||||
| Phones and tablets | Designed phone-first; tiers scale up | Mature mobile support | Supported; heavier on low-end devices | Supported |
| Apple TV | First-class: focus UI, Siri Remote | Supported | Supported | Not officially supported |
| Steam Deck | Verified target with Steam Input mapped | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Consoles | Planned after 1.0 | Yes | Yes | Through third-party partners |
| Web | Planned after 1.0 | Yes | No official web export | Yes |
| Built for real games | ||||
| Simulation and builder tools | Economy, grid, calendar, inventory, data tables built in | Build your own or buy add-ons | Build your own or buy add-ons | Build your own or community add-ons |
| UI toolkit | One toolkit for phone, desktop and TV with data binding | Two UI systems | Widget-based UI system | Control nodes |
| Accessibility | Text scaling, color-safe themes, remapping in the core | Some built in; mostly custom work | Some built-in features | Some built-in features |
| AI assistant integration | First-party MCP server at 1.0 | Vendor AI tools; MCP varies | Community add-ons | Community add-ons |
| Protected builds | On by default: encrypted, signed, one-way | Third-party tools | Optional package encryption | Optional encryption with custom export templates |
The PixelCore column describes the planned 1.0 feature set; items marked “target” are goals we will measure and publish with our method. Other columns summarize publicly available information as of October 2026 and may change; check each vendor for current features and terms. All product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only for identification.
Where we're still catching up.
Trust matters more than a perfect scorecard. These are the places established engines still lead, and what we're doing about each.
Highest-end 3D
Cinematic, film-grade 3D isn't our first focus. Our tiers look great from phone to desktop, and advanced real-time GI and clustered geometry are planned after 1.0.
Consoles at launch
Console export comes after 1.0, once we hold approved developer status. The architecture is console-ready from day one.
Open source
PixelCore is closed source. You can extend it with native C++ plugins, and a paid source license is planned for studios that need one.
A required badge
Every game shows a short “Powered by PixelCore” splash and a credits line. It’s how a free, royalty-free engine stays visible.
A young ecosystem
Fewer tutorials and plugins exist today. That’s why learning is built into Studio, and why assistants can read our docs through MCP.
Not shipping yet
PixelCore is in development. SeriousPlay Games ships on it first, so it’s proven on real games before it’s yours.
See it for yourself in the beta.
Join the early-access list and help shape PixelCore before 1.0.