Aug 31, 2017 YoYo Games originally launched GameMaker Studio 2 on the PC and other platforms in March. Now it is chasing after the growing number of Mac developers to fulfill the company’s goal of providing. GameMaker Studio Standard Edition — a game development tool that is usually priced at $49 — is free for a limited time. To take advantage of the freebie, download the free version of GameMaker.

YoYo Games is launching a new version of its cross-platform game engine, dubbed GameMaker Studio 2.

Game engines are tools that make it easier for developers to create games. Big companies such as Amazon have figured out that if you want to find a way into a game developer’s heart, you should make a game engine. Others who have figured out that game engines are a strategic asset are Unity Technologies (Unity), Epic Games (Unreal), Chukong Technologies (Cocos2d), and Crytek (CryEngine).

Dundee, Scotland-based YoYo Games is one of the underdogs in this business, but it has carved out a niche with “fluid and flexible” cross-platform two-dimensional games.

GameMaker Studio 2 is now available from the YoYo Games website starting at $100. YoYo Games also revealed that GameMaker Studio 2 will launch a closed beta for the Mac IDE to give Mac developers access to the powerful GameMaker Studio platform for the first time.

GameMaker Studio 2 builds upon the best of its predecessor with new features and functionality that take the 2D game development environment to a new level. Beginners with limited to no coding experience can use the drag-and-drop system to turn ideas into actual code, the company said.

Above: GameMaker Studio 2’s user interface.

And it said that professional developers can use the powerful programming language and comprehensive set of tools for advance exporting and rapid deployment across all leading platforms including mobile, console and desktop.

Unity

With a completely redesigned user interface, new editors, enhanced monetization tools and more, GameMaker Studio 2 also introduces new features and improvements with such as layer-based level editing to create more complex visuals with backgrounds, tiles, instances, assets and paths.

The target platforms for games built with the engine include Windows (Vista and above), Mac OS X (soon), Ubuntu, iOS, Android (including Android TV, Amazon Fire and Fire TV), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

“GameMaker Studio 2 takes all the best features of the previous version and elevates game development for all levels by simplifying the process and allowing creators to focus on making fun and engaging games that can quickly come to market,” said James Cox, general manager of YoYo Games, in a statement. “YoYo Games is dedicated to supporting the community and delivering the tools to help developers be successful without breaking the bank.”

To date, the GameMaker Studio family of products has been downloaded more than 10 million times since 2012 and currently has 200,000 monthly active users.

GameMaker Studio 2, the successor to the immensely popular GameMaker Studio, has started an open beta for MacOS development.

The MacOS version of the game engine by Yo-Yo games is equal to the Windows and console versions, meaning that every upgrade, patch and license option is available for this version.

This also included the drag and drop system that allows anyone to create a game easily along the code box which translates everything you do into easily readable code, allowing beginners and students to learn what’s going on as they are coding.

Mac owners love video games just as much as PC or console owners

said general manager of YoYo Games, James Cox.

Bringing GameMaker Studio 2 to Mac will help us reach as many budding or expert developers as possible. With GMS2 we are eliminating the OS roadblock many developers find themselves behind when they want to focus on the Mac platform.

Just like the Windows version of the engine, developers can target multiple platforms including Windows Desktop, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, iOS, Android (including Android TV, Amazon Fire and Fire TV), Microsoft UWP, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Game Maker Studio 2 Mac Beta Download

You can read more about the new features in GameMaker Studio 2 in our interview from GDC 2017.