About OpenGames
OpenGames is the largest directory of open-source games, connecting players and developers with 2000+ free, community-driven projects from GitHub. Our mission is to democratize game development education and make high-quality free games accessible to everyone.
Our Mission
We believe that open-source games are more than just free entertainment—they're invaluable learning resources and examples of what passionate communities can create together. OpenGames exists to:
- •Help players discover high-quality free games without microtransactions or invasive DRM
- •Enable developers to learn from real production codebases across multiple languages and engines
- •Support open-source communities by driving contributions and visibility to deserving projects
- •Promote transparency in gaming by highlighting projects with open, auditable code
Who We Serve
For Players
Find great free games and learn how to install and run them safely. Filter by genre, platform, multiplayer support, and more to discover your next favorite game.
- • Browse 2000+ free games
- • Read installation guides
- • Check system requirements
- • Discover trending projects
For Developers
Filter by language, engine, and activity to discover codebases worth studying and contributing to. Learn from real-world implementations of game mechanics, graphics, and networking.
- • Study production code
- • Learn game architecture
- • Find contribution opportunities
- • Explore different engines
For Curators
Track trends, releases, and licensing to build trustworthy collections. Our API provides structured data for building your own game directories and research projects.
- • Track GitHub activity
- • Monitor new releases
- • Access structured data
- • Build custom collections
Built with Modern Technology
OpenGames is built as a showcase of modern web development practices, using cutting-edge technologies to deliver a fast, reliable experience:
Next.js 15
App Router with React 19 for optimal performance
Cloudflare Pages
Edge deployment for global, low-latency access
D1 Database
SQLite at the edge with Drizzle ORM
Programmatic SEO
100+ category pages with dynamic metadata
Data & Sourcing
Our game database is continuously updated from GitHub, focusing on active projects with clear licensing and community engagement. We prioritize:
- ✓Active development with recent commits
- ✓Clear open-source licensing (MIT, GPL, Apache, etc.)
- ✓Playable functionality or clear development progress
- ✓Community engagement (stars, forks, issues)
- ✓Documentation and installation instructions
- ✓Accurate metadata (genre, language, platforms)
Open Source Yourself
OpenGames believes in eating our own dog food. Our platform is built with open-source technologies and we contribute back to the community. The code for this directory is available on GitHub, and we welcome contributions, bug reports, and suggestions.
Why Open Source Games Matter
Think of open source games like a recipe book anyone can read. When a chef shares their secret recipe, everyone can learn how to cook that dish. Open source games work the same way. The code that makes the game run is free for everyone to see, study, and improve.
The gaming industry makes over $200 billion every year. But most of that money goes to big companies that keep their code locked away. Open source games flip this model. They let small teams and solo developers share their work with the world. A teenager in Brazil can learn from a game made in Japan. A student in Germany can fix bugs in a project from Canada. This is the power of open collaboration.
GitHub reports over 100 million developers worldwide. Many of them started by reading open source code. Games are especially good for learning because they combine so many skills: graphics, sound, physics, user interfaces, and networking. When you study an open source game, you see all these pieces working together.
The Numbers Behind Open Source Gaming
2,000+
Games in our directory
100+
Categories to explore
50+
Programming languages
$0
Cost to play any game
How We Pick Games
Not every GitHub repository makes it into our directory. We look for games that meet real quality standards. Here is what matters to us:
Actually Playable
The game must work. We check that you can download it, run it, and actually play something. Half-finished experiments without any gameplay do not make the cut.
Clear Licensing
The code must have a real open source license like MIT, GPL, or Apache. This protects you legally and ensures the game stays free forever.
Active Development
We prefer games with recent commits. An abandoned project from 2015 might still work, but active games get fixes and new features regularly.
Good Documentation
The best games include clear README files that explain how to install and play. This matters for players and developers who want to learn from the code.
Learning From Open Source Games
Many professional game developers started by reading open source code. It is like learning to paint by studying famous paintings up close. You can see every brushstroke, every choice the artist made.
When you open a game's source code, you discover how things actually work. How does a character jump? How does the game know when two objects collide? How do multiplayer games keep everyone in sync? These answers live in the code.
Universities now use open source games in their courses. Stanford, MIT, and other top schools point students toward these projects because real code teaches lessons that textbooks cannot. You see how professionals handle edge cases, optimize performance, and organize large codebases.
The Future of Open Gaming
Open source gaming is growing fast. The Godot game engine now rivals commercial tools that cost thousands of dollars. Independent studios release their games under open licenses to build communities around their work. Big companies like Unity and Epic now embrace open source components too.
We believe the best games of the future will be built in the open. Not because companies must give away their work, but because opening the code creates better games. Players report bugs directly. Modders add content that developers never imagined. The community keeps games alive long after the original team moves on.
OpenGames exists to help this future arrive. We organize the chaos of GitHub into something useful. We help players find games and developers find inspiration. Every day, our directory connects someone new to the world of open source gaming.