Freedom251 › Game Engine Software
Bevy

What Bevy is
Bevy is a free, open-source game engine written in Rust for building 2D and 3D games, visualizations, user interfaces, and other graphical applications. Its engine and game logic use a custom Entity Component System: components are Rust structs and systems are Rust functions. The 2D renderer includes sprite sheets, cameras, textures, materials, custom shaders, and render pipelines; the 3D renderer supports lights, shadows, meshes, materials, and glTF loading. Animation features include skeletal rigs, blending, morph targets, and animation imports from glTF files. Bevy UI uses an ECS-driven, flex-box layout and can be composed in code or with the Bevy Scene format.
Scenes can be saved and loaded, and changes to scene files can be applied while an app is running. Hot reloading for assets currently covers scenes, textures, and meshes. Audio files can be loaded and played as assets. Bevy targets Windows, macOS, Linux, web, iOS, and Android; it is available as a library on crates.io and can be added to a Rust project with cargo add bevy. Users choose the MIT or Apache 2.0 license, with no license fees or sales cuts. The Bevy Foundation is a Washington State nonprofit supporting the engine. Bevy remains in development, with possible missing features, sparse documentation, and breaking API changes roughly every three months.
Who it suits
Bevy suits Rust developers building games or other graphical applications who want an open-source engine targeting desktop, web, and mobile platforms. It may also fit teams that value a custom ECS and are prepared to work with a project whose features, documentation, and APIs are still evolving.
What it does well
- Free engine with MIT or Apache 2.0 licensing and no sales cuts.
- Targets Windows, macOS, Linux, web, iOS, and Android.
- Supports 2D and 3D rendering, animation, UI, scenes, and audio.
- Scene, texture, and mesh changes can be hot reloaded.
- Community asset directory lists third-party plugins and integrations.
What to know first
- The engine remains in development and may lack important features.
- Documentation can be sparse.
- Releases may introduce breaking API changes about every three months.
- Visual scripting is not supported.
Limits
The free Bevy Engine has no license fees or sales cuts. Its development status brings possible missing features, sparse documentation, and breaking API changes roughly every three months.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Bevy Engine | Free and Open Source Forever! · 100% free · no license fees · no sales cuts | Free |
| Silver | $10 / month · Membership donation tier | $10 a month |
| Titanium | $100 / month · Name in Credits · Link in Credits | $100 a month |
| Corporate Silver | $1,000 / month · Logo in Credits · Link in Credits | $1,000 a month |
| Corporate Gold | $2,000 / month · Logo in Credits · Link in Credits | $2,000 a month |
| Gold | $25 / month · Name in Credits | $25 a month |
| Diamond | $250 / month · Logo in Credits · Link in Credits | $250 a month |
| Bronze | $5 / month · Membership donation tier | $5 a month |
The first 8 of 10 plans, as bevy.org lists them, read 12 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word. Every plan
Getting started
- Visit bevy.org and follow the getting-started guide.
- Add Bevy to a Rust project with cargo add bevy.
- Choose either the MIT or Apache 2.0 license.
- Use the feature examples, browser examples, or API documentation for next steps.
- Find community help through GitHub, the Bevy Q&A site, or Discord.
Verdict
Choose Bevy if you want a free Rust game engine with 2D and 3D rendering, UI, animation, and broad platform targets. Look elsewhere if you need a mature, stable API or visual scripting, since Bevy is still developing and its releases may bring breaking changes.
Questions
Is Bevy free?
Yes. The Bevy Engine is free and open source, with no license fees or sales cuts. Optional membership donation tiers range from $5 a month to $2,000 a month.
Which platforms does Bevy target?
Bevy targets Windows, macOS, Linux, web, iOS, and Android.
Is Bevy open source?
Yes. Users may choose the MIT or Apache 2.0 license.
What language does Bevy use?
Bevy is built in Rust, and its ECS components are Rust structs while systems are Rust functions.
How do I install Bevy?
Bevy is available as a library on crates.io. Its getting-started guide shows adding it to a Rust project with cargo add bevy.
Who makes Bevy?
The Bevy Foundation, a Washington State nonprofit formed to advance and support the free, open-source Bevy Engine.
Facts from Bevy's own pages
- 2D rendering
- The 2D renderer supports sprite sheets, dynamic texture atlases, cameras, textures, materials, custom shaders, and render pipelines. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- 3D rendering
- The 3D renderer includes lights, shadows, cameras, meshes, textures, materials, and glTF loading. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Animation
- Bevy supports skeletal rig animation, blending multiple animations, blend shapes or morph targets, and importing animations from glTF files. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Architecture
- Bevy uses a custom Entity Component System, with components represented as Rust structs and systems as Rust functions. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Audio
- Bevy can load audio files as assets and play audio assets using Audio entities. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Dependencies
- Bevy is built in pure Rust, while additional operating-system dependencies are needed for features such as windows, audio, and peripheral input. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Development model
- Bevy is built in the open by volunteers. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Development status
- Bevy is still in development; the maker warns that important features may be missing, documentation can be sparse, and releases may introduce breaking API changes about every three months. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- ECS
- Engine and game logic use Bevy ECS, a custom Entity Component System. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2020 · bevy.org, 28 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · bevy.org, 24 Sept 2026
- Graphics
- Its features include 2D and 3D rendering, a composable render graph, and skeletal and morph-target animation. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Bevy is available as a library on crates.io and the getting-started guide shows adding it to a Rust project with cargo add bevy. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The community asset directory lists third-party plugins and integrations, including Steamworks SDK, egui, and SpacetimeDB integrations. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Learning and extensions
- The official next-steps guide points to feature examples, browser examples, API documentation, and Bevy Assets entries for community learning resources and plugins. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- License and fees
- Bevy is free and open source under the user's choice of the MIT or Apache 2.0 licenses, with no license fees or sales cuts. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- Bevy is available under the user's choice of the MIT or Apache 2.0 license, with no license fees or sales cuts. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Maker
- The Bevy Foundation is a Washington State nonprofit formed to advance and support the free, open-source Bevy Engine. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Mobile export
- Yes · bevy.org, 24 Sept 2026
- Other features
- Bevy includes UI, scene loading and hot reloading, and audio playback features. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Platforms
- The site lists support for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Web, iOS, and Android. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Product
- Bevy is a free, open-source data-driven game engine built in Rust. · bevy.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Bevy is a data-driven game engine built in Rust for making 2D and 3D games, visualizations, user interfaces, and other graphical applications. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Scenes and hot reloading
- Bevy scenes can be saved and loaded, and scene file changes can be applied to running apps; asset hot reloading currently supports scenes, textures, and meshes. · bevy.org, 12 Oct 2026
Where Bevy stands on Freedom251
- Game Engine Software#18 of 92