Godot Engine: Definition, System Requirements, Code

Godot is a free, open-source engine that’s popular with learners, hobbyists, solo developers, and indie studios for its light weight and intuitive language and interface. Godot Engine is particularly suited to 2D development, featuring genuine, pixel-accurate 2D tools (as opposed to the simulated 3D of other engines). Godot’s 3D capabilities have expanded over its versions, with the latest, Godot 4.0, offering a marked improvement in 3D.

Godot Engine doesn’t compete with Unity or Unreal Engine for visual fidelity, scale, or complexity of features. Godot does feature a simpler, more intuitive script, uncluttered, accessible UI, and a less intimidating learning curve for beginner game devs. The fact that Godot runs on older, less powerful systems adds to its appeal for those just starting. Read on to learn about Godot Engine, its full system requirements, and some information on its code.

What is Godot Engine?

Godot is a free, open-source game engine that’s lightweight and relatively simple to learn for beginners and hobbyists making indie and retro-style games. Godot’s flexibility means solo developers and learners use it to build their first projects, but the engine remains powerful enough to create professional, commercial products.

Godot was initially conceived in 2001 by two developers working on an internal game engine without any intention of releasing it to the public. Developers Juan Linietsky and Ariel Manzur built the early forms of Godot as an in-house engine in a Buenos Aires studio where they worked. Linietsky and Manzur released Godot publicly in 2014 under the MIT license, allowing users to modify, redistribute, and create with the engine completely free.

The Godot developers released the engine to create a free, community-driven tool that sidestepped the licensing issues of larger, commercially-focused engines. Godot being open source means users create and share custom versions of the software and its tools. It’s named for the Samuel Beckett play, “Waiting for Godot”, where two protagonists wait for the titular Godot to deliver them to salvation. Hope fades as their salvation fails to arrive. Linietsky and Manzur were tired of waiting for the perfect game engine, so chose to create one for themselves.

Godot has a reputation for creating 2D games on account of its dedicated 2D renderer and toolset. Pixel snapping and Godot’s simple 2D node and scene system makes 2D workflow efficient. The engine is capable of low-poly and stylized 3D, with the Godot 4 update offering distinct advantages over previous versions’ 3D capabilities. Godot can’t compete with Unreal or Unreal for creating large, detailed, photorealistic space, but its simplicity, workflow, and iteration speed make it a solid choice for 2D and smaller, simpler 3D projects.

Is Godot Engine open-source?

Yes, Godot Engine is open-source, releasing under some of the simplest, most permissive licenses available. Godot Engine distributes under the MIT license, meaning people use it for any purpose (personal, commercial, open-source, closed-source), modify it at will, redistribute it (or modified versions of it), and sell anything created with it. There are no upfront fees and no royalties. Users must include the original license text and copyright notice with their creations. The MIT license means that Godot comes without a warranty. It’s the user’s responsibility if something breaks.

What are the system requirements for Godot Engine?

The system requirements for the Godot Engine’s editor and its exported games depend on the complexity of the project. Basic 2D games run on modest hardware like older laptops (Win 7+). Simple, low-poly 3D projects even run on the integrated graphics cards of older laptops, with support for OpenGL ES 3.0 or Vulkan 1.0 at a minimum.

The system requirements for the Godot Engine are detailed in the table below.

How old is Godot Engine?

Godot Engine is twenty four years old, counting from the date of its earliest development. The history of Godot starts as a project under the name Larvotor, created as an in-house engine for an Argentinian studio, OKAM. From 2007, OKAM were using the engine internally for their projects, but hadn’t released it to the public. Between 2011 and 2013, Godot expanded with its own scripting system (that would become GDScript), its node system, and early 3D support.

Godot was released publicly as an open-source engine by OKAM in February of 2014 under the MIT license. The first stable build of the engine, Godot 1.0, was released in December of 2014. Godot further matured between 2015 and 2017, introducing a new editor, improved animation, better tools for 2D, and an expanded ecosystem for third-party plugin support. Godot 3.0 in 2018 was a massive leap forward, adding much-improved 3D rendering using OpenGL 3, an improved shader editor, and new audio system options. The latest version of Godot is Godot 4.51, released in October 2025, offering support for Vulkan renderer and much improved 3D performance.

Does Godot Engine require coding?

No, the Godot Engine technically doesn’t require coding, allowing users to build very basic gameplay using visual scripting, no-code tools, and community-built, no-code plugins. That said, creating the non-trivial elements of gameplay (movement, combat, progression, saving data, etc) is better achieved with code, especially if trying to create something unique. Godot’s language, GDSCript, is considered one of the simplest, most intuitive, and least intimidating scripts to learn.

Creating unique gameplay, progression systems, menus, and game-saving capabilities demands learning some basic GDScript. GDScript’s Python-like syntax and minimal complexity make it an excellent fit for beginners. It’s enough to allow users to create a full-featured game, but users who want to unlock higher performance use C#, and those looking for advanced features use C++.