Flax Engine

Visit site Alternatives

Score9.1

Rank#8 of 91

PriceFree

Free planYes

Runs onAndroid, iOS, Linux, macOS, Web, Windows

Summary

Flax Engine is a 3D game engine written in C++ and C#. It supports C++, C# and visual scripting, with hot-reloading for both programming languages in the editor. Its rendering tools include real-time global illumination, reflections using custom software ray tracing, and GPU lightmap baking. For world building, it provides terrain, foliage, fog, nested prefabs, level streaming and large-world coordinates. Multiplayer projects can use its low- and high-level networking APIs; its online system connects services such as Steam, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for profiles, friends, achievements, presence and cloud saves. Flax provides the full editor source code, while NDA-protected platform support is excluded from the public repository. Supported targets include Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, web, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Web support is experimental and lacks C# scripting, video playback and some other engine features. The engine is free for non-commercial or educational use. Commercial releases pay a 4% royalty on earnings exceeding $250,000 per calendar quarter.

Who it is for

Flax Engine suits solo developers and larger teams building 3D games with visual or code-based scripting. Its listed targets include desktop, mobile, web and consoles, though web support has feature limitations.

What is good

Supports C++, C# and visual scripting.
Includes multiplayer networking APIs.
Full Editor source code is available.
Supports large-world coordinates and level streaming.
Free for non-commercial or educational use.

What to know first

Web support is experimental and has feature gaps.
Commercial releases owe a 4% royalty above the stated threshold.
NDA-protected platform support is excluded from the public repository.

Verdict

Flax Engine combines 3D rendering, world-building, scripting and multiplayer tools with a free non-commercial or educational license. Check its experimental web limitations and commercial royalty terms against your project needs.

Flax Engine plans and pricing

All plans

Flax Engine license Free Free for non-commercial or educational usage · commercial releases pay 4% royalty on earnings exceeding $250,000 per calendar quarter · full source code and supported platforms included flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026

Custom licensing Not published Per-seat monthly/yearly licensing or flat fee per project · price depends on team size and product use flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026

Compared on game engine software

Free plan: Yesflaxengine.com
Visual scripting: Yesflaxengine.com
Multiplayer tools: Yesflaxengine.com

Facts

Source code model: source_availableflaxengine.com · 24 Sept 2026
Mobile export: Yesflaxengine.com · 24 Sept 2026
Console export: Yesflaxengine.com · 24 Sept 2026
Target platforms: Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series, Nintendo Switchflaxengine.com · 24 Sept 2026
Scripting languages: C#, C++flaxengine.com · 24 Sept 2026
Source Code: Flax provides full source code.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Development Performance: Flax describes its development performance as highly agile and fast.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Workflow Speed: The engine is designed for instant developer actions.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Import Compilation: Flax says it avoids long importing and slow compilation.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Scripting Options: Flax supports C++, C#, and Visual Scripting.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Editor Extensibility: Flax includes an extensible Flax Editor.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Team Size: Projects can scale from solo development to larger teams.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Developer Scalability: Flax says projects can grow from 5 to 50 developers.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Version Control: Flax supports Version Control Systems.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Community Channels: The site links to a community forum and Discord.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Company Location: The site says it was made in Poland.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
News Frequency: Flax Facts is described as a monthly blog series.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Pricing Page: The provided pricing URL returns a page-not-found message.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Product: Flax Engine is a modern 3D game engine written in C++ and C#.gitlab.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Scripting: It provides seamless C++, C# and Visual Scripting, plus hot-reloading of C# and C++ in the Editor.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Rendering: The feature set includes realtime global illumination, reflections with custom software ray tracing, and GPU lightmap baking.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
World building: Flax includes large-world 64-bit coordinates, nested prefabs, terrain, foliage, fog and level streaming tools.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Networking: The engine provides low-level and high-level networking APIs for multiplayer games.docs.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Online integrations: Its Online system supports services such as Steam, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for profiles, friends, achievements, presence and cloud saves.docs.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Source availability: Full Editor source code is available, while NDA-protected platform support is excluded from the public repository.gitlab.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Supported targets: Official platform documentation lists Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Scarlett, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Linux, Android, Switch, macOS, iOS and Web.docs.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Web limitation: Web support is experimental and does not yet implement C# scripting, video playback or some other engine features.docs.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Development audience: The homepage says Flax is intended for solo indie developers and larger teams, with projects scaling from 5 to 50 developers.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Support: The feature page promises direct communication and help from engine developers, and the site provides a contact form.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Privacy: The privacy policy says Google Analytics data is retained for five years for internal marketing and that private analytics data is never sold or exposed.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Samples: Flax provides ready-to-use sample projects through the Store or GitHub.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026
Launcher: The Flax Launcher can install and manage multiple engine versions, including daily builds from the GitHub master branch.docs.flaxengine.com · 28 Sept 2026