GameMaker GMRT Commercial Use Will Be Free in 2027—With Limits

GameMaker says developers will be able to commercially distribute games made with its GMRT runtime without buying a Professional licence from January 1, 2027. The announced change covers desktop, mobile, web and GX Games, but it does not make every GameMaker project or export route free.

The deciding factors are the runtime and target platform. Under the policy GameMaker announced, qualifying commercial GMRT games for the named non-console targets will no longer require Professional. Console exports will still require an Enterprise licence and approved-developer status, while GMRT remains in development. GameMaker has also promised broader source access, but not an open-source release.

What becomes free on January 1, 2027

In its October 23 announcement, GameMaker said GMRT would become free for commercial use on January 1, 2027. According to the company, developers will be able to create and distribute GMRT games across desktop, mobile, web and GX Games without purchasing a Professional licence.

For a developer planning a qualifying GMRT release on one of those targets, the change removes GameMaker’s stated Professional-purchase requirement for commercial distribution. It does not eliminate unrelated development or publishing costs, and it does not override requirements imposed by distribution platforms.

GameMaker said its existing tier prices would not change. Its still-published pricing and terms FAQ, updated on October 22, 2026, describes the model before the announced change: commercial use requires Professional, listed at $99.99 with regional pricing. That page should be read as pre-January-2027 documentation unless GameMaker updates it or publishes replacement terms.

The announcement did not link revised legal language for the new policy. Developers making release or purchasing decisions should therefore confirm the final runtime licence and any account or version conditions GameMaker publishes before January 1.

GameMaker GMRT eligibility checklist

• Using GMRT for desktop, mobile, web or GX Games? GameMaker says commercial distribution on those targets will be free from January 1, 2027, subject to the final applicable terms.
• Exporting to a console? You will still need an Enterprise licence and approved-developer status, regardless of runtime.
• Shipping with the older GMS2 runtime? Existing Professional owners can continue commercially distributing games made with GMS2. The announcement does not say all commercial GMS2 projects will become free.
• Choosing a runtime for a current project? Check whether GMRT supports the features and exports the game needs. A licensing change does not establish that every GMRT workflow is production-ready.
• Planning around source access? Review the governing source-code agreement before assuming particular modification, build or redistribution rights.

Console exports still require Enterprise and approval

The clearest exclusion is console publishing. GameMaker states that, “regardless of runtime”, developers will still need an Enterprise licence and approved-developer status to export to consoles. Moving a project to GMRT will not remove those requirements.

That prevents an overly broad reading of the announcement. Commercial GMRT distribution is becoming free for the named desktop, mobile, web and GX Games targets, while console exports remain on a separate Enterprise route. Contemporaneous coverage from Game Developer also describes PC, mobile, browser and GX Games as covered by the change while noting the continuing console conditions.

GMRT is not necessarily ready for every commercial project

The licensing announcement arrives while GMRT is still being rolled out in beta. “As GMRT continues to roll out in beta across platforms, we are widening the scope of what we provide to developers,” Russell Kay, Head of GameMaker, said in the announcement.

That qualification matters. GameMaker’s official release-notes index describes GMRT as currently in development and warns that releases can contain bugs or lack functionality a developer uses. The index lists GMRT 0.22 as the September 2026 release.

Developers should therefore treat licensing eligibility and technical readiness as separate questions. A target may be included in the free-commercial-use announcement without every project, feature or export workflow being ready for production on that target.

GameMaker has described GMRT as its future runtime while calling GMS2 feature-complete. Its Spring 2026 roadmap says GMS2 is planned to receive SDK updates and critical bug fixes through at least the first quarter of 2028, with new and outstanding feature requests considered for GMRT. Teams maintaining a GMS2 project can therefore evaluate migration against their technical needs rather than assuming the licensing announcement itself requires an immediate move.

Source access does not make GMRT open source

GameMaker also says source-code access will be available across every tier. The scope and practical value of that access will depend on the licence and repositories made available, so it should not be described as an open-source release.

The current GameMaker Source Code License Agreement identifies GameMaker as proprietary software and grants limited rights rather than an open-source licence. According to that agreement, the source code may not be sublicensed or commercially used in its own right.

The distinction is important: source-code access is not the same as open source. Developers should review any revised agreement GameMaker publishes before relying on specific modification, compilation, distribution or build rights under the January 2027 policy.

What developers should verify before changing their budget

For a planned commercial GMRT game on desktop, mobile, web or GX Games, GameMaker’s announcement points to a meaningful change: Professional should no longer be required solely to distribute that qualifying game commercially from January 1, 2027.

Before treating that as a final production decision, verify four points:

1. The project is using GMRT rather than the older GMS2 runtime.
2. The intended export target is included among the announced non-console platforms.
3. GMRT supports the features and production workflow the project requires.
4. GameMaker’s final licence and account terms do not add relevant conditions omitted from the announcement.

For console projects, the announced position is more direct: Enterprise and approved-developer status remain required. For existing GMS2 projects, Professional owners retain commercial distribution rights, and GameMaker says critical fixes and SDK updates are planned through at least the first quarter of 2028.