Godot (/ˈɡɒdoʊ/ GOD-oh)[a] is a cross-platform, free and open-source game engine released under the permissive MIT license.

It is designed to create both 2D and 3D games targeting PC, mobile, web, and virtual, augmented, and mixed reality platforms and can also be used to develop non-game software, including editors.

All game resources, including scripts and graphical assets, are saved as part of the computer's file system (rather than in a database).

This storage solution is intended to facilitate collaboration between game development teams using software version control systems.

Unlike Python, GDScript is optimized for Godot's scene-based architecture and can specify strict typing of variables.

GDScript is a continuously evolving scripting language, and changes and additions to it have been implemented for each major new release of Godot.

[32] The optional static types allow the C++ back end to apply optimizations that result in notably increased performance; statically-typed GDScript has been observed to run more than 40% faster in release builds.

The 2D engine supports features such as lights, shadows, shaders, tile sets, parallax scrolling, polygons, animations, physics, and particles.

As early as 2001, they began work on an engine then code-named "Larvotor" which was licensed to third-party companies in Argentina.

[43] Linietsky and Manzur joined OKAM and the company worked with a number of studios in the closed-source era including Square Enix.

[44] By 2014 Linietsky was planning on moving away from Argentina, and he released the source code for Godot to the public on GitHub under the MIT License.

[16] The 3.0 update for Godot involved addressing a long list of desired features requiring a major refactor of the engine that had been commercially impossible while in the closed-source era.

Linietsky indicated that part of the issue was that the 3.x branch was built with older architectural principles in mind, such as single-core processors.

[56][57][58][59] The full release of the 4.0 update with Vulkan support occurred in 2023, as well as the arrival of the Godot engine on the Epic Games Store.

The version on Epic is identical to others in terms of both content and licensing, with the storefront simply used as a means of distribution and for updating.

[62] Godot reached version 1.0 on 15 December 2014, marking the first stable release and the addition of lightmapping, navmesh support, and more shaders.

[63] Version 1.1 was released on 21 May 2015, adding improved auto-completion in the code editor, a visual shader editor, a new API to the operating system for managing screens and windows, improved 2D physics and a rewritten 2D engine, better Blender Collada support, and a new dark theme.

[66] Version 3.0 was released on 29 January 2018, adding a new PBR renderer implemented in OpenGL ES 3.0, virtual reality compatibility, and C# support (via Mono)[38] thanks to a $24,000 donation from Microsoft.

In 2020, several contributors joined the development team and worked on various aspects of Godot 4, such as GDScript improvements, physics engine overhaul, animation system rewrite, editor usability enhancements and more.

On 1 March 2023, Godot 4 was officially released as a stable version after several beta builds and bug fixes.

[79] Godot 4.3, released on 15 August 2024, added GPU synchronization via acyclic graphs, render pipeline compositor effects, and improved 3D animation retargeting.

[85] Additionally, it has been used in West Virginia's high school curriculum, due to its ease of use for non-programmers and already-existing learning materials.